[Replies]
@kurogumi: Hai! The wMatsui arc will be starting!
@arrow27: Definitely more hints about the relationship between Yuko and Minami. I'm sure those two have quite a puzzling feelings about each other.
Once Kojiyuu arc rolls around the corner, we'll be finally given the entire details of what went wrong between the two.
@Terragen: LOL, the Hentai Peeping Toms are at it again! And wMatsui actually isn't a couple. From this fiction, no one actually is a couple yet unless officially stated (like Mayuki, Kojiyuu and Saeyaka). (Just cause I like to be mean and actually show development's between the characters before building their love... or not.)
@Haruko: Shhhhhhhh.... There will be chances for the two girls to show more and more of their interests between the two as the plot progresses!
@Yuki88: Senior year in high school right now is tough and hard work, so I guess I'll try hard not to think about after high school. (But I guess that won't work since I'm forced to worry about what college to enter and all that fun stuff.) And yep! The previous chapter is light-hearted! I like to insert some
lame comedic moments in the story.
@gek geki: As I have stated to the reply of the comment of Terragen, wMatsui is not officially a couple yet. But yep! wMatsui arc is starting now!
@cisda83: Let's just say prepare yourself for some hardcore stuff.
@mae: Rena's little maniacal side is showing, LOL! But in this chapter, there is a much more deeper meaning behind her act there~
So I finally got the chance to sit my butt down on the chair and actually type up the next chapter on Wandering Ship! All of my OS are going to be on break as I now return back to focusing on my series.
I'm actually almost finished with my first week of school as a senior. And so far I'm already being slapped across the face with homework and more homework!
I will apologize in advance for the updates slowing down. I don't have much time like in the summer anymore, so yeah. Gomenasai!
[Chapter 15]
“Rena.”
“Yes papa?”
“You must remember to keep your so-called ‘Gekikara’ side hidden and tucked away deep within your body, okay?”
“Why papa?”
“Because… Because… Something bad will happen when you let it out.”
“Why do I have it?”
“It’s… It’s my fault you became like this…”
“Papa?”
“It’s all my fault… I’m so sorry Rena… I’m so… sorry…”----------
The entire dining area was cleared out. It was considered late for a morning as the time ticks closer to the afternoon. Kasai was heard in the kitchen; cleaning a couple utensils and pans that helped produced the nutritious meals for the crew. The sound of salt water being filtered from the outside of the ship and into the faucet as fresh, cold water came into contact with the many dirty dishes. Accompanied by the water was the scrubbing noises till certain points where squeakiness replaced the irritating sound. Many other members were off in their own world as their ship sailed silently through the wide open ocean. It has been two days since the entire crew had sailed away from Spain. And it was calm ever since then.
An isolated figure was seen to be sitting with her empty plate sitting before her eyes. Specks of leftovers were here and there on her white plate as she stared without budging her eyeballs in any other direction. Metal utensils were neatly placed in a vertical position on top of the plate Rena was pondering over last night’s incident. Pondering over the fact that Jurina had finally made a move on her…
Rena has known for a fact that the two girls loved each other as best friends. The two girls casually did send kisses, but they were merely exchanging to express their healthy and close relationship with each other. But… did she accept the fact that the younger girl wanted to deepen their relationship to the next level? Was she prepared for it or did she want to begin distancing herself… Because she didn’t want to be any closer than the current position they are in now?
It was simple to why she is thinking and becoming concern about the two together. Rena was just not ready for the answer that Jurina might be waiting for. She’s unprepared simply put. Nothing was wrong other than if Rena was ready to bring it all up a notch for this girl wanted to make the decision that she won’t regret in the near future.
“Rena~ Why are you ignoring me?”
The older Matsui was startled to have realized that Jurina was seated right next to her all along. Her mind has been too preoccupied with last night’s incident of the ‘Hentai Peeping Toms’ and Jurina’s sudden daring actions, so it’s not surprising that she was a little out of it for the morning. Quickly regaining her calm composure, Rena tried hard not to roll her eyes as the younger girl intensely bore her curious stares at her figure. Her right hand resting on the top of her forehead, she sighed as she closed her eyes for a brief moment.
“I’m not ignoring you, Jurina…”
“Then why aren’t you answering me when I called for you so many times?”
“Oh? You were calling for me?”
“See! You were definitely ignoring me there!”
Jurina puffed her cheeks with dissatisfaction when Rena just came to a realization that the younger girl had been calling out to her multiple times with failure as a result. Due to being lost in her own internal thoughts, her brain must’ve signaled the eardrums to block out any sort of soundwaves coming from the outside world. Massaging her temple, Rena reopened her eyelids and found the other girl’s eyes to be deeply staring back at her; making the older girl a little uncomfortable in her seat. But keeping their eyes locked, Rena’s brain unintentionally decided to visit last night’s event again. The event of Jurina making a move on the girl…
“Now that I’ve gotten your attention, I wanna show you something-“
“Jurina.”
