She powered through as the trees and vines slowly grew further apart. Underfoot the soil began to give way to shorter vegetation, as the overhead canopy thinned enough that grasses and the like had more sun than they would have gotten in the thickest parts of the jungle. Such fields were a rarity, usually the result of an old woodcutting operation or perhaps an ancient site of human settlement. It made progress that much easier and soon the squad really began to pick up its pace. It didn’t take long after that for the first indistinct, but identifiable sounds of human voices snuck through the humid air. The voices were far away and indistinct, and the valley’s geography warped the sounds into an almost eerie wailing by the time Ringo could hear them. Shouting confirmed there were survivors, however, which was a good thing when one considered how easily General Daisuke could have wiped them out in one go. Ringo chose to interpret the distressing noises as a positive development!

As the squad drew nearer and the reality of possible combat became much more imminent, the captain renewed yelling out short orders. Spearmen to the front, shields to the flanks, crossbowmen shoring up the back lines, every soldier had a role to play. Ringo, as an Agent in training, had a slightly different role. She didn’t need to be told where to go. The soldiers rolled across the glade like an oncoming wave. The cries became more and more distinguishable the closer they drew. The nature of the voices now became apparent. The remaining Annitou forces were shouting out signs, usually used to denote the location of targets. In this case there only seemed to be one target, however.

“Forty-five east!”

“Mark at one eighty! Mark at-”

“Multiple wounded at the horizon! We need support, support-”

“She’s behind us! BEHIND!”

Interspersed with the more recognizable words was the unintelligible howls of those already engaged in combat. Ringo wanted to use the word battle cry because it sounded so much cooler, but these were not the spirit filled vocalizations like those belted out in Academy training spars or in competition matches. The emotion in those voices was desperation. Those men didn’t sound like they were fighting.

They sounded like they were dying.

The thought stopped Ringo momentarily in her tracks. Nobody else seemed to have noticed, or was caring to notice. She blinked and listened for just a few seconds more. Yes. Yes, it couldn’t be denied. The situation somewhere in that fog sounded much less like a courageous battle and more like what might be heard on a sinking ship.

Ringo puffed up and gripped her baton with a renewed vigor, then began marching forward again full of confidence. That meant their countrymen needed saving! It wasn’t just Gekko they were fighting for, now everyone had skin in the game! That was a good thing! A good thing!

Following what they could piece together from the dwindling number of calls the squad came upon the first grouping of bodies. Spread out within the jungle clearing, scattered like decaying leaves across a stagnant pond, were a dozen or so Annitou soldiers in various states of bodily distress. Gekko might have said ‘dismembered bodies’, but Ringo knew that was alarmist terminology! These soldiers were merely limb-deficient at the moment. And some were blood or skull or chest cavity deficient. It was all a matter of how you looked at it. Unless you were one of those eye-deficient bodies, then you couldn’t look at anything.

There wasn’t exactly enough time for a full autopsy but it was clear a good chunk of the deficiencies had occurred simultaneously, the soldiers cut down while standing in formation. The captain quickly inspected one such body, flipping it over onto its back to get a better look. He held up a piece of the thick padded armor that made up Annitou’s battle uniform and gave it a once over. Something like a blade sheared clean through thick fabric. It wasn’t burned or frayed at all, either. He even gave it a sniff to confirm. Not exactly the hallmark of General Hashimoto Daisuke’s trademark infernal style.

“Sir, we found someone still conscious!”

The few support soldiers (including Ringo) swarmed at the call. The rest of the unit held formation and surrounded their sides in case an attack came in, allowing the medically trained unit room to work. Ringo wasn’t a medic but had her own role here, as she drew close enough to witness the damage on the unfortunate man. He was young- not Ringo young, but likely in his teenage years nonetheless. Someone had already laid a wet towel across his forehead and the actual medics moved with a furious intensity to stymie the bleeding from his severed legs. His breathing was labored and pained and there looked to be multiple puncture wounds through his uniform as well. One of the medics asked if he could repeat his name, and through a strained groan he barely managed to reply. Immediately after the captain pushed his way through the ranks and knelt down by the maimed soldier. There was no time for formality here.

