Mai-X-Project Act I: Zero Hour [Complete]

Feeling the presence of something light on her head, Lucchini stirred, slowly opening her eyes and lifting a hand to grip a red scarf. Having heard most of the conversation (much to her annoyance as she couldn't truly sleep after all) she decided to contribute. Yawning loudly, she began,
"Well I'm from the Duchy of Romagna. It's in Europe and close to Ostmark, Galia and the battleground of what used to be Karlsland. The Neuroi invaded Earth, their big and come in all sorts of weird shapes. You have to take out its red crystal core to kill it, and that usually takes a whole team of Witches. My unit was the 501st Joint Fighter Wing. We did a few special operations since we were an elite task force, like liberating Galia and saving Venezia and Romagna from the Neuroi and their hives. Even though it sounds dangerous, it was a lot of fun. Especially getting to measure everyone."
She took a moment to giggle and fondly remember all the shocked faces she had seen in the past.
"I really missed my mama though. It's a good thing my best friend Shirley acted like her and was nice to me, otherwise I would have lost it. Then there's Maria back in Rome...I miss her too. I feel a little bit like a terrible girlfriend for making her worry so much sometimes, but we both know that if we dont do anything, our home will burn and the entire country will be broken, just like Orussia. So that's why I always try my best and never give up."
Lifting a hand, she patted Mai's chest.
"Then again, old habits die hard." she said with a wide grin.
Tossing the scarf to her right at Ryuuko, Lucchini continued to stare at Mai's boobs

Ryuko took the scarf from Lucchini's hand and placed it on her lap. Now it was her turn to open about herself, which she sucked at by the way. Oh well, she might as well try to explain her story as good as she could.

"Well, this is going to sound stupid and crazy but just bear with me, okay?"

"I live in Tokyo Bay, which is pratically a wasteland. It's been ruled over by Honnoji academy's student council, led by Satsuki Kiryūin. The council members wear these fancy uniforms called Goku Uniforms. They give the student council super powers, which are used to pushed people around. The prissy bastards treat the school as their castle basically."

Ryuko holds her scissor blade longsword to show to everyone in the room.

"I transferred to Honnōji Academy looking for the owner of the other half of the scissor blade, the person who killed my father. I came across this uniform," Ryuko pointed to her current attire, "And I named him Senketsu, he's sort of a vampire sentient. With his powers, I was able to stand in equal grounds with Kiryuin and her lackeys, the Elite Four. I've been fighting against them for the sake of finding out the truth behind my dad's murder. During that time, I was living with a girl named Mako Mankanshoku and her family. During my time at the school, I met a pervy teacher by the name of Aikuro Mikisugi, who would strip while he explained things. He suppose to be a leader of some resistance organization called "Nudist Beach", stupid name, I know. Please don't ask why it's named that. So, anyway, I was able to find my father's killer, but, she was no force to be taken lightly. Harime Nui, I lost to that bitch twice already. Now it's all about me training to become strong enough to defeat her and Kiryuin once and for all."

"I was on my way to pay my respects to my dad's grave before I joined with Nudist beach to infiltrate Honnoji academy. Until the weather got all funky and I accidental drove into a portal. And here I am, spending time with you guys, in spite of what's happened earlier. And that's about it."

The seventeen year old looked at the scarf on her lap, "So, I give this to someone else, right?"

Ryuko looked to Saber's direction and gave the red scarf to the blonde girl. "Here you go."

Saber took the scarf in hand "Thank you Ryuko-san"

Saber began her tale

"I was born in England around the year 500, raised as a boy during the time the Roman empire was fleeing my homeland due to the Saxon invasions, when I was a teenager I pulled Caliburn from the stone and thus found out my lineage and became crowned king of England, given the sword Excalibur by the lady of the lake, with the knights of the round table I ruled England until the battle of Camlann where I died against Mordred, my son, in battle"

Saber's grip on her sword's hilt tightened "Later I was summoned as an epic spirit in two separate Holy Grail wars under different Magus masters fighting such heroes as Giles de Rais, Gilgamesh, Cu Chulainn and much more, and now I have been summoned again...as to why I am not sure, all I know is my master is the girl currently downing a bottle of Sake like water"

Midori put down the bottle and looked up "Huh?"

Saber grabbed the scarf and walked over to Hikari, throwing it in his face "You're up"

"That wasn't very nice, Saber-chan!" yelled Mai, taken aback by the blond who she thought had a calm demeanor.

