A New Family

Saving the Girl

Our fun little reunion was over almost as soon as it started.

Guren called our attention towards him. "I'm assigning you all a mission. Go to Harajuku, infiltrate the vampire village, and free the captive humans. After that, go to Shinjuku. Clear?"

We all nodded and headed in the direction Guren pointed us in. It was the first time many of us had really seen the extent of the destruction the world was in. Needless to say, we were shocked.

"This is....terrible," Yoichi muttered. "The world really did fall into ruin... I've always lived in protected in Shibuya in the custody of the JIDA, so I've never been outside the walls. Yuu-kun, Kimizuki-kun, Sachi-chan, you've been outside the walls before, right?"

We all nodded, but Mitsuba seemed annoyed.

"Just because you killed a Horsemen doesn't mean you're some big-shot!" she grumbled. "The barrier weakens them."

I  didn't want to get annoyed, so I blocked her out. The only words I caught were "don't break formation" and "do you wanna die, rookies?!"

Before we knew it, the Harajuku Station came into view ahead of us. It was a simple building with a couple demolished trains adorning the premises. 

"This is the place," Kimizuki announced. "That means there are vampires arou-"

A piercing screech interrupted Kimizuki's sentence. Our heads all snapped towards the entrance of the building, where a child was sprinting towards us. 

"Help me, please!!!" she pleaded. I furrowed my brow in concern. Were the vampires chasing her? My answer came immediately afterwards when a Horseman burst from the building.

"Uh-oh..." I whispered. "Show time!"

I whipped out my ulaks and charged forwards.

"Sachiko, no! Stay in formation!" Mitsuba ordered, but it fell on deaf ears. A child was about to be killed; there was no way in hell I would abandon her. "It's a trap!"

"Sachi, she's right," a voice in my head whispered. "It's just one child. Not worth risking your life over."

"Tsukiyomi?" I replied out loud. "Is that you?"

"Yeah, it's me. By the way, you look like an idiot talking to yourself like that," he answered smugly. "The others can't hear me talking to you."

I rolled my eyes before diving to the side to avoid the incoming Horseman claw. "Look, now's not really a good time. I'm not going to overlook the safety of an innocent child," I thought.

"Look, just call out the words 'Tsuki no Mizu' and swipe an ulak at the creature," Tsukiyomi suggested. Water of the moon? I had no choice but to listen; the Horseman was getting ready to charge.

I rapidly approached the creature and got into a fighting stance. I crossed my right arm across my chest and shouted "Tsuki no Mizu!!" as I swung my arm in an arc in front of me. A stream of glowing water shot out of the blade and sliced into the gigantic Horseman in front of me. (picture the way the water looks in Avatar: The Last Airbender when Aang makes that giant fish thing in the Northern Water Tribe) Its scaly skin sizzled and blistered, making it cry out. It began writhing in pain and lashed out at me. I was struck with one of its flailing limbs and sent flying into an already-destroyed train.

"Sachi-chan!" Yuu cried. I heard his footsteps quickly approaching me.

"Yuu, I'm fine!" I called as I sat up carefully. "Go get the little girl out of here!"

He ignored me and kept approaching my slightly bloody self. "Kimizuki got her. The Horseman is dead," he explained. "It's only you left. Are you okay?"

I did a quick self-evaluation and came to the conclusion that I was only a bit scratched up and bruised. Nothing serious. "I'm alright, promise," I said as I stood up with the aid of Yuu's arm. "Now come on, we have a mission to complete."

As soon as the words left my mouth, three cloaked figures dropped from the sky. Vampires? Definitely. Powerful? Almost certainly. Time for a fight? Without a doubt. Bring it on.

"Tsukiyomi, can you help me out here?" I called out loud. I felt a rush of power and heard Tsukiyomi chuckle.

"No problem, kiddo. Let's fight."

I looked at my reflection in the blades of my ulaks and noticed a crescent moon symbol on my left temple with star-like spots trailing below. Powerful, yet unbelievably awesome.

"Lend me your power, Asuramaru!" Yuu called from beside me. He pulled me to his side and swung his sword in a wide arc in front of us. A black stream of energy flew out and threw the vampires back. I noticed Kimizuki join in the fight and mutter something about being an idiot for believing they'd abandon a child. Then joined Yoichi's arrows and Mitsuba's axe. I began to feel strangely left out, so I jumped into the fray as well, sending more streams of Tsukiyomi's "moon water" at the vampires. Within moments, the vampires were fleeing and we were safe.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

SMACK

"What were you thinking, idiot?! Your actions endangered the whole team!" Mitsuba screamed. 

Yuu frowned slightly then responded. "Yeah, but I don't regret doing it. We had to save that child. I would do it again in a heartbeat, no matter the situation. But really, I am sorry...."

Mitsuba, although seemingly unsatisfied with Yuu's answer, turned to me. "And you! You didn't do anything to stop him from breaking formation. You even helped him! No, you broke first, didn't you?! You're supposed to be helping me run this team!"

I flinched out of habit then bit back my emotion so as not to worsen the situation. "I didn't stop him because I trust him. I would do the same for any member of this squad. And yes, I am here to help you, so here's my advice: try believing in your teammates instead of automatically assuming they'll fuck things up. Also, I really wouldn't suggest hitting my brother in front of me."

Mitsuba backed up a step after my last warning, but still kept up her glare. "You God-forsaken Hyakuyas.......I hate people like you the most," Mitsuba growled. "People like you two are the kind who get their team killed."

"Look, I'm sorry. It's my fault. I won't do it again, promise," Yuu apologized sincerely. 

"Um, excuse me," a tiny voice broke in from behind us. We all turned to see the little girl we save earlier. "All of you.....I owe you my life. Thank you for saving me!" she announced with an adorable smile. We all grinned at her utter cuteness and accepted her thanks. 

Mitsuba knelt down in front of the girl and took her hands. "Everything will be alright now. The Japanese Imperial Demon Army will take care of you," she explained with a caring tone of voice, a complete turnaround from literally 30 seconds prior. The little girl again said thanks and skipped off to a couple guards who were waiting to take her to her new home. Once she was gone, Mitsuba shot up and turned to Yuu and I with her gloved finger pointed. "I still hate you both!" she exclaimed before spinning and stalking off.

"Bipolar much?" I whispered under my breath. Yuu chuckled a bit and nudged me with his elbow.

"Don't be rude, Sachi."

Shinoa sighed lightly. "Well, that's Mitsu for ya. She may be a bit tough, but for good reason. Try to be nice, okay?"

"No promises....." I mumbled. "Anyway, the enemy knows we're here now. What should we do, team?"

"I wish we didn't have to fight," Yoichi complained. I put my hand on his shoulder and squeezed a bit to show my agreement.

"We have to change our strategy," Kimizuki muttered more to himself than anyone else.

I turned to Yuu to see him staring off into space in the direction Mitsuba left.

What's her story?