“AH-Yes?”
It looked like the younger girl wanted to pull something out from the inside of her pirate’s white uniform jacket. After being interrupted by the older girl, Jurina, being the loyal and obedient puppy as always, clamped her mouth shut and retracted her left empty hand out of her coat to give Rena a chance to talk. Eyes trained on the older Matsui before her. Rena was, for a second, unsure of how to proceed now that she was listening intently with such excitement clouding around her athletic figure. Coughing into her hand, the girl then motioned her hands in the air as she began to speak.
“Do you… love me?”
“Um, of course I do. Why ask such silly question?”
Jurina does seem to be clueless as to where this conversation was going. The tone of her voice as she answered was showing that the answer to Rena was obvious. She was most likely thinking it was just a random question that spurted out of the other girl’s mouth. Little did she know that it was going to be going a lot deeper than she expected. Sucking in a deep breath, Rena paused for a moment before continuing where she had left off.
“I know that, but what I’m saying is… Do you love me… in terms of… you know… like… g-girlfriends?”
It took a while for Jurina to speak up again the moment Rena had asked her such daring question. It seemed that she was taken by surprise; the question slapping her right across the cheek. A good couple second passed by between the two figures before the now shy girl shifted her seating position. Gulping, she nervously scratched the back of her neck. “I-I… I… um… I really do… love you…” Her cheeks were beginning to show off some signs of blushing as they were slowly turning to the color of pink. The hand behind her neck continued to the scratch even though she wasn’t even itchy in the first place; trying to keep herself from fidgeting awkwardly. Jurina’s mind scattered within her mental plane and tried to gather them all up back into one piece as physically, her mouth just blabbered the way her heart felt towards the older girl without thinking twice.
“I’ve… always loved you since we first met… I first thought it was due to admiration… The perfect senpai and elegant girl that shares the same last name as me. However… Over time it was proven wrong. I really do love you with all of my heart.”
If Rena didn’t have any sort of hesitation, she would’ve already leapt into Jurina’s arms and give her one hell of a hug. But… something was holding her back. Rena felt like she wasn’t ready for this. She needed more time. She needed more time to comprehend the situation at hand. Even if Jurina were to confess everything and asked if Rena would accept being her girlfriend, Rena knew that right now just wasn’t the right time for her. Mentally a little unstable, the older girl merely smiled back with some difficulty.
“I’m glad to hear that, Jurina.”
“What about you, Rena? Do you love me too?”
“!?”
“…Well?”
“I… need some more time before I can get back to you…”
She was expecting disappointment from the tomboyish girl beside her. She was at least expecting Jurina to force a smile. However, it was the complete opposite of what she was bracing herself. Jurina flashed her teeth with understanding as her hands immediately reached out to cup both of Rena’s. Keeping them in her hands, she gently squeezed the hands of the older girl as she stared deeply into her eyes. The dark brown eyes were mesmerizing to Rena. “I will be waiting for your response then. Please take your time. I will even wait forever just to hear your answer.”
Thankfully Jurina wasn’t a pushover or an impatient girl. Despite being hyper, she knew that Rena wanted some time to think about their relationship before giving out her answer. And she was going to give her exactly what she wanted. The other girl was glad to hear that she had an understanding person right before her. Smiling even wider, she decided to give a hug to Jurina.
Or so she thought she was going to.
There was the sound of cannons being fired from up ahead as both screams and commands were being shouted from both up above and down here under the deck.
It alarmed the two figures as they whipped their attention away from each other momentarily and at the sudden hollering of a familiar, firm voice. Takahashi Minami was seen to appear right out of her captain’s quarter with her captain’s uniform and signature white bow resting against the top of her brown hair. All weapons were set on her two sides and within her jacket. And right alongside the shorter girl was the Maeda Atsuko; classed with her serious expression scribbled all over her facial features. The two figures were rapidly heading towards the direction of the now-opened hatch seen in the center of the ship. Instantly the two Matsui’s rise up from their seats when their captain and her partner came right in front of them. Stopping for a couple spare seconds, Minami ordered out her requests to the two girls.
“Matsui Jurina, I need you to come up on the upper deck to deal with the opposing enemies. Matsui Rena, can you please stay down within the medical bay to make sure Mii-chan and Mayu’s older sister is safe? You might also have some unfortunate members heading in your direction so work fast.”
“What exactly happened?” Rena couldn’t help but question at the situation. One moment it was all peaceful and the next they are now thrown into another survival battle with the foreign enemy. Minami before her shook her head slowly left and right. “We got taken by a surprise attack from the Redcoats of England.”
“Them again?!” Jurina yelped.
