@aruka: Thanks for the info!
And here starts chapter 2...
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Chapter 2 Part 1
Note: This chapter takes place in a timeline parallel to the first chapter.
Jurina vaulted over the metal box, firing her heavy rifle at the wooden target with a vampire painted crudely on the surface as it popped out at her. Rolling expertly around several barrels and boxes, she unloaded her gun in the face of another wooden cutout. Dashing through, she reached a small area guarded by two cutouts. Without missing a beat, she dispatched them and rolled dramatically into the room. When she stabilized on the floor again in a kneeling position, she hit the large, red button sitting on a pedestal in the middle of the room with all her might.
Red lights began to flash, and a static voice called out, “Simulation, complete. 19 minutes, 48 seconds.”
Not a bad time. Breathing hard from the exertion, Jurina stood up and headed to the door behind the pedestal. Ascending up the stairs behind the door, she arrived at the spacious debriefing room. Standing in the room was her captain, Akimoto Sayaka, and her training partner and best friend, Yagami Kumi. Jurina shot them a satisfied grin.
Sayaka raised an eyebrow. “Well done. However, you make way too many unnecessary movements. If those cutouts were real, they would have cut you in half before you even have a chance to raise your gun. You have to remember that unexpected things can, and will happen,” she voiced.
The smile on Jurina’s face immediately fell, and she hung her head.
“Pfft.” Apparently, Kumi seemed to find the situation amusing. Sayaka shot her a withering look, and she promptly took her hands from her mouth and stared at a particularly interesting speck on the floor.
Sayaka sighed, but then a small smile alit her face, and she mussed up Jurina’s hair fondly. “But I think you’re ready for a real assignment now, after all this time,” she relented. “You too, Kumi,” she shouted over her shoulder.
Instantly, the smiles were back on their faces and stars seemed to light their eyes as they stared unbelieving at their captain. “Really?!” they shouted at the same time.
Sayaka chuckled and replied, “Yes.” She picked up her report papers and headed to the exit. “Get some rest for now, and report to cadet briefing at 8:00 tonight to get outfitted. Don’t get too excited, it’s just a lower level mission for now.”
When the door closed again, Jurina and Kumi finally moved from their stunned states. “Hell yeah!” They shared their joy with a high-five.
They left the training center and headed back to the sleeping quarters. Back in the room she shared with Kumi, she collapsed onto her bed, intending to take a nap before they had to go. Kumi fell onto the bed next to hers.
“Can’t believe we’re finally getting a real mission,” Kumi breathed excitedly.
“Yeah,” Jurina replied. How many years have they lived within the Order? All Jurina could remember of her life before this was the orphanage she lived at with Kumi. The two were notorious troublemakers, and the Matron had difficulty convincing people to adopt them. So, she opted to give them into the service of the Order instead, as they could no longer stay in the orphanage. The Order accepted the both of them gladly, and they began working, starting in the main branch.
She wouldn’t say it wasn’t hard, as she tried to fit in and find a place in the complicated societal structure of the Order. At first, it wasn’t all that much different from the orphanage; chores, schooling, and the occasional smacking they would get from the nuns when they decided to pull a quick prank but got caught.
When the time came for them to choose something specific to branch off into, both Jurina and Kumi had already decided to join the Hunters. They had seen the small squads, drilling in the field below them, clad in their gear, countless times from their bedroom windows. There was no way they were going to go into anything tedious and boring like teaching or becoming nuns. The stories they had heard from either the nuns or the other children always illustrated the Hunters as heroic beings who banished vampires and demons that plagued the world. Of course, their job also consisted of keeping peace within the cities in cooperation with the police.
The nuns agreed that their energy would be best spent among the Hunters and sent them to begin their training.
Jurina and Kumi were naturals. Their boundless energy helped them shine above the other training cadets, and Jurina was a quick thinker while Kumi was unparalleled among the trainees with her use of a gun. However, they often let their confidence get ahead of them.
After their transfer from the main branch, it was with the help and guidance of their current captain, Akimoto Sayaka, that they were able to improve and make use of their skills.
Jurina pulled a thick, leather-bound book from under her covers. On the cover, in shiny red lettering, Demon Lore was written. She opened up to a page bookmarked with a black and white photo of Kumi and herself, standing in front of the main capital of the Order, giant grins on their faces.
The page was on vampires, and featured a drawing of one, clad in a dark, ragged cloak, a hollow, sunken face with icy white skin poking out from the top. It bares its monstrous fangs and its bony arm claws at the reader.
“You’re going down!” Jurina pumped her fist in the air, causing Kumi to burst into giggles.
“Hahaha! Shut up and sleep, Jurina! I’m tired,” she chided, rolling over to face the wall.
Jurina smiled as she suddenly felt the exhaustion in her body. Gravity pulled down on her eyelids, and she drifted off into the cloudy world of dreams.
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The tower bell tolled six times as General Maeda Atsuko stared at the fresh pile of papers stacked in front of her. Her joints ached a little, so she interlocked her fingers and popped them as she stretched out her arms, leaning back into her chair. She still had reports to fill out and send to the main branch...
