8 Saiju and their Honors

After a few seconds of silence, Chiho realized something. "Oh right.. We're separated from the Saijun soldiers" As soon as Chiho started to look for them, They heard Hiro's voice. "Chiho-san! Are you alright?!" The two girls looked at the direction of the voice and saw the the group still in one piece. "Everyone.... Hey! We're alright!" Chiho raised her left hand to wave at the soldiers coming to regroup with them. Ayumi also tried to wave but Chiho were blocking the sight, So She instead asked Chiho. "Did someone died?".Chiho then stopped waving and returned her hands to the grips and responded with a smile. "Nope, They're all still alive!". Ayumi sighs in relief. "I'm glad". Once the group has finally merged, A soldier speaks. "Holy shit, We saw your gun fires and the plane were shot down to fuck!", Then another soldier spoke. "Yeah, You kid is a fucking savage!". The two girls were surprised at the soldiers' words, Then Hiro spoke. "You are talking to a kid and a teenage! Watch your language!", Which startled the two soldiers and quickly apologized.

"So, The kid used the gun?" Hiro asked Chiho just to be sure. "Yes! I did!" Ayumi stood up a bit and raised her hand before Chiho could answer. Hiro nods. "You did a great job there, How did you know how it works?" Hiro asked Ayumi. "Well... I get to hold a crossbow then i see some soldiers press something below and it shoots arrow" Ayumi responded. "But this one shoots something else and it's fast! It shakes so much and so loud!" Ayumi proceeded with a little rant. "But, That flying thing and the tank's are way louder!". Hiro agrees. "I know right? They haven't fired with a tank with us before, but we already have heard of the smaller guns" Chiho looked at Hiro as He told them. Hiro looked back at Chiho then realized something, and looked forward again. "Oh, by the way, Have i already told you about the guns?" Hiro asked. "Gun is what you call that firing thing" Hiro explained about the armaments. "Guns.. You said.." Chiho looked at the MG34. "Yes, You have seen them using it, don't you?" Hiro asked. "No, I only see them carrying it, This gun from this vehicle is the very first weapon i have ever saw fire" Chiho responded but quickly remembers something. "No, I have seen and held one before! It was smaller than what we have here, but it's also loud and powerful!" Chiho remembered their first encounter with the enemies. Chiho then reached for her left pocket and took the handgun She got from the enemy soldier before, She raised the gun for the whole group to see.

The Saijun soldiers were surprised and one soldier asked. "Hey, Where did you get that?". Chiho looked at the soldier asking a question and lowers the gun. "We met an enemy, and i stole... or maybe.. He never mentioned the gun after i took it, and i forgot to give it to him either". Hiro looked at Chiho with rather interest on listening to this story. "Is that so? How did you meet this person?" Hiro asked. "We were in a building but He saw us hiding and tried to assault me, but i managed to fight him thanks to my father's self defense training" Chiho tells the scene. "Hm.. Well i'm glad your training finally paid off, Your mother would always fight Commander Yagano everytime She see you having a hard time during those trainings". Hiro said a few memories back. Chiho looked at Hiro for a second then looked back at the road. "Hey Chiho-san, Do you know the history of your father?" Hiro asked while looking forward still. "Eh?" Chiho immediately looked at Hiro as She heard her father. "Have you ever wonder how could He train you such moves to defend yourself?" Hiro then finally looked back at Chiho with a serious face, Which worries her a lot. Chiho hid her handgun back to her pocket as the topic about it fades.

"Well? Do you?" Hiro asked again since Chiho didn't answer. "Y-Yes, A soldier of ours told me about him. That He's the Commander of our first Battalion ever formed" Chiho responded. "I see." Hiro's words made Chiho look at him again. "You see, Chiho-san, Your father is the very history of our region. He's the reason why our region is at peace and the Tsukosa happened" Hiro started to reveal her Father's past life. "S-So that man on the story, Was your father?" Ayumi asked Chiho, Which made Chiho worryingly look back at her and then looks back down. "I can't believe it... First, being a commander of a battalion, then now He's that famous person from the stories of our school?". A soldier from the back speaks up. "Yeah, The name of the man in the stories is fake as hell! The man'sreal name was Yagano! Takamura Yagano!" Chiho looked at the soldiers, Then another soldier speaks. "In other words, Your Father! Your Father was the brave savior of our region! Without your Father, The Saiju will still be living in hell of corrupted governance and there won't be an alliance between the three big villages!" Tears started to flow from Chiho's eyes and started to wipe it off with her left hands. "Are you crying?" Hiro asked. "N-No... I'm actually happy about my father.." Chiho responded with sobs. "Even though He hid it from you?" Hiro asked once more. "Yes...Hid... The reason why He hid all this was to make sure i won't grew up to be like him right?" Chiho responded and asked a question.