Minami merely replied by with a single nod of her head for reassurance. “As much as we want to brainstorm how they’ve found us, we need to-“
Another piercing scream of fright was heard from above, interfering with the captain’s near completed sentence. Exhaling loudly through her nose, the shorter girl adjusted her white, stiff collar around her neck and flickered a glance over at Atsuko. The taller silent girl returned the same treatment to Minami. The instant their eyes connect, two of them then bobbed their head in silent agreement. Soon Atsuko was seen to run off ahead of the three figures towards the hatch. Her heavy boots were heard clomping on the wooden steps till they faded away, hinting that she made it to the main deck.
The captain herself equally penetrated her stares at the two girls before her eyes; urgency seen behind the pair. “Let’s move out now!”
“Hai!” both Jurina and Rena said in unison, saluting with their opened left hand all touching their foreheads. When Minami saw that they were prepared with what was coming, she herself ran off towards the same direction at Atsuko earlier; leaving the two girls behind.
The younger Matsui nervously gulped as both she and Rena exchanged glances at each other. A forced chuckle left Jurina’s closed lips as she backed away slowly. “Looks like we’ll have to talk to each other after the battle is over,” she stated as she waved a quick farewell to Rena. Twisting her body around, Jurina made a mad dash over to the one section of the hold that kept all of the crew’s weapons. In the meantime, Rena herself hurried over to the medical bay in hopes of keeping the only two patients resided within safe and calm at this time. As much as they hated being separate, now was not the time to be moping about it. The last thing the two want is to be stranded out in the clear blue ocean and captured by the enemy for good.
-----------
Minami cocked her head left and right, hearing her neck crack from such action thanks to being stiff earlier. For the captain to be coming out of her quarter from massive paperwork to now in her battle mode, it took a while for her body to loosen up the very tense muscles from writing so much. ‘Man… My reward will be plenty of work when I return back from this…’ Rolling her shoulders once in turns, the captain frowned when she almost reached to the top of the stairs. Before she approached to the exit, her arms crossed over each other; the right hand reaching over to the inside of the coat’s left side as the left went over to the right. The instant she came out of the hatch, her hands retracted from within her coat. And in her hands were the flintlock pistols.
Two of the nearest Redcoats weren’t quite so lucky today as she pulled the trigger on each of the gun in unison. A loud ‘BANG’ resonated in the air followed shortly after with the slamming of the dead bodies on the wooden deck. Light smoke exiting out of the firing hole, Minami threw them inside of her jacket before being forced to lean backward at a great angle. The girl just barely avoided a life threatening swipe one of the Redcoat members that threw out his smallsword; the blade seen to be just touching the golden designed buttons of her uniform. Quickly the captain flung her upper body back up and forward with her personal broadsword unsheathed rapidly from her right side.
A gruesome, stabbing sound was produced as her sword’s metal blade dived right into the center of the man’s body and through it; exiting out from behind his back. He choked with surprise as the enemy froze in his spot. Eyes widening, they trailed down till the pair saw the sword run right through him. Then in a matter of seconds, he slumped to the ground with blood spilling from his opened wound; some trailing from the corner of his mouth. His body was still in an upright position only to finally rest his entire body upon the wooden board beneath his lifeless body the instant Minami pulled her blade out of the body. The shorter girl glanced around and focused at her setting around her.
The ship was filled with both the frontline fighting members and Redcoats. Sounds of metal blades clashing against each other roughly and bullets flying in the air was a small portion of the chaotic scenario. Screams and yells from both the members and Redcoats were exchanged to many. Aside from that, she had to include the fact that the ship was still moving around; the single enemy’s ship waving its daunting red flags that marked its country’s military color proudly. This hinted greatly that the enemy manage to swing their way into the ship while their own battleship was now off a good distance from them. Some of the members were multitasking on reloading the heavy cannonballs and making sure their heads aren’t severed from their neck. Glancing over her shoulder, Minami saw Yuko balancing her job of driving the huge vehicle and trying to parry against her opponent from behind.
Minami nearly screamed out the other shorter girl for Yuko’s hand that was resting on top of the wooden steering wheel was released in a fast motion. The next second had proven that if it weren’t for her fast reflexes, then god forbids anyone think about what would happen to one of the most important and most used body part ever. A blade was seen to be struck and stabbed its edges against the surface; digging deep within it. This was no mere smallswords that everyone had carried. The shorter girl’s face paled slightly when she realized that the opponent Yuko was against was not the captain of the Redcoat here in this case but rather one of the stronger members. She then saw the broadsword’s edge taken out from the wheel, retracting it back to the owner’s control.
Just when the shorter girl was going to run up and support Yuko, she felt a presence from behind. The sound of the blade being raised up above her head was heard clearly within the amount of hectic noises recreated in the setting. Without any hesitation, Minami somersaulted forward. A swipe with the blade cutting through air missed its target. The captain growled with frustration as she whipped her head around to focus on the opposing male that stood in front of her with a single sword at hand. And to her dismay, two other members both male and female joined the guilty individual that could end the shorter girl’s life.