"No, it's okay." replied the swordsman, wrapping the scarf around. "The idea of a female King Arthur...well, that says it all doesn't it?"

"Forget it, Hikari-kun. Anyway, you are definitely from Earth, but how did you obtain such a range of abilities?"

Mai focuses her violet eyes on Hikari's blade that cut hundreds of undead earlier.

"Then there's that sword of yours. I've never seen a hilt shaped like a crescent moon before...KYAAA! LUCCHINI-CHAN!" screamed the sensitive Mai as her large breasts are squeezed by the cat-like witch.

---

"Heh, it's one in a million. A sacred treasure given to me by the Guardian of Time and my master. She said it belonged to a powerful Queen who was responsible for the creation of the universe. To be honest, I still don't know why she chose me to protect innocent lives and enter races with the most insane human beings on Earth. Not that any of that matters, it's something I've always dreamed of. When she first discovered me, I was homeless with no future."

~~~

"Reminds me of working with Setsuna-sama after she decided to take me under her wing. Immediately she aimed to have me train my body, mind and spirit so well that I'd be able to fight anything on Earth. Animals, spirits, monsters and as you already can tell; the undead. Of course,
most of the Earth's troubles came from nature's most predatory creation; we humans. Those corrupted by greed or those who murder innocent people and rape children. The ones I encountered were far worse; almost accomplishing domination of the planet in their own twisted way. A few years ago in Los Angeles, a maniacal woman with the power of blood control, gathered street gangs from all over North America just to kill us. Instead, she probably killed thousands running her 1,776 foot tall tank across the city just to kill me, Shin and Rain. We stopped her, but the U.S. government sure had a field day years later, blaming us for the damages. They knew they couldn't do anything about it since the KnightZ were simply an urban legend and they wanted to keep it that way. Even after everything we've been through, I wouldn't start my life over again. Training to become what I am...well, it's an art in itself, people. You know you don't start at the top. You work your way up by perfecting your skills. I did with my swordsmanship and mach speed, Shin with his martial arts and fire manipulation and Rain with her judo and ability to draw energy from nature. In my case, I climbed my way to the top and as I learned from Setsuna-sama, there is no top. We climb an endless ladder because there is always
someone who had a head start. It's up to us to keep up the pace if we desire to grow stronger; more polished as fighters. My story is too long to finish in one sitting, but why I started doing this is simple. All I wanted to do was save lives; become something I can be proud of. My priorities remain the same, only with my best friend and girlfriend waiting for me back home, I'm hoping we waste Arika and anything she throws at us, so I can see them again."

At that moment, Hikari remembered Rain's smiling face. Hearing the voice of her calling out to him, requesting another sparring session and how much she loved him. He sighed a bit, missing his beautiful Japanese partner. The only one he could express any form of concern or worry to. He continued on.

"A few months prior to being sucked into this alternate universe, I was told by Setsuna-sama that I was not from Earth. Neither was Shin. And though Rain had advanced power, she was the only one who was confirmed human."

The young man look at his own reflection in the crescent moon hilt, smiling away in satisfaction.

"No wonder I stopped aging after the age of 20."

He returned the Moonlight Blade to the scabbard hanging around his shoulder. Thinking for a moment about all the cruel men and women he cut down over the years with his treasure.

"Without going into specific details about Infernia, the dragon race planet Shin came from or how I was an actual Knight who protected the daughter of the universe's creator, I will say that I was devastated when facing the truth about us. At first. New friends reminded me that nothing was
going to change. "Hikari Tsunami" is who I am and what I do best."

Hikari unwrapped himself and passes Mai's scarf over to the tall "Amazonian Dragon Lady" as he so eloquently put it.

"Hey fantasy Shaq, it's your turn."

Luu Sky Sapphire wrote:"That wasn't very nice, Saber-chan!" yelled Mai, taken aback by the blond who she thought had a calm demeanor.

Saber bowed in apology to Mai "I am sorry Mai-San, that was indeed disrespectful" Saber kept a death glare on Hikari throughout his story. Who was he to judge her? He never had to deal with half the pain and sacrifice she had been through, no matter what he had seen.

Xan snorted as she took the proffered scarf, running her fingers over it to ascertain it’s quality. Not bad, but I’ve worn better.

“The world I’m from is called Qismah,” Xanda began, tone slipping into her melodic ‘story-telling’ voice. Midnight flew over to her and landed gracefully on her shoulder.

“There are as many sentient races on Qismah as there are individual nations, though the nations cooperate more than the races” she commented wryly. “I was born in Æsa, near the very tip of the western peninsula, north of Domhildr. My mother was a prominent woman in Talfyr society, though I didn’t know that then.” She scowled at the memory of that particular discovery.

Shaking her head she continued. “When I was seven, the village we lived in was raided and destroyed in an Elven attack led by my father. I was separated from my mother and, with no home to return to, headed south. I figured I had a better chance of surviving in the Æsan capitol, Domhildr. On the way there, I raided a merchant convoy for food. One of the things I stole, however, was a Wyvern egg. It hatched before I could try and cook it, thankfully, and Midnight and I have been together since.”

