Inside the S-1 Mansion…
The next morning, Fujii burst into Dachii's room once more. "How were the dates, kid?"
"They were…fine…"
Fujii scanned Dachii, whose hair seemed longer and more disheveled, covering his eyes. "Still not quite there yet, I see. Well, there's always next time! Unless you've made your pick?"
"…I don't know."
"Yeah, that tracks," Fujii remarked. "Don't you fret, we'll get that mopey head cheered up in no time!"
KNOCK. KNOCK. KNOCK.
A loud barrage of knocks could be heard on the door, almost as if someone were trying to break in. "Who could be here for me at this hour?"
Fujii went down to open the door and found Reika standing there, all dressed up in her S-6 uniform. "General Fujii! Hello!"
"Can I help you, Reika?" Fujii asked.
"Yep! Is Dachii inside?" she questioned. "Super cool mission needs his utmost attention, and you know General Toru doesn't like to be late, so…!"
Fujii scratched his head. "Right, I forgot about that. Give me one second, I'll get him."
"Can I wait inside while you do?"
"Heh, eh, no."
He closed the door, but he found her jumping out of the refrigerator. "…You've gotta be kidding me."
She brushed drinks and food off her body. "Ew! How much beer does one guy need? I mean COME ON, aren't you a General?"
Fujii called upstairs. "Dachii! Come on down before this girl makes me lose my mind! Or what's left of it!"
Dachii slowly made his way downstairs. "Oh. Reika. Hi."
She shook the rest of the food off her body. "Greetings, friend! I see your fridge isn't short on items!"
"Why…were you inside it…"
She laughed. "My magic! Not as precise as it should be!"
Then she sprang to life. "Time to go! You ready?"
"Hold on," Fujii raised his hand. "The others are coming too."
"Hmm?" Reika wondered.
Fujii went upstairs, but by the time he came back downstairs, he only had Marachii and Saori with him, both of whom looked like they had just woken up out of a nap.
"This isn't right," Fujii mused. "Where's the rest of them?"
Marachii yawned. "Aoki and Akari got into another fight, so they brought Luca and Hikari so they could run a two vs. two, to ensure you wouldn't be suspicious."
"They WHAT?"
"Hold on," Reika interrupted, looking at Dachii. "You didn't tell me others would be coming."
"His idea…" he pointed to Fujii.
"I dunno if my General will allow all these…stowaways," Reika warned.
"Well he'll have to," Fujii ordered. "My soldier here is of the utmost importance, and if his squadmates can't go, then he can't. Especially dealing with Toru."
Fujii stepped outside the mansion. "Now give me one second, I need to have a word with the rest of the team!"
"Wait!" Marachii called out. "I forgot to tell you the—-!"
Fujii formed an Ice Dragon and took off.
"—location."
Saori hopped on top of the kitchen table. "Mister Fujii knows! He knows everything!"
Reika folded her arms. "Well apparently, he doesn't know Toru. This…stowaway thing, it's not gonna fly. Especially with a group as volatile and chaotic as yours."
Reika draped an arm around Dachii and laughed. "You recall, don't you, Dachii? How was your time at Toru's Mansion?"
"He beats people…" Dachii pointed out.
"All in good fun," she laughed.
BOOM.
The group looked outside, only to watch as the door burst open and Aoki, Akari, Luca, and Hikari came sliding inside, bodies all covered with ice. Fujii came after them, an unimpressed look on his face.
"What's the meaning of this, Sir?" Hikari asked.
"So, you guys decided to sneak under my nose, fight each other to the death, and thought that I, the Kenshi Fujii, wouldn't find out?"
"Well…" Akari tried to explain.
"It's not even the fact you're fighting each other," Fujii stated. "It's that you thought you could hide it from someone as great as me!"
"I was forced," Luca admitted.
Aoki sighed. "Sir, can we please not—-?"
"Pack your bags, you little maggots! Reika, take them away!"
"Wait, what?" Aoki questioned. "What's going on?"
A few minutes later, Fujii slammed the door shut, and the entire squad was standing outside in uniform, with Reika giving them a disapproving look. "How do you guys FUNCTION?"
"I can't believe he kicked me out," Aoki muttered. "Me! It's me!"