It had been two months since she and her subordinates moved to this city to deal with the vampire attacks that had sprung up. Due to the city’s remote location, it had taken some time for the information to reach them, and even more time to set up headquarters here. Not to mention they were short on staff.
She sighed, rubbing her temples to ward off the incoming headache. In the back of her mind, she wished she was somewhere else right now...
A small smile found its way to her lips as she thought of something to distract her. She hopped happily off her chair and headed to the door of her office. Skipping work every now and then wouldn’t hurt.
Locking her destination in her head, she walked briskly down the hallways, head held high and purposefully so that her subordinates wouldn’t suspect that she was playing hooky.
She exited the main building and started towards the still only partially complete infirmary building. Nevertheless, there a section that was functional to treat any injuries and house patients.
Pushing through the main doors, she stopped a nurse to inquire where she might find her dear captain she was looking for.
“Ah, she’s having her checkup in the clinic on the second floor,” the nurse replied.
After thanking the nurse, she made a beeline towards the clinic. Arriving, she searched out the person she was looking for.
Captain Takahashi Minami was currently sitting on a medical bed, having her bandages changed by a nurse. Last month, a persistent vampire managed to catch her on the arm, leaving four deep and jagged gashes. The force of the blow caused her humerus to fracture, putting her out of commission for the time being. The mission they were on had to be aborted, even though the vampire was already partially disabled, because the vampire had unexpected backup. This only added to Atsuko’s headache, as well as heartache.
The small captain looked up at her and straightened her back as she approached. “General Atsuko,” she greeted while saluting with her free hand.
Atsuko grimaced as her title was mentioned. “You don’t have to be so formal, you know. We’re not at a meeting,” she admonished, sitting next to her on the bed. “How’s your arm?” she inquired.
Minami visibly relaxed. “Almost healed up. It’ll probably leave a scar though,” she replied. She raised an eyebrow. “Aren’t you supposed to be working?”
Atsuko groaned, throwing her head back. “Aw, not you, too! Can’t a person get a break around here?” she asked, exasperated.
Chuckling, Minami said, “Alright, I know you’re probably overworked and bored out of your mind in that office.”
“Paperwork is practically all I’ve been doing since we transferred over here. If I were on the field with you, I wouldn’t have let that happen,” Atsuko complained, indicating Minami’s now freshly bandaged arm as she replaced it in its sling.
“Well paperwork is important, too, Atsuko,” Minami pointed out, using a more familiar form of address. She sighed, leaning back on her uninjured arm. “How’s the situation? Any new developments?”
Atsuko’s expression darkened a little as she answered. “It’s worse than we thought. The attacks vexing this city aren’t just caused by a few rogue vampires or Revenants*. I’ve never seen this kind of situation before, but from the intel we’ve received, I believe the vampires here are organized in a group. It’s extremely rare, since they are normally solitary beings. We’re not sure how large their group is yet, but I can assure you they are growing. We don’t have enough people here to deal with this kind of problem, but HQ hasn’t been granting my requests for backup, and we’re still training cadets here as well. The training center is still pretty low-grade, too. The simulations aren’t all that realistic. ” She let out heated breath as she finished relating her thoughts.
“I guess we’ll be having some hard times for awhile here,” Minami lamented. She glanced over at Atsuko’s troubled face and gave her a reassuring smile. “Don’t worry, it’ll work out. And when these blasted doctors let me out into the field again, I’ll blow so many holes in the vampire’s ranks, they won’t even know what hit them before it’s too late,” she proclaimed confidently.
Atsuko’s sour look melted away, and she looked questioningly at the girl next to her. “Are you sure you’ll be okay? You’re so small, I don’t even know how you carry that giant crossbow around with you,” she jested.
“Hey! I’m stronger than I look, you know?” Minami protested.
They stared at each other for several moments before bursting into laughter. The nurses had to remind them to be quiet. Wiping a tear from her eye, Atsuko calmed down, in wonder at how the small girl next to her could do so much to lift her spirits. She was glad she decided to skip work after all.
But... She couldn’t resist. Atsuko smirked and snaked her hand on top of Minami’s, interlocking their fingers. Drawing the curtains around the bed close, she leaned in close to her ear.
“So... Since you have nothing to do tonight, wanna come over to my room and have some fun~?” she whispered teasingly.
Minami practically jumped away from her, turning beet red. “Wha-! I-! J-Just because I’m injured, it doesn’t mean I have nothing to do! I-I need to rest and check on the cadets, and- and other stuff you know!” she sputtered quickly.
Atsuko laughed even harder than before. “Ahaha! You’re too serious Minami!” She gave her hand a squeeze and nuzzled her face in her shoulder. She continued in a low voice, “But you know, my offer is open anytime.” She brushed her lips lightly over Minami’s before standing up and brushing the curtains aside. She laughed inwardly as she began to return to her office, leaving a thoroughly flustered Minami behind her.
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I'm planning on making a reference sheet, but for now...
* Revenants - Most commonly takes the form of thralls without sentience, created by vampires from human corpses purely through magic. Their only instinct is to attack and draw blood from humans. Can also be a result of the corpse of a werewolf or other demon, if improperly disposed of, although their appearance will be slightly different.
Some Atsumina goodness!
Hopefully I didn't forget anything in this part...