Midnight preened and nuzzled her Bonded behind her ear.

“By the grace of the Spirits, I managed to make it to Domhildr alive and in one piece. I spent the next few years on the streets with Midnight, stealing what food and clothes I could. Soon enough, though, I stole from the wrong person. She was a Talfyr woman with tattoos I’d never seen before crawling along her arms. After a lecture, she and her husband took me in as their own. As it turned out, her husband—Kunzite—and I both carried the same Guardis abilities. The two of them taught me everything I know.”

She smiled softly as she recalled her adoptive Talfyr parents.

“After a couple decades, I began to travel through the rest of Æsa. The land and people were fascinating; from the warm, temperate peninsula in the west; to the rugged, unforgiving glaciers in the north; to the cold, dry peninsula I called home in the east. I wanted to see it all.”

She chuckled. “Of course, when I wound up pregnant after a moment of curiosity, I high-tailed it back home. I was 34 when I had my first child; Edelweiss.” She smiled warmly, eyes seeming to glow with emotion. “She’s grown into an amazing, loving young woman with a wonderful wife and—I suspect—my first grandchild on the way. I couldn't be more proud of her if I tried.”

“When I was in my mid-sixties,” she continued, “I went to go visit the shrine of the Dark Thunder—an ancient Dragon no one had seen for thousands of years and who was, generally, thought to be the Dragon Spirit by the Æsans.”

She snorted. “Turns out, he was very much alive and well. And his actual name is Summanus.” She paused with a lopsided grin. “Boy was that fun when the rest of my unit realized that one of the three Great Dragons had been flying with them for the past few years.”

“Anyway,” she brought herself back on track, “Summanus met me there at his own shrine—which says a lot about his character, not that he’ll ever admit it—and offered me a deal. He told me that there would come a time when the Elves would need to be stopped, again. And that it would be better to keep the Scream Splitter—the most powerful of the three Great Dragons—out of it if at all possible. He told me of the military in Quintus, and how they had a division dedicated entirely to Dragons and their Bonded Riders.”

“Naturally, having no Human blood in me, I wouldn’t be able to Bond to Summanus like the others in the Draconic Division. Summanus knew this, and offered me a binding magical contract, of sorts, instead. Once the Elves plot had been squashed and the continent returned to peace, we would go our separate ways.”

“We defeated the Elves and their leader—my Aunt, as it were—only to turn around and find the Talfyr were now up to no good.” She shook her head. “That was around the time I discovered neither of my biological parents were who I thought. My father, Prince Alkordi, who I’d thought a villain my whole life, had been playing his half-sister for a fool the entire time. Everything he did during that war, he did to protect me and help take down Vilandra. And my mother…she was one of the most prominent Talfyr researchers, funding genetic experiments and torturing the survivors in the name of research…hell, even I was little more than a genetic experiment on her part.”

Xan shook her head and stared into the fire for a moment, recalling the way her world had collapsed around her when she’d found that bit of information out.

“In the end, we were able to free those experiments of theirs that could function in society…and put down those who couldn’t.” She snorted. “Everything’s peaceful for now, but the Elves and Talfyr have hated each other since before the rise of the Dragons. It’s only a matter of time before they’re at war again. Only time will tell if I’ll still be around to see it.”

She glanced up at her audience, taking in their interested expressions. She rather doubted any of them realized how old she really was.

“Skip ahead a couple more decades, and I now have three more children with my wife, Laekna, whom I met during the Elven War.” She smiled again, eyes once again glowing with love for her family. “My youngest, Gæta, is sixteen now. Though if I have my way she won’t be the youngest for much longer.” She shrugged. “Lae’s not terribly thrilled about another two-and-a-half year pregnancy but,” she grinned “it’s her turn now~”

“As for how I got here...” she shrugged and folded the scarf in her hands. “I was out flying with Summanus and Midnight when we got sucked into the portal. Gotta admit, it’s strange actually being able to see a portal. Usually you don’t realize you’ve walked through one until you notice that everyone around you is an Elf.” She crinkled her nose in distaste at that particular memory. “That wasn’t fun.”

Midnight snorted at Xan’s gross understatement.

Xan looked back up at her companions. “Hey Dori," Xan called to Midori, "catch!" She tossed her the scarf.

Midori grabbed the scarf out of mid-air "Nice throw Xan!"

"Well I won't tell you too much" Midori said with a smile "As I don't want to steal too much of Mai's thunder when she tells her tale"