"Yes, It was a request from your mother, Katsuko-san. She said that You don't need to know much about the wars and instead raise you as a fine person, That's why your Mother requested that Commander Yagano would hide his past from you and just train you self defense without much violence as possible" Hiro explained, Her mother's care about her made her giggle. "Mother's a very kind person isn't She? She don't want me to fight people, but yet here we are" Chiho responded with a sad smile. "Commander Yagano made a condition to that request that He or somebody should tell you everything once the time is right, and we're doing that right now" Hiro explained, in which Chiho nods with a smile. "Your Father have killed a lot of people for the sake of peace, Chiho-san. How would you feel about it?" Hiro asked. "It's.. Fine i guess.. If that's for the goodness' sake, I think it's fine" Chiho responded with a smile. "Oh? Killing a person is a very bad thing you know? How could you say that it's for good thing?" Hiro asked her again. "I mean.. There are bad people right? As long as They are alive, There won't be peace right? So if we really want a place for good people to live, We have no choice but to fight those bad people right?" Chiho responded in which Hiro chuckles. "I see you have that kind of way of thinking, Your mother would be sad if She hears what you have just said right now.." Hiro was a bit sad for Katsuko's side. "Talking about your mother, Where is She now?" Hiro asked about her mother, But Chiho's smile suddenly disappear. "D-Did She..?" Hiro sadly predicts. "My mother was out to the market at the time of the first explosion, and the sound came from the direction of the Center, and when i went out to see for myself, A huge black smoke is already coming off from the Central.." Chiho sadly tells the moment.

"I know what happened to my mother, and i don't want to think about it anymore" Chiho lowers her head even more. "How would you know? She might have survived" Hiro's words made Chiho regret that She didn't checked her mother's situation. "The explosion were very strong, and the smoke were very big... Even if She did.... I would have saw her when we were escaping" Chiho sadly continued. "Goddamn it, Your village is huge, She could be anywhere!" Hiro is visibly mad about her. "Don't worry, We're sure your father saved your mother" Hiro mentioned her father, But Chiho didn't gave any reaction. "No, That's not true" Chiho responded, The negative answer surprised Hiro. "What do you mean?" Hiro nervously asked. "When i asked one of the soldiers back in the village, They said that He died.. With.. With Honor" Chiho sadly explained. "No way.." Hiro grips tightly. "I'm not going to stay and think He's dead... When we get back to Saiju, I'll prepare a search expedition" Hiro spoke without hesitation. "But it's too dangerous! The entrance are swarming with enemies and They have those flying things!" Chiho was worried about Hiro's ideas. "You said something like a hole right? We'll find that hole and blast it open, Then We'll start from there" Then the two looked at each other, Then Hiro smiled and spoke in a calm manner. "Don't worry, Your father is a tough one, I'm pretty sure He's still out there somewhere. I promise you that We'll get him back alive" Chiho was struck by happiness by his words. "I.. I don't know, but.. Thank you" Chiho gently smiled, Then Hiro looked forth. "Don't mention it, Your father owes us a lot, and looking out for him is the only way We can repay him" Hiro continued with a smile.

After that, Another silence has erupted between them aside the distant explosions and the horses' stomps and the gentle sound of the cruising R37. Then Chiho looked at Ayumi. Who's quiet most of the time. Then Chiho strikes a conversation. "Ayumi-chan? You seem so quiet". Then Ayumi looked at her, Then She pouts. "You started talking seriously, I can't understand anything at all.." Ayumi answered. "I guess so, I'm sorry" Chiho realized that Ayumi can't process all of what they have said. "I'm not mad.." Ayumi responded with low voice, Which made Chiho giggle. The silence continued until the distant explosions' noises lessen as They get closer to the Saiju

Ayumi suddenly brighten up. "Ah! I can see it!" Ayumi pointed her hands at the village in sight. "Yes, We are close to our village" Hiro sighs as the relief of coming home unscratched overwhelms them. "So, That is Saiju" Chiho happily observes the village. "It's not as big as your village, but We're all happily living in peace here" Hiro smiled as He compliments his village. "To think that Father have been here.." Chiho remembered the stories. "Yes, Saiju was way smaller than before. After the war, The Tsukosa Alliance has been on endless trades of resources and foods and weapons between villages and villages on the whole Ekigatamura. Our region became peaceful no one have ever expected" Hiro proudly talked about their once peaceful region. Then They spent the rest of the time in silence until They reach the entrance. As the same as the Tsuchiyan gates, Two soldiers were guarding the gates. The group stopped after the gate as the two guards steps aside, Then the guard on the left speaks up. "It's good to see you in one piece, Hiro-san". Hiro nods at the guard with a smile as the gate loudly and slowly opens. After a few seconds, The gate made a final loud noise and have stopped moving. A guard from the right speaks up. "Hasegawa Chiho-sama, We welcome you to our Village". Chiho quickly looked at the guard and thanked him.

