After a week of relative calm from Shuuki activities, the peace was broken when Nei detected a temporary gate forming six kilometers from the dormitory. With Kyouka away attending the Commanders' Assembly, Azuma Himari, the current vice chief of the Seventh Unit, took command and immediately began issuing orders.
Accompanied by Suruga Shushu, another member of the Seventh Unit, they mounted their vehicles and moved out, aiming to secure the gate before any Shuuki could slip through.
"It's terrible timing that the Chief is away," Himari sighed as she gripped the steering wheel. "We'll just have to handle this ourselves for now."
Himari drove the jeep with Nei seated beside her in the passenger seat, while Shushu rode alongside them on her motorcycle, keeping pace as they sped toward the emerging gate.
"We're close!" Nei called out, pointing ahead.
"Then hold on tight, Nei! We're going full blast!" Himari shouted, pushing the accelerator harder.
Moments later, the site of the temporary gate came into view. As soon as they stopped, Shushu swung off her motorcycle and let out an annoyed groan at the sight of Shuuki pouring in.
"Lucky for us, this one's smaller than usual," Shushu said, stretching her arms. "Still annoying, though."
Himari climbed onto the back of the jeep, steadying herself as she took a deep breath. Even after all her experience, fighting without their chief nearby left a tight knot in her chest.
"Stay sharp," Himari said as her arms morphed smoothly into machine guns. "Never let your guard down."
Nei stood nearby, already holding a talisman at the ready in case things went south.
"Yes, ma'am!" Shushu grinned cheekily and snapped a salute. "These guys are nothing, so no need to worry!"
Himari gave a wry smile. She was used to Shushu's thrill-seeking nature, but it still made her uneasy, especially when things could spiral out of control in an instant.
As the wave of Shuuki surged forward, Shushu raised her hand. Her ability activated, and her body began to grow larger and larger while her clothes expanded with her. Towering like a building, she grinned and slammed her fist into the ground, crushing Shuuki beneath her through the sheer force of the impact.
Not wanting to be left behind, Himari continued firing her machine gun. Endless streams of bullets tore into the horde, ripping Shuuki apart under overwhelming firepower.
"Ora, ora, ora, ora!" Shushu roared as she pummeled the Shuuki with her fists, occasionally stomping them into the ground for good measure.
She suddenly paused, glancing downward as she felt something crawling. Several Shuuki were trying to climb up her legs.
"Tch." Shushu shook violently, sending them flying through the air. "That's not how you treat a delicate lady, you know."
Irritation flaring, she lashed out with a kick, crushing the remaining Shuuki in a burst of rage.
On the other side of the battlefield, Himari kept firing without pause, gunning down every enemy that came into her line of sight. Her focus never wavered, not even for a second.
"There's no end to them," Himari muttered through clenched teeth.
Minutes stretched into what felt like hours as the battle dragged on. Without their chief, every movement demanded extra effort. So when the number of Shuuki finally began to dwindle, the relief was overwhelming.
"Even if there are fewer of them, not having our chief really makes a huge difference in efficiency," Shushu commented. Despite her usual confidence, exhaustion was catching up to her, and her massive form slowly shrank back to normal.
With Himari handling the final cleanup, they had more or less succeeded in stopping the Shuuki's advance.
"I really need a bath after this," Himari groaned as her arms reverted to normal and she rolled her shoulders, finally able to relax now that the battlefield had quieted.
Smiling, Nei stepped closer and gently patted Himari. "Good job today," she giggled.
Himari simply nodded in response. Seeing Nei smile really soothed her, Himari thought to herself.
Shushu walked back toward the jeep and joined the conversation. "Still, this gate is taking its sweet time," she complained. "I wanted to finish playing the new Tekken. If the chief were here, this would've been way less tiring."
"Can't be helped," Himari replied. "I heard the Assembly is discussing the mishap in Kofu. I'm curious what she'll end up telling us later."
As Himari and Shushu talked, Nei suddenly stiffened. Her clairvoyance flared, and her expression drained of color.
"This is bad," Nei said, panic creeping into her voice. "Another huge number is coming!"
Both Shushu and Himari snapped to attention.
"Another wave?" Shushu growled. "Can't they just drop dead already?!"
"U-Um, they just appeared out of nowhere," Nei said, scrambling to explain. "They came out of thin air—just… poof!"
Himari clicked her tongue as an unbelievable number of Shuuki appeared. Where they came from would have to wait. Right now, the priority was wiping them out.
"Shushu, you still got enough gas left?" Himari asked, forcing herself to brace for yet another round.
"Hell yeah I do—well, I want to say that," Shushu cracked her neck. "But I'll go until I drop!"
Just as the Shuuki began closing in, Nei froze. Something was shining above them.
At first she thought it was debris. Then a flare. No— that shape was wrong. Too clean. Too human.
"Something's coming!" Nei yelled, panic sharp in her voice. "Straight down!"
Himari and Shushu looked up just in time to see a blinding spark plummeting from the sky like a meteor that had missed every memo about subtlety.
"Is that a—"
The object crashed directly onto a Shuuki.
BOOM
The impact shook the ground, flattening the Shuuki into a grotesque smear and throwing up a choking cloud of dust that swallowed the battlefield whole.
"What the hell was that?!" Himari barked, momentarily forgetting they were still surrounded.
"I don't know, and I don't like it," Shushu replied, staring into the dust.
The dust began to clear. A silhouette emerged. Someone was standing there. Casually. On top of the completely pancaked Shuuki.
Then the figure struck a pose—one foot forward, finger pointed skyward—moving dramatically for absolutely no reason.
"Ore, Sanjou!!" the man in the suit shouted at full volume.
A beat of silence.
"…Eh?"
Nei, Shushu, and Himari all voiced it at once, their brains collectively failing to keep up with whatever the hell had just descended in front of them.
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Author's Note:
Another short chapter because I have a lot of assignments to do today (don't cram please)