The captain’s grip on her sword’s handle tightened; tightening to the point that her entire hand was trembling slightly from such strength. Positioning herself in a defense stance, Minami knew for a fact that she was going to be quite busy before making it around to the destination she needed to be: the upper deck.
In the meantime, Mayu had just leapt in just in time to block an attempted strike at her girlfriend; extending out her sword just in time. The blade that was about to land on Yuki’s front body was halted just a couple inches away the instant it came into contact with Mayu’s. Both of the blades were perpendicular with each other when they touched together. Quickly the two weapons retracted back to its original wielder in a heartbeat.
“Thanks Mayu!” Yuki exclaimed with a hint of relief in her voice. The younger girl couldn’t help but roll her eyes at the words of the older girl. Raising up her sword in front of her body and angled at a slight diagonal direction, Mayu readied herself for the opposing female standing in front of them to strike once more. The taller girl standing just a few centimeters behind Mayu also prepared herself to attack the enemy before their eyes.
“Just watch out for her attacks and defend yourself,” the cyborg girl muttered under her breath, clenching her grip on the handle.
Mere seconds passed by and the female warrior pounced forward like a tiger; its teeth bared through her sword. The dangerous weapon immediately came into contact with Mayu’s. The younger girl was taken aback at the amount of strength she had in her body and transferring towards the sword. It didn’t take long for the old wound to reopen again on Mayu’s hand earned back in Spain. Suddenly dropping the only weapon that could defend herself at the moment, she winced and bounced back a good distance from the other female. Her eyebrows scrunched together with uneasiness as the stabbing pain recurred from her hand; blood slowly rising to the surface of its barely scabbed wound.
Yuki’s eyes widen when she saw the event unfolding. Then before anyone knew it, she lashed out at the opponent who was just about to send out a blow that could knock the shorter girl out in seconds. The tip of the blade dug into the female’s red coat, possibly cutting open her skin from the inside of her double layer clothing. Though any fighter would stop there, Yuki didn’t. Skillfully she used her foot to stomp upon the blade’s tip of Mayu’s dropped sword below at a certain position. The object flipped up in the air high thanks to the amount of power slammed into it; caught in the hands of the older girl. Now wielding another sword, Yuki flicked out the weapon once more into the Redcoat. Only this time she finished her off for good.
“Are you okay, Mayu?” the worried girl immediately questioned Mayu the spare moment she got after killing one of the enemies. Mayu, who was concentrated on bearing with the pain in silence, bobbed her head in a slow motion without a word uttered. It wasn’t very convincing though to Yuki’s eyes. The shorter girl had her left hand cupping the right hand in a protective manner. Blood was evident despite trying to hide it for it slipped through the cracks of her hands. It was easy to see that it was fresh for the color looked as though it had just came out of her body. Not assured that Mayu is safe, Yuki frowned. “You should head back down to the medical bay. It doesn’t look like the wound has healed very well.”
“Yukirin, I stated that I’m okay-“
Her words were interrupted when Mayu rapidly separated her two hands together. Both hands reached into her coat and immediately pulled out the pistol. The gun’s tip was aimed right at Yuki’s direction; trigger pulled with the assistance of her fingers on the two hands. Yuki froze in her spot when the shot was made. She didn’t freeze because Mayu was aiming at her. Rather she stayed put so Mayu was able to kill a sneaky individual that wanted to cut her lifeline short with stealth. Yuki didn’t even have to look over her shoulder for a small moan followed by a thump was heard from behind her back.
Mayu, despite failing to cover up the agony written all over her face, somewhat managed to smirk at the older girl. “You still need me by your side. We both work together as a team.”
The older girl simply wanted to argue back. Argue and tell the younger girl that her now blood-dripping hand is not helpful to convincing that she was able to stay out in the fast-moving battlefield. However, Mayu was right with one point: They work together as a team. Without one another, it would be difficult to stand up straight without a slight hint of concern probing them. Tightening her lips, Yuki squinted her eyes. “I guess you are right. But if I catch a little slip from your movements that scream you are unable to fight, I’ll be forced to send you straight down to the medical bay with Rena. Even if I have to do it by my own hands.”
“Hai hai, okaa-san.”
As the two girls exchanged for a short while, it didn’t take long for the two girls to shift over to their offensive mode for the next round of enemies came at their direction.
Up in the shrouds above their heads, Sae was seen to be dodging bullets like a professional and successfully shooting back with her trustworthy guns. Smoke exited out from the exiting hole as she threw them back into her coat. A ‘tch’ left her barely parted lips when there were more Redcoats coming after her direction. Many were standing right underneath it and the ones that weren’t occupied by the Mayuki couple trained their entire attention at the ikemen girl. Not liking where this is going, she pulled out another gun. Toughening her hold around the shroud with her right fingers wrapping around the ropes, her left hand positioned itself. With just one pull of the trigger, Sae would be able to finish off yet another member that was preparing to raise their weapon at her direction. Aiming it straight at the figure, she did not hesitate to pull the trigger.
