Thunder roared in the distance as heavy clouds rolled in, but in the darkness of the night, only witnessed by the moon that was safe in it’s dark abyss, it wasn’t only rain that threatened to fall.
As Natsuki raced through the trees on her father’s bike, struggling to maintain control in the soggy conditions, she was also being hailed upon by an array of bullets flying past her at lightening speed, some managing to graze her flesh, but thankfully none had sunk into her vulnerable tissue yet.
Up until this point, everything had gone according to plan. Jousuke had led his men into a night battle with the enemy, effectively causing a ruckus as Natsuki carefully and secretively zipped across the distance from the Resistance’s camp and the enemy’s. Even when she burst through the Noble’s now relatively deserted encampment, everything was still going perfectly, she had even managed to take out a few of the remaining soldiers with her handgun as she searched for the commander’s tent. When she had finally located it, she drove right through the entrance to find the man sleeping in his cot. Of course, he had woken up at the sound of the bike’s engine, but he wasn’t alive long enough to do anything about it. Her mission accomplished, Natsuki had begun the retreat back to safety. She knew it would be dangerous, she had expected that, but she hadn’t expected the enemy to chase after her on equally fast and maneuverable vehicles. What made it worse was that they were two-seaters, meaning while one person drove, the other was free to open fire, something that she couldn’t do.
Risking it, Natsuki glanced over her shoulder only to be blinded by the lights of the hover-bikes barreling behind her. Turning back ahead, she whipped her arm out behind her and blindly fired off a round from her handgun, smirking when she heard an explosion and the startled cries of the two men who had been riding the vehicle that was now in smoldering pieces. That small victory was short lived, however, as a second bike came speeding out in front of her, causing her to turn sharply to avoid crashing into the thing. Swerving down this new path, Natsuki knew they must be trying to direct her into a trap and quickly turned again back in the direction she had previously been headed.
She clearly heard the bullet being fired before everything turned to chaos, almost as if the blast had been the only sound present at that precise moment.
A loud pop erupted behind her, and she felt the back tire give, her grip on the handles proving to be useless in controlling the damaged vehicle. The back of the bike slid around, and she was suddenly sliding horizontally for several feet before ramming into the giant redwood, sending her violently flying through the air before landing roughly, everything instantly fading to darkness.
“Sh…Shizu…ru…?”
“Natsuki?!”
Forcing her eyelids open, Natsuki’s met a pair of dark eyes that were staring down at her in concern.
“Hey,” the woman said with a smile while petting the girl’s hair gently.
“Always so reckless…I thought I told you before to be more careful,” Shizuru chided, caressing Natsuki’s cheek now.
“S-Sorry…” was all the raven-haired soldier could manage.
Turning her head, she could feel the warmth from Shizuru’s legs that she was currently using as a pillow, but was baffled that she couldn’t make out her surroundings at all.
“Where are we…?”
“Shh…It doesn’t matter…”
With a groan, Natsuki pulled herself into a sitting position only to take in a completely white room. Well, that was if it was a room, there didn’t seem to be any walls, only an endless plain of nothingness.
“Are you feeling better?”
“Y-Yeah, I feel fine…but…how did you get here? How did you find me?”
Without a word, Shizuru stood, and Natsuki quickly did the same.
“Shizuru?”
There was still no reply as the woman continued only to stare at her with a blank expression.
“Shizu—Agh!”
Suddenly, a sharp pain spread across Natsuki’s right temple, and she instantly pressed her palm to the aching spot. At the feel of warm liquid incasing her hand, she retracted it only to see that it was covered in blood.
“Wh-What…? Mgh!”
It was her left shoulder that began to throb this time, the pain shooting down her entire arm. Stumbling back a few steps, the raven-haired girl was shocked when four walls suddenly shot up from the ground, entrapping her in a clear box.
Natsuki watched as Shizuru ran up to the casing, spreading her hand against the glass as she screamed her name, but the dark haired girl couldn’t hear a word as she tried to beat on the surface with her one good hand.
“Shizuru!”
Still she couldn’t hear a thing, only managing to lip-read the other woman saying her name over and over, and Natsuki couldn’t help but press her hand against the wall as well, the clear obstruction preventing them from touching.
And then they began to drift apart, a panic spreading over both their faces as the distance began to grow faster and faster with each passing second.
“Shizuru! Shizuru! No! Please! Shizuru!”
Breathing heavily, Natsuki jolted awake only to regret the movement moments later when the pain of her forehead and left arm set in.
“Kid! Thank god you woke up. I was starting to get worried...”
Aligning her vision, the emerald-eyed girl noticed for the first time that she was back in the woods, her uncle chained up to the tree across from her in a similar fashion to herself. She could tell it was evening because of the setting sun casting the sky into hues of orange and purple as the heavens sprinkled down light tears upon them.
“Uncle…what?”
“You got captured,” Jousuke informed his niece, “When you never showed up, I gathered some men and we came after you—“
“And got caught yourselves…” Natsuki groaned, “How long have I been out?”
“Dunno. A few days maybe? You must have suffered from a concussion by the look of that gash over your eye.”
She might not be able to see it, but Natsuki could definitely feel the wound, along with the blood that had run down and dried on the right side of her face.
“I’d say my shoulder is dislocated too,” she added with a wince.
“So what happened?” the man questioned.
“The back tire of the bike got blasted and I lost control. Don’t know too much after that.”
“Did you manage to knock off their leader?”
A smirk graced the girl’s battered features, “Of course. No way I’d get like this without someone paying a price.”
Despite the situation, the older male couldn’t stifle a small laugh at the girl’s tough act, “Daisuke in female form, I’m tellin’ ya…But hey…”
“Hmm?”
“Who is this, uh, Shizuru?”
“What?”
“You kept saying her name in your sleep. She someone important?”
That dream…
“She’s a…friend…back at Garderobe.”
“Ah, I guess she is important then.”
“Y-Yeah—“
Their conversation was cut short when footsteps were heard approaching, and sure enough, a triad of Northern soldiers came into view moments later. The leader of the group walked straight to Natsuki, kneeled down in front of her, and forcefully grabbed her by the chin.
“So you finally woke up. That’s good, now you can talk.”
Standing once again, he turned to leave, but not before giving out a command, “Unchain her and take her to the interrogation tent.”
A pair of ‘yes sirs’ were snapped in unison before the two boys obliged, one working on the chains while the other kept a bayonet pointed at Natsuki’s face.
Once she was freed, the two young soldiers marched her into the center of the camp and towards the inevitable hell that was sure to come.
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