The lively chatter of the people greets the group as the two girls look around them, fascinated by the difference between their own village to the Saijun Village. "Welcome to Saiju, Chiho-san. I hope you'll like your stay here at Saiju. We have an inn for you two to stay, But Gentarou-sama wants to have a conversation with you, Chiho-san" Hiro greets the two as He gets down from his horse the other soldiers leads the horses to somewhere. Then Hiro signals the girls to follow him. "Um.. Where could i leave this vehicle?" Chiho asked. "Oh" Hiro noticed and called a soldier to drive the R37 somewhere safe. Then the three of them started walking. "Your leader, you mean?" Chiho asked as They follow Hiro. "Yes, Hinorama Gentaro-sama. He's one of the rebels of the Saiju, His father led the rebel group, but unfortunately, The corrupted leader expected that the rebels will seek help from the Tsuchiya on that day and started to close down every way of getting out of the village and started a hunt groups. The rebels had no choice but to break out of the village" Hiro tells the story as they continue to walk. "I know what happened next!" Ayumi then speaks and raised her right hand, Chiho and Hiro looked at her with a smile. "The members of the rebels held off the soldiers and told their leader, along with his two children, that they should go to Tsuchiya, right?" Ayumi continued the story. "Right!" Hiro were impressed. "And then! There's this one group of soldier that blocked the leader's way! Then the Leader did the same and let his two children go for Tsuchiya!" Ayumi were visibly proud of herself. "That's right! I can't believe a kid like you would even care for the history, You did a great job on your educations!" Hiro slows his pace for Ayumi to catch up with him and pats her head, Which made her giggle. Chiho smiles as She watch the two.

"Well well well, Look what we have here!" A voice came out in front of them. It made the three stop from walking and look at them. In front of them was the Leader of the Saiju, Hinorama Gentaro, beside him was his sister, Hinorama Itsumi.

"Gentaro-sama! Itsumi-sama! Good day!" Hiro greets the two and bows. "My, We saw that you are already close to Yagano-san's daughters" Itsumi teased Hiro a bit, Which made him put his hands on the back of his head. "A-Ah.. No.. Ahaha..." Hiro shyly laughs while He scratches his head. "If Yagano-san knew that his daughters is being touched by some person, He wouldn't be forgiving, you know?" Itsumi teased him even more. "I-I'm not doing anything suspicious at all! T-The kid pays attention to her studies and i am impressed, That's all!" Hiro nervously responded with stutters. Gentaro just laughs at the scene, then started to speak. "Jokes aside... Hasegawa Chiho.. And you are?" Gentaro looked at Chiho and calls her name, then looks at Ayumi. "Nice to meet you, I'm Kirisaki Ayumi. I'm not Onee-chan's little sister" Ayumi introduced herself and told them that She's not Chiho's sister. "Oh, I see. My bad, Ayumi-chan" Gentaro apologized for mistaking her as Chiho's sister. "No problem!" Ayumi answered with bright smile. "My, Aren't you a cute one? I want you to go with me later, We'll explore our garden!" Itsumi invited Ayumi to go along with her. "Really! Yay! Thank you!" Ayumi were visibly excited.

Gentaro smiled at the scene. "It's nice to see you well, Chiho. It's a miracle you survived the attack" Gentaro greets Chiho. "Yes! It was close, But We managed to escape somehow!" Chiho responded with a bow. "We were at pinch! If that tank chose to shoot us instead, We're already done for!" Ayumi also responds with a bit of fear. "Tank..." Gentaro suddenly turned serious, The others noticed this. "We really do have a lot to talk about, Chiho" Gentaro looked directly at Chiho. "I'm pretty sure you have at least saw how they look like and what kind of weapons they used right? I'm so eager to listen" Gentaro claps and held close his hands. "Let's not stand here for long, Let's proceed to our Center, Shall we?" Gentaro invites them to come, They agreed to join them. "Gentaro-sama! I wish to make a request to you, If that's fine?" Hiro stood straight as He asked his leader. "Sure! Come with us at the Center, I'll hear you out there then" Gentaro accepts his request. "Thank you" Hiro deeply bows, Chiho gave Hiro a worrying look. "A-Are you really serious about that?" Chiho asked. "Heh, Don't worry, kid. I will make sure to come back as fine" Hiro gave her a thumbs up, which made her smile. "Well, What are we waiting for? Let's go" Gentaro proceeds to walk as He signals them to come along. The group started to follow shortly.

"Ayumi-chan" Itsumi signaled Ayumi to come near her, In which Ayumi did catch up with her. "Let us hold hands, Ayumi-chan. I feel like Hiro here would like to do the same" Itsumi and Ayumi looked at Hiro as they hold hands. "Aren't you thinking too much, Itsumi-sama?" Hiro gave her a shy smile. Gentaro chuckles at speaks to Itsumi. "Come on, Give Hiro a break. He went all the way near the battlefield with a small group to save them" Gentaro told Itsumi, She giggles in response. "I know, I'm happy that Hiro did a good job, I was just trying to throw his horrors from the battlefield away" Itsumi explained, Which made Hiro scratch his head. "Well, That sure did throw my horrors away" Hiro gives a defeated smile. Then They proceeded forth while having a chatter about the village.