Nothing was heard nor came out of the gun itself.
A little started, Sae released her index finger on the trigger and pulled it back once again with a little more force.
Again, this did nothing other than a clicking sound that was muted with the surrounding noise level. The realization that she completely ran out of usable bullets at such crucial moment was something that wasn’t to be expected. At a position she is in, Sae won’t be able to reload her gun unless she sprouted another pair of arms.
She mentally face palmed herself when her foolish little mistake could cost her more than just wasting time up in her spot. ‘Great. Now what?!’
There was a loud gunshot ringing out in the air from down below. And just barely a second right after the noise being produced, pain burst from Sae’s right shoulder. Her entire face scrunched up from the unpleasant feelings the nerves were sending throughout her entire. The girl bit down her cry of agony with difficulty as the bullet cleanly ran through her body. Blood was seen to be absorbed in the surrounding portion of the white uniform as she nearly loosened her grip on the shrouds. Right fingers nearly losing its energy from keeping her body up, her left hand dealt with the most burden of handling her weight. Biting down the bottom of her lip to the point that the metallic liquid could be somewhat tasted, she glanced around and saw that she was high up in the air. Sae gripped dearly for the shroud to keep herself from falling. And from the look of the situation, she knew that she had to take her leave to a safer ground.
But how exactly? Sae sadly isn’t some ninja warrior that could disappear in a flash. Then there’s the choice to take the huge leap of faith. However, the option of jumping down would only result in a painful crash that could possibly send her entire self right through the upper deck and into the lower portion. Which was something no one would want to experience.
Hesitant of what her next move should be, from the corner of her vision, she caught another Redcoat aiming their gun at her direction. Her eyes widen with fear when she predicted the outcome from such action. And the outcome wouldn’t give her a pretty result that she wanted. Heart pounding against her chest, Sae knew she had no choice but to leap down without a second’s hesitation. Sucking in a deep breath, she squeezed her eyes shut as her fingers all unraveled from the shrouds; flinging her entire body out of the position in order to avoid another bullet.
The familiar feeling of falling from such great height came upon her as she pummeled downward. But as she came down rapidly, there was a wave of calmness that instantly kept her rattled nerves down to a minimum. Sae couldn’t help but swear that at this very time and place, time around her had slowed down dramatically. However in one’s vision outside of hers, we would of course be covering our mouths and scream with fear for her safety.
Something caught her in midair though. Right before she was going to slam on the surface of the wooden boards below her body, she felt her body being taken away roughly by another figure. With an ‘oof!’ escaping from her now-opened mouth, the ikemen girl felt as though her breath as taken away from her lungs. The next thing she knows was standing near the hatch of the ship. Her feet already touching the familiar ground below her, Sae regained the lost breath by inhaling loudly with both her mouth and nose. The tall girl’s legs felt like jelly from leaping at such high heights. After a couple seconds of catching her breath and keeping balance with gravity, she immediately noticed who it was that has saved her.
“Sayaka…” she whispered her name out as the other Twin Tower individual firmly stared back at the girl. Sayaka had her hands positioned on both arms of Sae’s; looking as if she wasn’t going to let go anytime soon. The older girl didn’t reply back to the other girl. Rather her eyes was far too busy examining the new wound that has been created on the shoulder of her lover. Upon observation, Sayaka couldn’t help but feel a fire rage wildly beneath her calm, cool exterior. Breathing through her respiratory system harshly, the girl tried her best to contain the anger that was held back with all of her might.
“You should stay out of the battle for a while,” Sayaka finally proclaimed. “That bullet wound on your shoulder looks bad.”
Sae’s eyes widen when she heard the other girl advise her on what to do. Not one to like staying behind and watching helplessly, she stepped forth and extended both of her hands out to touch Sayaka’s hands that were holding on to her arms. That didn’t work out well in her favor for she flinched at the returning pain that she had ignored for a short while. The throbbing shoulder screaming and raising red flags that the girl shouldn’t push her body past their limit. Since she wasn’t able to touch Sayaka back, Sae was about to open her mouth and express her objections when she caught a single male Redcoat standing right behind Sayaka. Eyes widening with shock, Sae knew that she was in great danger.
However, little did she know that Sayaka was actually fully aware of the challenger that dare to strike her unnoticed. Scrunching her brows together with disgust, she merely twisted her body around in one motion. And swiftly her fist came into contact with the side of his face. The knuckles of her bony, strong white gloved hand slammed against the sharp cheek of the Redcoat. There was a cry of anguish from such contact coming from him. Backing away a few steps, Sayaka didn’t allow him to get away with just a single punch. Upon retracting her hand she released another fist at his direction.
Sae could only watch with awe at the violence Sayaka has inside of her body. From each movement and action the other girl performed, there was always a spark of anger hinted in between her moves. And Sae had definitely caught the message. Any warrior that dared challenge the girl will never expect what was in store for them.