Midori proceeded to down her drink and began "My childhood was normal enough, growing up I fell in love with Manga like Sailor Moon, and shows like Super Sentai and Kamen Rider, I got through school with good grades and made some good friends, best of those was my Best Drinking Buddy forever Yohko, anyway due to some problems in my life and discovering my HiME abilities I ended up as a waitress where i met Mai. after saving her life from an Orphan, basically giant monsters, I became her teacher and friend. After that I created the HiME Rangers, after our final battle I ended up following my dreams as an Archaeologist...but within the year I was back as a teacher. After that I stayed on as a teacher for a another year I then went on to going back to college, where I actually ended up as a Roommate of a fellow HiME, Shizuru-Chan, as I worked towards my Doctorate, so technically I am Doctor Midori Sugiura now"

Midori's glance turned sullen "I was returning to tell Mai and the others the good news in person, then...she came back"

forcing a smile back to her face, "Mai, your turn, tell them how badass we were fighting for Justice, Friendship and Love" she said to her friend handing her back her scarf

Mai accepted her scarf back from her precious friend and official leader of the HiME Sentai. "Thank you, Midori-chan. I'll take things from here."

She had to take a deep breath because it was so much ground to cover. There were a lot of painful memories that led up to the peaceful times after Arika's "demise", so she had to stay focused and tell her new friends the honest truth.

"All I can tell you guys is that once me and my younger brother Takumi hopped on a ferry for Fuuka Academy, my life would never be the same again. I looked up at the glowing star that would forever change my destiny. Before that day, all I wanted was to be a normal teenage girl who took care of her sick brother. Something I took so much pride in. Perhaps a little too much. Almost immediately, I was caught between a fierce battle between two HiME. HIghly Advanced Materializing Equipment. Midori-chan, Akane-chan, Shizuru-kaichou, Natsuki-chan, Fumi-chan, Shiho-chan, Yukino-chan, Nao-chan, Sister Yukariko, Akira-chan, Mikoto-chan and myself.  Twelve chosen women with special powers to battle invading monsters called Orphans with monsters of our own known as CHILDs.

Looks at Kagutsuchi.

"Kagutsuchi happens to be one of them, as is Midori's Gakutenou over there as she mentioned earlier. Discovering Kagutsuchi was a total shocker at the time, but he always watched over me. He protected me even before releasing him from his seal. As the bond between a HiME and a CHILD grows, their power grows. The love we feel for our most precious person is the ultimate level a HiME and her CHILD can reach. That's why..."

Mai had to recollect herself as she knew one of the biggest events of her life was about to resurface.

"...anyway, we also ran into trouble. The Orphans were bad enough as it was, but when a tournament called the "Carnival" was issued by the Obsidian Lord, we were forced to defeat each other in order to save the planet from destruction. Midori-chan was there, defeated by Mikoto-chan who was under control by the Obisdian Lord. One by one, the HiME fell, all culminating at Reito's palace where I was to battle Mikoto-chan. Thanks to the Crystal HiME, the twelve of us were united once more and we defeated Reito's evil form. I thought that would be the end of the fighting but..."

Kagutsuchi lowered his head to nuzzle Mai gently. Mai returned the nuzzle of affection. It helped her continue with the painful memories that Reito had fashioned for her.

"Less than a year later, a new transfer student named Yumemiya Arika came to Fuuka. She was a middle school student who treated me with immense kindness. We all thought she was our friend.
Instead, she was a powerful artificial HiME sent from the SEARRS Foundation as a final attempt to destroy us. Thankfully the android Miyu Greer and artificial HiME Alyssa, two former enemies of ours, joined us in the fight against Arika. Nao was defeated briefly; she was brought back using the last of Miyu's materializing power. The Twelve of us, including Miyu and Alyssa, defeated Arika and her powerhouse bodyguard Laura in a scary space battle. I've never been so frightened in all my life, but Arika had to be stopped. For the first time ever, Kagutsuchi entered my body in order to increase my power drastically. I rushed toward the weakened Arika and...

"I killed her...so I thought."

Her violet gems were consumed by water; a single teardrop fell down her cheek.

"I'm sorry."

Mai got up and ran off from the campsite. Feeling helpless once again, the HiME of flames was convinced that she'll be attending the funerals of all her new friends. It was inevitable and she accepted her fate and the fate of her comrades.

---

Hikari dropped his bottle of tequila after seeing Mai leave a fresh trail of tears in mid-air; running off into the darkness of rubble and neon lights long dimmed. "Miss Tokiha!" yelled out Hikari, concerned for the redhead in all respects. "Midori, come on," calling out to the HiME of wind. "You too, rat breath" scowling at Midnight.

Seeing Mai begin to run off Midori quickly pulls herself up, she heard Hikari call out but was more concerned with her friend at this point, Saber seeing the Distress in her Master's eyes quickly mutters after her "Master, what's wrong?"

Midori puts on the best smile she can and says to the group, "it's fine everyone, just wait here and enjoy the party" with that Midori sprinted as fast as she could after her friend

"Mai...why are you running?" she thought to herself "We need to stick together"

Xan blinked when Mai ran off, and blinked again when Midnight forcibly cleared her mind of alcohol. She frowned when everything caught up with her, rising fluidly to follow Mai as her motherly instincts kicked in.

Midnight flew ahead and landed on Mai’s shoulder, licking up a few tears and trilling softly.

Hikari arrives with the Midori and Xan. he sees that Mai wants to cover her face, but doesn't want to shut out the caring Midnight.

