Sequence 1

Just like the day before, a knock at the door awoke Shuji from slumber. This time, however, he had the decency to put on clothes before going to the door. After all, there was no chance this was Hanako. Okay. There was a very small chance this was Hanako. The young Lancer wearily opened his door to an unremarkable man with a concerned look on his face.

“Yotogi Shuji?” the man asked sharply.

“That’s me,” Shuji replied sleepily. It was too early for this, wasn’t it?

“Intoku-taicho requests your presence in his office as soon as you are able. I am here to escort you.”

Running his hand through his hair, Shuji let out a low sigh. What fresh hell was this? Perhaps someone was going to reprimand him formally for Umeki’s injury. Perhaps an emergency required his attention. An emergency on his first day? That seemed unlikely. No, this was probably a scolding.

“Give me a minute and I’ll be right out.” Shuji shut his door and went through the motions of getting presentable. As he walked to his door to leave, he saw his Lancer pin on the desk. Remembering his talk with Tatsugawa-san, he quickly grabbed it and began to pin it on his shirt as he walked. In less than two minutes since the door had shut it opened again and Shuji left his room.

In silence, the pair walked. Neither of them was big on small talk. When they reached the office building, the man motioned for him to ascend the stairs. After coming up the steps, he saw Umeki and two other people standing around the door. Umeki turned to acknowledge his arrival, but the other two stood motionless. Just who were they?

“Hello Umeki-san,” he said as he stopped. He pondered why Umeki was here but decided he was about to be deployed. He couldn’t decide why the others were there though. Perhaps they were her escorts? The rest of his assigned team?

“They’re waiting for you, Yotogi-san.”

They? He was under the impression that he was only meeting with Intoku-taicho. He shrugged and walked into the door.

Inside the room, he saw Intoku-taicho sitting behind his desk. He also saw two other people standing on opposite sides of the room. His eyes moved between them before settling on Intoku-taicho.

“Ahhh, Yotogi-kun, good morning.”

“Good morning Intoku-taicho. Others,” he glanced to the nameless beings on the sides of the room. “May I ask what this meeting is all about?”

Intoku-taicho let out a low sigh before standing from his chair. Once again he opened his imposing eyes before placing his back to the three in the room. “This morning our Head Lancer and his Lance Corporal deployed to deal with a D-rank Evolved.”

Shuji’s thoughts flashed to Tatsugawa Kou and their discussion the night before. It didn’t take him long to ascertain the purpose of this meeting. Someone hadn’t returned.

“I don’t know if you ever had the pleasure of meeting Tatsugawa Kou or Tatsugawa Kai. But roughly an hour ago they engaged an Evolved and only the Lance Corporal returned to us.” Again, Intoku-taicho sighed before turning back to the other inhabitants of the office. “The boy was in hysterics. Apparently, the Evolved was much stronger than anticipated and Tatsugawa-san told his younger brother to flee the scene.”

“However,” he continued. “This was after he had taken a blow that would surely prove fatal. I’m certain by this time Tatsugawa-san is dead.” The others in the room tensed up visibly at this word: dead. As unfortunate as it was, this couldn’t be the first time they’d lost a comrade. It most certainly wouldn’t be the last either. “The reason we waited so late to summon you was because I decided to give the other Lancers a chance to enact revenge if they wanted it.”

Mentally connecting the dots, he figured that the other two people in the room were the aforementioned other Lancers. Shuji’s eyes studied them. One was a lanky, bespectacled man who towered above him. Shuji watched as the man pushed up his glasses before crossing his arms. He tapped his foot as he took shallow breaths. A coward.

The other Lancer was a woman of about Shuji’s height. Her eyes looked almost as red as her vibrant hair. It was obvious the news of her superior’s demise had brought her to tears. She shook softly as she exhaled. She was clearly shell-shocked.

That only left Shuji. He was the only Lancer left that could undergo the deployment if they even wanted to send a Lancer. If this Evolved had killed a Head Lancer, wouldn’t a Lieutenant be a better send? He would ask. That was reasonable for him to ask. After all, the task had now fallen to him.

“Why not send a Lieutenant? If this Evolved could kill a Lancer, what makes you think sending another will yield a different result?”

Intoku stroked his beard. “Well, the First Lieutenant is now out training on his own. Even if I could reach him, it would take too long for him to return. The Second Lieutenant is on indefinite deployment, handling the rest of the Oni arisings in Tatsugawa-san’s stead.”

“So that leaves me?”

“Yes, if you choose to accept the mission, then that leaves you.”

Shuji scoffed at this before giving his fellow Lancers another look. “What choice do I have? Can I ask you a few things before I go?”

“Of course.”

Shuji considered what he’d need. Of course, taking a four-person squad was preferable, but Deafen wasn’t useful for fighting in a group. He didn’t know any of the Corporals at Nagasaki, so there wasn’t anyone he had synergy with. Moreover, with no Lieutenant, he would be the strongest member of the squad. Was any other combatant worth giving up using Deafen? Unlikely.