“Sae-chan! You’re hurt!” her fellow crewmate Jurina exclaimed when the younger girl crossed path with her. Sae’s attention snapped from watching in an almost trance-like state at her girlfriend to the tomboyish girl nearby. Staring at the puppy, Jurina frantically waved her right hand in the air; urging her to head down into the closed hatch and get immediate medical treatment. As much as Sae would oppose to Jurina, there was nothing she could do at the moment. Her wound was still stinging and bringing torture upon her body; most likely going to become an infection if she continue to stay stubborn. Listening to the advice of both Jurina’s and Sayaka’s, she nodded her head once in agreement. “Okay then. Help me open the hatch then…”
The younger girl didn’t waste any time sheathing in her weapon to help a fellow teammate. Luckily for her, there was Rena rushing right past the wooden stairs that lead directly up and out of the hatch from below.
“Rena-chan! Rena-chan!”
“J-Jurina? Is there something you need up there?”
She had successfully caught the attention of the older Matsui. Glad to have caught her, Jurina motioned with her hands for Rena to come right up to the closed metal hatch.
“Can you please unlock and open it for Sae? She’s badly injured,” Jurina explained as Rena climbed up the flight of stairs as quickly as possible. Rena’s dark eyes trailed from Jurina’s figure to the ikemen girl beside her. The eyes fell upon the coat that had the upper right section soak greatly with red blood. The doctor of the ship did not hide the expression of surprise with such wound. “Wakarimasu. Just hang on.”
Her hands fumbled around with the lock, trying to open the hatch as fast as possible. The lock didn’t take long as it only pose to keep the three figures waiting for a good minute. When the hatch finally unlocked, Rena quickly led Sae down the stairs with her hand extended out. The older girl gladly took her hand. Taking her down the stairs, Rena turned around in order to close the hatch for safety purposes. She ordered the injured tall girl to immediately head over to the medical bay as she shuts the barrier between upper and lower two decks. Her eyes met upon Jurina, who was now facing the older Matsui with her back. The smallsword was in her hand; readying herself for another round of enemies coming at their direction. Rena bit the bottom of her lip, slightly worried as she brought the metal hatch down from above her head.
“Kuh!”
Hearing that sound startled the girl greatly. Quickly regaining her composure, she soon was faced with her hands just barely clicking the hatch shut once more underneath. And past the small crack of space between the metal barrier and lower deck was the fallen Jurina.
She was sprawling on the floor with her weapon nowhere to be seen. There was then an older figure coming right up to her direction. Standing directly in front of Jurina, he watched with amusement as she struggled to get up from her spot. All of her strength put solely into getting back up on her feet was wasted when she earned herself one hell of a kick. The Redcoat ruthlessly threw out his black boot; stomping right on her front body. That pushed Jurina back down on the ground, crying out again from such brutal contact as her back slammed on the flooring.
“Tch. Stupid girl,” the man muttered with disgust as he twirled the dagger in his right hand. One of his eyebrows raised up in the air as a sly smile crossed his face. Jurina saw his expression transform and nearly felt her heart stop beating from fright. “Let’s have a little fun, little girl.” The motion of the knife stopped in his hand; the tip of the blade held in a proper position. Pointing the tip at the younger girl beneath his foot, the smile widen on his face. “How much can you take before you want me to end your life for good?”
One would expect for the other members to recognize the danger the smaller girl was posed with. But considering the fact that there is a couple dozen Redcoat soldiers scrambling around the ship with their weapons and their ship trying to sink Minami’s, the members were all overwhelmed. And even if they did lay an eye on Jurina, they weren’t able to come to her rescue. Which only left Rena to witness such cruelty.
As the scenario was played out, Rena was unable to do anything. All she could do was stare with pure horror at what was about to happen to Jurina. Happening to the very person that she loved close to her heart. Her entire body shook with great fear as the male figure leaned down so he was able to get close to the younger Matsui.
“W-W-Why…?” her shaky voice came out in the quietest form it could ever be. “W-Why can’t I… move?”
Rena was no fighter. Although she had occasionally let out her ‘Gekikara’ side, it was merely for jokes and games with the members. However, in a real life threatening situation like this, this was obviously something she has never dealt with. The older girl cursed herself for being so weak when all she could do was be frozen stiff with all sorts of fear and horror as her eyes continue to fixate upon the two figures that now were at an uncomfortable distance between the two. Through her vision, the sun’s ray bouncing off from the blade of the dagger leaning closer and closer to Jurina’s chest. When it barely touched the white clothing of the younger girl, something inside of her just… clicked.
Her sanity snapped. Right there and now, there was her hands operating on its own. The older Matsui mentally could only watch as her body performed its actions without her command. And she was unable to control her movements; unable to control as though she was a puppet with strings.