"Looks like we've been thrown to the wolves again," Luca shrugged. "I love wolves."
"It's super hot," Hikari complained. "Can we please go back inside?"
"I don't know why he'd just throw a princess out like that," Akari scoffed. "General or not, that's pretty uncalled for."
"I want candy!" Saori blurted out.
Dachii just stood there, blankly staring.
"Is…no one going to answer my question?" Reika interrupted.
"Um," Marachii replied. "It's a learning process."
She shook her head. "Whatever. The ride's here. Once we get to the S-6 Mansion, none of you act up, got it?"
"Understood…" Dachii said.
"S-6?" Aoki remarked. "What business do we have with those fools?"
"You'll see," Reika smiled.
A large van pulled up, and a young boy who appeared to be Saori's age rolled down the window. "Reika! Hop on in!"
"About time, Yamato!" she exclaimed. "You're a minute late! What would Toru think?"
Yamato revved the engine. "Already threw hands with him. Now get inside!"
"How…old is that kid?" Hikari asked.
"6," Reika replied. "No big deal."
"No big DEAL?"
Yamato cleared his throat, putting on a pair of shades. "I'm SEVEN. Get it right."
He patted the side of the van. "Don't got all day! Hop on the express, folks!"
The group entered the van, and without even looking, Yamato reversed the vehicle and pulled off onto the road, sending everyone flying backwards.
"Let's ride!" he cheered.
And then he hit the gas as fast as he could.
At the S-6 Mansion…
"Ow!"
"Sir, arm's broken!"
"My leg's broken!"
"My EVERYTHING'S broken!"
"HARDER!"
Toru was in his backyard, ruthlessly training his soldiers, most of whom were a limp, groaning pile of bodies to the side of him. As he tapped his wooden staff on the ground, every kid left standing gulped.
"What?" he called out. "Is there a problem?"
His Vice-General, Noriko, was holding a stick, breathing hard. "Sir..we've been at this for 15 hours straight. Could we maybe…please get a break?"
The air darkened and Toru immediately appeared behind her, gripping her shoulder. "Excuse me? You're the last person that should be saying this, Noriko Takahashi."
She gulped as he leaned in close to her.
"You're the Vice-General. And you want a break? How about this, once you die, you can get the longest break you want? Sound good?"
"But…sir!"
He whacked her over the head with his stick. "Sloppy! Try again!"
Just then, a van swerved into his backyard, and Yamato rolled the window down. "I've made the catch, Sir!"
"You're 30 seconds late," Toru remarked. "You know the drill."
Yamato grinned. "Yep! 30 seconds in the ring with you, sir! It's an honor!"
"I'm assuming Dachii is in the back of that van?" he asked.
Yamato nodded. "Along with the rest of the rabble!"
Toru lifted an eyebrow. "The rest?"
The van opened and Squad S-1 fell out, with Aoki and Akari landing on their feet. Toru immediately dropped his stick. "What is this? Reika!"
She appeared next to him, falling on her face. "Ow. Hi, General! What's the matter?"
Toru pointed to the van. "This. What is this?"
She got up, sweating. "Well, General Fujii kind of dumped them on me! He said they have to go with Dachii wherever he goes! And he also…kicked them out because of insubordination!"
Toru's eyes darken. "So, he expects me to manage a squad of…children? What kind of man does he take me for?"
"I don't know, sir."
Toru picked up his stick. "Line them up! Now!"
In no time at all, Squad S-1 was standing before Toru, who narrowed his eyes at them. "Pitiful. And you proclaim yourselves the best squad of them all?"
He started with Hikari. "A gentle flower, too delicate for the battlefield…"
"That's not true!" she argued.
He smacked her upside the head with his stick before moving onto Luca. "Ow!"
"An unkempt beast, too feral and unpredictable to be a sufficient fighter…"
Luca shrugged before getting hit with the stick. Toru looked at Saori. "Is this a child?"
"Hey!" she protested. "I'm a soldier too!"
"Really," Toru said, mocking. "Well then."
He smacked her upside the head with the stick. "Owie! Apologize for that right now, you mean man!"
Toru squinted his eyes at her. "Children."
He walked away as Saori stamped her feet. "Hey! When Mister Fujii hears about this, you'll be in trouble!"