"Hey Midnight, you keep on licking. She needs it at a time like this," says Hikari, walking over to a bus station bench that miraculously survived the onslaught of earlier. He faces towards Mai and with a hushed tone, began to comfort the best he could. "It's about Arika, isn't it?"

"...yes" replied Mai, trying to hide more tears from everyone.

"I'm sorry about what happened to your friends."

Mai looked into Hikari's aqua blue eyes, hearing what she wanted to hear. Not to suck to up, not to get over what happened in her world, but that someone she doesn't even know, cares about her fallen family. Even if they were bonded by the HiME star.

"You too, Midori. But you don't have to fight this battle alone. We're all here. Not because we have to either, right guys?"

Xan placed a hand on Mai’s shoulder when she caught up, squeezing gently.

“We stand with you, Firebug.” Xan agreed, an uncharacteristically serious expression on her face. “That little shitling may be yours to put down in the end, but we’ll do everything we can to make sure you get there.” She shrugged nonchalantly. “The bitch may be powerful, but everyone has a weakness. We just have to find it.”

Midnight wrapped her tail gently around Mai’s neck, purring and nuzzling her as she silently offered her own comfort.

"Mai, I understand how you feel" Midori said her eyes filling with tears as well "We both lost friends, we both have to defeat Arika, but the people we have met..."

Midori said motioning to everyone around her and back at the camp with her arm

"...this motley crew that has come together, I'm sure we can take down Arika like before"

Midori preceded to pat Mai on the back "just as Xan said, everything has a weakness...and we just have to expose hers and take her down for good"

wiping her tears she pulled Mai into a quick hug

"You've got to stay strong Mai, stay strong for all of us...I need you Mai, you give us hope, you have always given us hope" she thought to herself as she let go

Mai hears the words of encouragement, feeling their honesty and warmth. She couldn't bring herself to stop worrying about whatever may come, yet she was given the best support she could ever ask for. Even the others back at camp made it clear that Arika is priority. Mai knew these strangers could easily walk away from this burden. Why didn't they? She shook her head; wiping the tears why and thought to herself, "does it matter?"

"Thank you, everyone. Really, I'm better now. Sometimes I have trouble processing the past when it always seems to catch up. I'll be okay and thank you for caring enough to come after me. Sure you're taken, Hikari?" teased Mai, cutely sticking her tongue out.

Hikari smirked and got to his feet. "One hundred percent. Perhaps in another life, another time, who knows!" laughing as everyone walked back to the campsite.

---

Once Mai arrives at the campsite, she clasps her hands together in apologetic fashion. "Sorry for leaving, everyone. The others helped clear my head a bit."

Saber bows her head "Welcome Back Mai-San, glad you are feeling better"

Appearing from behind, Lucchini grabbed Mai and grinned, her hands dangerously close to the others breasts yet again
"Hehehehe, that's great Mai! Now just let me cop a- OW!"
A sharp pain was all that Lucchini got in response from her friend

"No need to apologize..." Ryuko assured the orange haired woman, "I don't know what it's like to lose friends you are close to, so, who am I to judge? You've been through far worse than any of us."

"Miss Tokiha," Senketsu, "There is no shame in mourning for the fallen ones you have cherished, but please do not forget that you have support right in front of you. We will not let you take in the burden alone."

midori's crazy398 wrote:Appearing from behind, Lucchini grabbed Mai and grinned, her hands dangerously close to the others breasts yet again
"Hehehehe, that's great Mai! Now just let me cop a- OW!"
A sharp pain was all that Lucchini got in response from her friend

"It's okay Lucchini, you can come over here if you want," said Midori with a smile.

"Waaahhh! She was so mean to me!" cried Lucchini as she ran over to Midori and pulled her in for a hug. Burying her face into the others cleavage, she smiled,content.
"Eheheh, now this is what I'm talking about!"

"No worries Mai. You're not alone during this time. We understand what you're going through and we will never judge you at all for this." Gabrielle said as she bowed her head and clasped her hands together.

The swordsman chuckled at Lucchini's bold actions. "Never gets old, eh kid?"

The unsuspecting HiME bounced in sheer awkward bliss. Blushing as she struggles to get Lucchini off, "No...please, Lucchini-chan...kyaa!!!"

The redhead had the urge to laugh at herself and the actions of her pint sized friend, for they were willing to die for her own cause. The world doesn't seem as dark as she once thought. "Thank you again everyone and I hope you enjoyed my cooking. We'll have more tomorrow night!"

"Until all the stock runs out, anyway." chimed in Hikari, reminding everyone that they're stuck in this dimension. "That would be a shame since that was the best ramen bowl that wasn't made by Rain."

"Don't worry, Hikari-kun. I'm sure we'll find a way out somehow."

"Crap!" Ryuko managed with wide geared eyes, pointing to something behind Tsunami and Mai, "Oi, look out, it's that funky portal thing from before!"

Mai turns her attention towards whatever Ryuko is pointing to, noticing a giant portal. The same one that sucked her and her new friends into Tokyo. Only this one seems to be leading to another visible plain. She was hesitant to enter until she remembered what Arika had told her before:

~~~
"We'll meet again, Mai-chan. If you can make it to me, I promise you'll get one final chance to kill me.
~~~

"Pack up, everyone. We're going in."

There was no turning back now, Mai led her team into the unknown where Arika's game was just beginning.

---

“Huff, huff, huff” Natsuki ran through the tall grass, stepping on tree branches and rocks that stood in her way. The crunching sounds of broken twigs were loud enough to scare all of the little creatures in sight, making them cower in fear.  The fog surrounding the tall trees made it hard for the blue-haired girl to see so she tried not to trip over the big roots that were out of the soil. Dirt and mud were kicked up behind her as she ran, dodging the thick branches by a few inches. Duran was running right next to her, firing shots at Orphans standing a few yards away from them.

She couldn’t help believing that it was not true. Shizuru was dead. Natsuki had trouble concentrating and her thoughts were going wild through her brain. How could she have let this happen? What happened? The events that had taken place recently seemed like a blur. It was like an old movie without an ending. Only this time, she was the star and her lover was dead.

“NATSUKI! You can’t worry about this right now. You have Orphans in front of you. Finish them first and then you can have time to figure everything else out.” Natsuki said as she yelled to herself.

Natsuki barely missed a tree limb that was sticking out in front of her. It scraped the side of her cheek causing some blood to flow in the process. She wasn’t worried about that at the moment because she was focused on getting out of these woods and getting to safety.

“DURAN, USE YOUR FLASH CARTRIDGE!” Natsuki yelled as she stopped in her tracks to extend her arm out in front of her. She slid to a halt and planted her feet in the mud, getting a better feeling for the soil.

The light from the cartridge lit up the entire area, blinding the Orphans in the process.. This gave her a little time catch her breath but not for too long. Before she continued running, she did her signature hair flip and gave a slight smirk. The left side of her hair covered her face once it fell back into it’s natural position.

“COME ON DURAN! LET’S GET THEM.” Natsuki said as she continued running.