Hands pushing up the hatch with a forceful shove, the metal object crashed the instant it flipped and landed. All of the individuals that were on their ship had just halted their actions. Both the Redcoats and Minami’s crew ceased moving as though time had stopped working in the universe. They were alarmed greatly when the unexpected, loud crashing sound was heard from the area near the hatch. When all eyes trained upon the hatch, a lone figure was standing right on the last step of the stairs to its exit.
Rena’s head was lowered so her black bangs would cover her eyes. Many of the members themselves were slightly confused to why their doctor would be appearing on the top of the deck during a battle. What was her reason for being here? Was she… the reason of that loud sound in regards to the hatch? Concerned, Minami was about to motion her spare hand in order to send Rena back down to where she was supposed to be. Or so she tried to urge her back. The instant she raised her hand in the air, there was a grueling scream that made the hairs on the back of her neck stand. A scream so inhumane that it was surprising that it even came from mankind.
Before anyone knew it, there was a sickening giggle that came from the one person they never expected. Jurina down on the ground was squinting through her thinly opened eyes. Small gasps left her opened mouth when she attempted to use the palm of her hands to bring her upper body up a good angle. Through her vision, she was terrified to see who it was that straightened her posture. The older Matsui’s face could only be expressed as a wide smile never seen before to the public. That smile was so wide that it even rivaled against a creepy clown. Blood was seen dripping from her cheeks and down to the bottom of her chin. Dripping down upon her uniform that was stained with the enemy’s. Her left hand was gripping ahold of the same dagger than the Redcoat that dared to bring harm upon Jurina. The other hand was brought up to the level of her mouth; seeing the blood-soaked fingers touch her curved lips. Lips slightly parted, the white even teeth connected to her nails; biting the tip with amusement. Giggling from her figure was soon transformed into a maniacal laughter.
“AHAHAHAHA!” Rena finally lifted her face. And the pair of gentle eyes that she once wore was replaced with craziness and insanity. They were dilated greatly compared to its original size. This girl then cut off her laughter abruptly. So abrupt that it was abnormal even. Tilting her head to one side, she then grinned with widen eyes. “Neh… Okotteru?”
“Uh oh…” Yuko exhaled under her breath when she saw the Masui undergo a deadly transformation of her personality. “What the hell is going on…” As much as the squirrel wanted to dash up to the taller girl and slap her awake, she wasn’t able to. Rather… there was that same fear she felt among the rest of the members and enemies keeping her glued to the floorboard. No one dared uttered anything; terror rapidly taking over the violent atmosphere. Everyone’s heart was beating rapidly against their chest; pounding with as much power as their heart could contain. Even Minami herself was at loss with words; unable to find a solution to the ordeal at hand.
All of the Redcoats were far too busy switching views between the mad girl and the dead Redcoat that has been killed instantaneously. Fear had gotten ahold of their nerves for they were rooted to their spot. It’s not surprising since they had witnessed a brutal murder of their group. But alas, a few of the enemies nearby Rena used enough strength to approach the dark haired girl.
Oh how wrong of a move they have made.
One of the Redcoats laid sprawled on the ground, screaming with agony as his arm was twisted at an inappropriate angle. He writhed below their feet, thrashing around in hopes to ease the deadly pain that tortured the poor figure. His allies did not hesitate at this point to shoot and lash out their weapons at the older girl.
Though she withstood the blow, she backed away a couple steps from such power against her. Rena bent forward, feeling the fresh wounds and bruises form on her body; white uniform soaked on certain areas with her blood. A need to forcefully cough in order to ease the surging, uncomfortable feelings internally was made. Coughing a couple seconds, blood trickled down from the corner of her mouth as raspy breathing left her mouth. The other members themselves were surprised to how tolerant the girl was. Not to mention Jurina right behind her on the ground could only stare with her head lifted up. The doctor that always stayed away from battle is showing more tolerance than even the strongest fighter on this ship.
However, this didn’t stop the girl. Rather it merely entertained Rena even more. The mad Rena giggled with joy as she crushed her grip on the handle of the dagger. Her left leg slid a foot behind her body. The body crouched as if she was a spring; getting low to gain power. In a flash, the older Matsui pounced forward and crashed into an unlucky fellow of the Redcoat.
His eyes widen when the dagger severed his life short by entering straight into the center of his chest. Choking, airy sound left his barely parted lips before falling backward along with Rena. He collided with the flooring beneath his body. There was a whimper of some sort slipping past the lying figure as Rena stared intensely at the male. She was on top of his body, a terrible tearing sound heard from such forceful ripping of the knife. Just when she had gotten the dagger free in one motion, Rena raised it above her head with two hands. Once again, another horrifying stab was made onto the barely conscious Redcoat. Constantly she pulled it out only to pound it back into the body.
Rena suddenly twisted her entire body around to throw the dagger right into the unsuspecting foe right next to the figure standing in front of her. The female hollered when the blade entered into one of the most sensitive region of the face; her right eye. Another inhumane scream was heard for the day as she dropped all of her weapons. The Redcoat member brought her hands up to shield and cover her eye, unable to produce anything but the shrieking that brings any sane person to tears from such pity. As the girl screamed with her might, Rena herself had risen from her position. The cocky smile that could scar anyone was drawn well with a fine line across the lower portion of her face.