Toru ignored her and moved on to Marachii. "Huh. Dachii's little brother. All brains and no brawn. Those types are best suited for desk jobs, not the field. What makes you a soldier?"
Marachii formed a plasma cannon from his arm. "Well, I can do stuff like this…"
Toru whacked him upside the head. "An Element like that and you're wasting it forming paltry guns you can buy in shops. Ridiculous."
"Well that was unnecessary…" Marachii rubbed his head.
He stopped by Akari next. "The Prestigious Princess."
He scanned her, disapproving. "What a waste, yet so much confidence and pride. Tell me, where would you be if not for your royal blood? Are you a hard worker, or are you just blessed?"
"Excuse me?" she replied.
"You know what we call blessed in this place?" Toru stated. "Luck."
"Excuse YOU, don't ever question my work! What, do you think it's all sunshine and rainbows inside the castle—?"
He whacked her upside the head. "Next!"
Next was Aoki. "Hit me with that thing and we're gonna have an issue."
Toru looked at her and laughed. "Ha. Haha. Haha! We've got a comedian, everyone! She's funny! Laugh!"
All his soldiers stared at him, and he slammed his stick on the ground. "I said LAUGH!"
They all yelped and began nervously laughing. "Hahahahaha!"
Toru turned his attention back to her. "You've got some fire, don't you? That's nice."
Aoki glared at him.
"But it's not that good kind of fire," Toru explained. "It's the reckless, impulsive, hard-to-control kind of fire. The one where a girl assumes she's better than everyone else because of her years of swordsmanship and experience, not knowing she's still a child through and through."
He looked right into her eyes. "A thousand years of training, and all for what? To be a shadow of Fujii? One so hotheaded and stupid she can't see the difference between a childish battle and a deadly war?"
Aoki's eyes turned red. "Who do you think you're talking to—?"
He whacked her across the head, knocking her down. "Next!"
Last was Dachii. "Ahh, Dachii."
Dachii stood there, as stiff as a rock.
"You've been here before," Toru noted. "I couldn't tell in the hunt, but you'd better have had shown some growth. Cheap tricks and false personas cannot win battles, only strength and skill can."
He poked his stick and Dachii's chest. "It doesn't matter if you're a human or a Zharian, if you're weak, you're weak."
He motioned to Aoki and Akari. "How is it these girls still surpass you? Despite you holding the power of two Elements, which is unheard of, you still don't top the charts? The only impact you can make on a real battle is a last-ditch attack? If they weren't at the battle with that Elite, what would have happened to you?"
Dachii looked at his hand. "I…don't know."
Toru whacked him across the head. "You've gotten better, but not enough. You're not hungry for improvement. Not as much as you should be."
Aoki helped Dachii up. "Don't listen to him. He's just a lonely old man—-"
Toru whacked her with the stick. "Don't interrupt."
Aoki tried to attack him, but he simply whacked her again without even looking before taking his place at the center again. "I see pathetic weaklings in front of me, a mix of immature children and prideful pushovers. This mission is not a game. The Queen has received intel that the enemy desire a certain artifact to increase their strength. And if that happens, they'll wage another attack on us the moment it's done. After all, we have one of their own in custody."
He pointed his stick at Squad S-1. "That means no joking around, no petty squabbles, and no losing sight of the mission. We're going to find that artifact first. It might provide clues on the enemy and their ties to Dachii and Marachii. A mission we CANNOT fail."
Toru stepped forward. "Because if we do, I'm going to slaughter the lot of you."
Toru looked between Dachii and Marachii. "Boys. You two know the land of this artifact well. You'll serve as guides, as our cover. Humans won't take kindly to a magical species from across the land popping abruptly into their city, so you'll have to spread the story."
"What land are you talking about?" Marachii asked.
"The land across the Sea," Toru said. "Estrium."
"We're going back there?" Marachii gasped. "Back home?"
Toru nodded. "We must reach there before the enemy does. But if my instinct is correct, they may very well already be there."
Toru motioned to Yamato. "Line up the plane, boy! We shall head across the sea within the hour! No time to waste!"
"Yes, sir!" Yamato replied.
"Across the sea…" Marachii realized. "Does that mean we'll see all the others? All our old friends? And…"
"Mihina…" Dachii remembered. "She's waiting for me."
—-