“You said that this Evolved was stronger than anticipated. With that in mind, what do you think its rank is?”

“Well, to give Tatsugawa-san that much trouble, I’d say it was at least a B-rank.”

Shuji grimaced as he recalled the unpleasant memory of taking down a D-rank Evolved. Shuji didn’t know how Evolved were rated, but This most certainly wouldn’t be easy.

“Do we have its current location?”

“Yes, we have a Corporal tracking it from afar. Sarungekki-kun won’t let it get away. I’ll have the coordinates forwarded to you as they change.”

Shuji nodded. That was all the information he needed. He’d also need a few permissions. After all, he was hunting no ordinary target.

“I’ll need materials from the Department of Research & Development. Also, I’ll need to invoke conscription.”

Intoku raised his eyebrows. “Conscription. Where did you hear about that? And here I thought things like that were before your time.”

He was right. Conscription was a dying practice by which Officers of the Vanguard could call in members of other departments to fill a unit. It happened very seldom and was almost always a last resort. Those not trained in fieldwork usually didn’t fare well. But, Shuji was thinking about what skills he’d need to have a chance against this enemy. He didn’t care much for their rank.

“It is, but I’ve read up on the position. Can I invoke it or not?”

“Go ahead.”

“Thank you, Intoku-taicho. I’ll depart within the hour.” With his words finished, he exited the room. His eyes glanced over the two outside the room. Those had to be the Lance Corporals, following their Lancers like lost pups. Speaking of helpless animals…

“Umeki-san, we’re heading out.”

“O-oh. Alright.” Shuji turned his attention to deciding who he should take on the mission. Taking Corporals along meant he couldn’t use Deafen and they would likely get in each other’s way. So, Shuji assumed he was going to do the bulk of the fighting. If he could just kill the Evolved then a medic could patch him up and get him back to base. Umeki could perhaps be useful from a distance, but Shuji had seen what would happen to her in close quarters. He needed someone to guard her and the medic to make sure nothing went horribly wrong. Kojima was the only one Shuji knew who had a shield.

“But first I need you to find a member of the Rear Guard by the name of Kojima Seiji.”

Her brow furrowed as they walked down the stairs together. “Why?”

“I’m bringing him along for the mission. Let him know I’m using conscription and that he really doesn’t have a choice.” He kept walking out of the office building while she lagged behind.

“Where are you going?” she asked in a fuss.

“I’m going to the infirmary.”

Again, he walked into the infirmary. He gave Ikishini Aoi a small wave. “Aoi-san, do you know where I can find Sasaki Kin?”

Aoi’s normal grin didn’t fade as he turned his attention to the computer at the desk and made a series of clicks. “It appears she’s looking at those with minor wounds. Go to the end of the hall, there should be a large room. Can I ask why you’re looking for her? Another dinner date?” Damn, word traveled fast.

“I’ll be borrowing her for a bit.”

Ikishini’s grin faltered as he looked over at Shuji. “Are you sure you wouldn’t rather take someone else?”

“Not particularly,” Shuji gave a parting wave as he walked briskly down the hall before Aoi gave another complaint. He didn’t have time to consider alternatives. He reached the end and opened one of the double doors into a rather large room filled with beds. Everyone in this room had a minor injury, meaning they could all wait.

He walked among them as his eyes scanned the room. None of their injuries interested him. Once his eyes picked up the hint of purple they were looking for, Shuji’s pace quickened towards his target. Upon seeing her, he felt a familiar feeling in the pit of his stomach. He was uneasy. Spending time with her yesterday had been pleasant but uncharacteristic of him. Shuji didn’t want anyone to have the wrong idea. He wanted to clear that up, but this was not the time for such notions. He had an assassination to plan. Once he was less than a meter away from her, he stopped loudly behind her. “Kin-chan.”

“What wrong Shuji-kun, you get a paper cut?” she asked jokingly until she saw his face. The happiness in her face faded quickly. “You’re not here to bring me good news, are you?”

“I’m not.” He almost faltered as he spoke. “Unfortunately, I’m here to conscript you for a deployment. I’ll need a medic for this and you’re the only one I know. I’m sorry.” He was truly sorry, but Kin seemed like she could handle herself.

She did not meet his gaze. Instead, her eyes met the floor as he watched the color drain from her face. She was… terrified. Did he really need to do this? “I understand,” she mumbled slowly. He wished he didn’t have to do this to her. Kojima needed this experience and honestly wasn’t of concern to him. Kin was different. But, he killed that emotion for the time being. He had to. He needed a medic for this mission and she was the only one he trusted.

“Gather whatever you’ll need and meet me in the courtyard in twenty minutes. There I’ll brief you on the mission and the plan.”

This time he couldn’t meet her eyes. Placing his back to her, he let out a sigh and began to walk away. But something compelled him to stop. “Kin-chan,” he called back.

“Yes?”

“We’ll be fine. All of us.” Without another word, he left before his emotions could betray him.