“Re… na…”
Jurina was barely able to utter her name in silence as she watched with horror. The scene unfolding before her eyes was something even worse than nightmares. A lunatic Rena running around, sadistically murdering the opposing enemies without any hesitation is enough to burn such scary image into anyone’s brain. Brutal actions were taken as wails and screeches filled the entire atmosphere of the boat. The younger girl saw all of the Redcoats undergo a rapid transfer in their role from offensive to defensive and now running for their life.
She had to do something. Everyone around Jurina could only stare in fear at such sight. Not a single person was able to move forward to Rena. They were simply too scared and she couldn’t blame them. Jurina herself is terrified about Rena. She wanted to know why Rena had snapped like this; she wanted to know the cause of it; she wanted to bring back the old Rena that everyone loves, especially her. She has to put an end to this nonsensical violence Rena is emitting out.
Quickly scrambling up to her feet and ignoring the aching feeling of being roughly kicked earlier, her heart nearly stopped when there was Rena crashing into her. A small yelp left Jurina’s lips as she nearly didn’t have enough energy to catch both herself and Rena. Stumbling a good couple steps behind, she struggled to keep her grip on hold of the mad laughing girl. The older figure struggled left and right, wanting to tear herself from Jurina’s grasp. There was this urge to slaughter even more now that there wasn’t a single enemy in sight. However, Jurina didn’t let this chance slide by. Alternatively she positioned her arms so she was embracing and hugging the girl from behind tightly. Squeezing Rena, Jurina buried her face into the back of the girl’s bloody, white uniform.
“Rena! Snap out of it! Please!”
Upon hearing Jurina’s voice loudly spoken, she jerked from being startled and froze in her spot. All signs of struggles in matter of seconds disappeared; disappeared as if it wasn’t here in the first place. The tensed muscles relaxed from such strain. She dropped the terrifying act fast; making it seem as though someone had just smacked her on the head. In her grip, she could feel the body of Rena trembling. Not a single word was heard coming out of the girl. Soon all of the weight was given to Jurina. Almost taken by surprise, the younger girl had to use her remaining strength to keep Rena from falling to the ground.
“R-Rena!” she frantically called out to the older girl as she swiftly positioned the body so Jurina was able to see her face. Her front body was facing the sky; the pure sleeping face tainted by the blood mixed of both her enemy’s and her own. This pained Jurina’s heart greatly as she shook the girl once more in desperation. “Rena!”
“It’s no use to calling out to her. She’s fainted,” Sayanee stated from afar. The younger Matsui cease trying to wake up Rena upon hearing her voice. From her vision, she saw the short haired girl approach to her as a few other members followed from behind. There was worries scrawled all over her face, but not as much as Jurina. Throwing a glance at the sleeping figure in Jurina’s hand, Sayanee expression became grave. “I didn’t know Rena could be like this… Just… What made her… go crazy?”
Asuka right next to Sayanee shook her head. “Rena never became like this during the entire time I was with her. I wish to know too…”
“Questions can wait for later. We need to send her down to the infirmary,” Atsuko’s commands clearly reached into the three girls’ ears. Attention all focused on the co-captain of the ship, they saw Atsuko standing unfazed compared to the other girls. The face she wore still remained icy and unreadable. “At least the ship isn’t in anymore danger.”
“E-Eh? Did… R-Rena kill them all off?”
“Not all. Some jumped off the ship and into the water. Some who were on the enemy’s ship decided to retreat most likely fearing that Rena will jump to their ship with another round of her massacre.”
“Oh…”
“I’m not sure if we should take that as a positive or negative note to the situation at hand.” Atsuko broke her gaze from the three girls and examined their surroundings. The entire ship was tattered and once again, was in need to be repaired if possible. Some members on the other hand were rushed down to the infirmary; all led by the captain and Mariko. The usually silent girl closed her eyes and waved one of her hands in the air. “You three should go now. Please return down to the lower deck.”
A couple of ‘hai’ and ‘wakarimasu’ was heard from the figures before their footsteps was heard clomping on the wooden boards. When their footsteps died along with the presence of others on this main part of the ship, Atsuko snapped her eyes opened. Her eyebrows scrunched together with uneasiness. A quiet exhale then left through her nostrils forcefully. All thoughts ran through her head about Rena’s actions earlier. The way the girl went berserk in matter of minutes and how much destruction she had caused… A shudder ran down her spine when memories of Rena when they first met vividly displayed within her mind.
‘Matsui Rena… It looks like you’ve awaken once again.’
Right. I'm not sure when the next update is, but thank you as always for reading my fictions!
Topic: Wandering Ship [wMatsui Arc] - Chapter 17 [Announcement for all series] (Read 45163 times)