#earthboundwind

“No! Kid, wait!” Daichi’s shouted as he lunged to catch the back of the young woman’s belt as she stood up from cover. His fingers caught the edge of her belt, but she twisted away before he could get a good grasp and opened up with her ATT-4 on the advancing Vanduul. One went down under the withering laser fire and the rest were quick to duck behind cover.

Before Daichi could get his feet underneath him, Nozomu stepped past their barricade and slowly walked towards the concealed xenos. She’d been unusually distant after the news of the Vanduul’s attack on the Orion system, but he never would have believed she was suicidal. Not Nozomu... Not Crow team’s Kid. She was moody, sure, but there was always a joke or barb at the ready. This just couldn’t be happening.

“Fuck! Covering fire!” the male called and stood up fully to bring his P4 to bear. The larger weapon let out its signature bark as it spat energized particles down the hallway. Half a heartbeat passed before the rest of Crow team added their own hail of fire to the mix causing a few more xenos to hit the floor, but it wasn’t fast enough to prevent their return fire from raking over Nozomu’s armor. She made no noise as she dropped, just slumping to the floor.

Crow team moved up and drove the Vanduul back down the hall, but even before Daichi could get close enough for a bio readout, he knew the woman was gone; no shields or armor could protect someone from that much focused firepower. Tossing the heavy gun aside, he rolled Nozomu onto her back and had to keep his lips tight as he saw the burned and twisted remains of her chest plate. “Hey, Kid, what the fuck was that for? We had a plan, dammit all,” he said with the slightly annoyed cheer that all medics employed when facing mortal injuries.

“Nothing can hurt me now,” the woman calmly replied as she stared at the ceiling.

“That’s just the vitamin M, Kid,” Daichi replied as he cracked open a pack of biofoam. The applicator was pressed against the ruined armor’s front, hissing as it belched coagulant and medical nano machines onto the wounds. “Gave you the good stuff, yeah? You’ll be fine in a bit and then I’m going to kill you for this stupidity. Can’t kill the ‘duul if you’re in the medbay!”

With surprising strength, Nozomu grabbed Daichi’s collar and pulled him closer to her face. “Bury me,” she said as her eyes locked directly onto the man’s. “Home. Armitage. Take it back from them...” Before he could reply, the woman’s eyes lost focus and her grip on his armor loosened and fell loose.

“Honored Yamanushi…” The courier stepped into the daitengu’s training hall, sheathed sword in one hand and large stack of bound papers in the other. The two hadn’t really talked all week, but one would be hard-pressed to not notice that she had been practically sleepwalking through the days. Today, though, she looked slightly better for all the wear. Perhaps it was because she had gradually learned to get some actual sleep.

The girl approached the elder and took her seat on her knees, placing both items between them. “I’ve completed what you requested of me, sir. Here is your sword and all the paperwork you wanted me to fill out.” Not to mention the unwieldy book that still sat next to her mat in her room. Still, Nozomu bowed low before the man now, awaiting what judgment he might have.

“Hrm... it all appear to be in order...”  He shuffled the papers  and placed them to one side before looking over Nozomu, “So...  Have you become acclimatized to hearing it?  That’s good.  After I place these in the main offices for processing, the next part comes.  You may sleep with it sheathed now, but it must stay beside your bed.  In the morning, when you wake up, You will need to unsheathe it...  and simply hold it.  Hold it for a few minutes.  Get the feel of it, learn the weight.  You will still need to maintain the blade, however.”

He rubbed his beard, “When you can draw it without flinching, then you are to practice swings instead of holding it.  If you would like to try increasing your willpower, I suggest using a waterfall and meditating under it.”

“Oh, a package? How unusual. And it’s from... Nue... Houjuu? That’s strange. I wasn’t aware that tengu were in charge with postal services. Now let’s see-...”

“What. W-Why are there candles?... In the box?... Is she implying that the temple brushes their teeth with wax?”

[[Yep! Fully aware. Also, you can say the game’s name... It’s not like some sort of trigger or anything silly like that.

“Chief Editor Yuutamo! Do you… Ah… Ah tuunth’re peelos Ah ohneek ha-breenth?! Veesh’re Ah bareilleth'ne-dot ahnee? You should be far away from here, at least for a few days!” Her face was already growing red in her emotional state, but the she could only hope that her wavering voice was still in some way compelling.

“Ah sailu yedeecee, yefallos Tsubasa, srom Ki fless yeko min jeegas yedi clooth...,” Daichi replied as he finished penning the last of a stack of letters. When he glanced up, there was a crazed look in his eyes. 

“It’s happening, friend! Nosol bareilleth’ne-dot; sef-viise twertth’ne-rem Ki’em!”

“Well that wasn’t so bad! And here I was thinking I’d end up seriously hurt.” Apparently some bumps and cuts didn’t qualify for someone whose definition of ‘bad’ was being beat up by delinquents. “So the Heida household sent these back to you along with a letter, Honored. They already covered the cost for the return delivery, too.”

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Oh gosh! Hina didn't pay much attention to the things she was carrying and was instead drawn to the injuries on the girl herself, floating around her and trying very hard not to reach out and touch her.