“What happened here? Was this Daisuke? An ally of his?”

“N...no, I don’t know.” The wounded teen wheezed, one of his hands digging into the soil. “It’s- it’s an Agent. It’s the one the cadets talked about. With the, the, ribbons, I think.”

All eyes briefly shot towards Ringo. She kept her expression flat but hearing those words caused her heart to jump into her throat. The Agent with the ribbon jutsu! The one that had obliterated Hajime! But, wait, that didn’t make sense. Ringo and Hajime had barely survived that encounter. It might have been dark when they fought but it was clear the ribbon-user was very young, maybe only a few years older than Ringo. Annitou didn’t have any data on her at all but Ringo had felt very confident that the female Agent couldn’t have been this strong. Certainly not strong enough to dismantle an entire Annitou squad!

“Just her?”

“Just...just her, any more than that and we’d all be dead.”

“Why did you engage?”

“She...start it.” The soldier sputtered and began a coughing fit, prompting the medics to shoo away the captain as they tried to stabilize him. The captain wasn’t having it, and pushed his way back to the soldier.

“How did this happen?”

“The...fog, or she’s fast, I don’t know. It doesn’t make sense!” The last part almost felt like a confession as the pain began to grab hold of the man’s consciousness again. Now the medics reasserted themselves as they needed to work. The captain fell back and immediately called upon the observant Ringo.

His voice came out laden with the weight of confronting an unknown threat. “Well?” He spoke down to Ringo as if she could provide any better answers than the wounded man. “Is this the same woman? It can’t be. Anyone this strong would have...not left you as a witness, surely.”

“The wounds are consistent, sir!” Ringo stood up straight but had to crane her neck to look up at the adult probing her for answers. “I- it’s speculation, sir, but I think she was holding back against us before! Agents are supposed to avoid direct confrontation with other Agents as it's risky when you don’t understand their jutsu! She’s probably going all out because- uh, because she doesn’t consider us a threat, sir!”

“Tch.” The captain’s palm rubbed the stubble under his chin in consternation. “No matter. Everyone bleeds the same in the end. We’ll show her what for. Men!” He resumed his barking. At this distance the volume almost hurt Ringo’s ears. “Back in formation! The target can attack at range, protect the back row and we’ll shower her with bolts! Hold the line as we advance, don’t give her a chance to pick off any stragglers!”

A real, live, battle order! The stomach churning sight of the dead was briefly replaced by the mounting thrill of battle. More than that was the realization that revenge, as petty as it was, would soon be at hand. That humiliating defeat just a few nights prior still burned under Ringo’s skin, more so than the actual burns she sustained. Sometimes you lost battles, there was no shame in it. No, the real shame came from how pathetic Ringo had represented Annitou, her homeland, and her failure to protect that useless layabout Hajime. To allow such a vagabond Agent to trample on her without so much as being able to slow down the woman even a tiny bit! The shame bit into her harder than any razor edged ribbon ever could.

At one time in Annitou’s history there was even a practice of ritual suicide in place for those on whom failed so spectacularly that there was no possible recourse for redemption. That old tradition died long ago, though. As it turned out, there was a limit to the usefulness of such devotion to Annitou. The disgraced could still work, while the dead tended to not provide much in terms of support. That didn’t take away any of the romance of it though! So, to be gifted this chance at making up for her mistake...Ringo gripped the short club at her side as her eyes darted towards where the thick mist obscured her vision. She would make up for her failings to Hajime and Gekko right there, no matter how steep the cost. Even if she was a supporting unit, she would be front and center in the fight!

“Supports, keep this area safe!” The captain pointed down to indicate their current location, inadvertently also pointing towards Ringo at the same time. “We will advance with the main forces, and fall back here if necessary! Treat any wounded you come across as well!” He cast his gaze down to look directly towards the at-attention Ringo, his intention more than clear. That order included her.

“Sir, yes sir!” Okay, well, maybe she wouldn’t be front and center. More like...back and out of the way. A vital and necessary place to be! Every role counted in the military, and Ringo would take her job just as seriously as if she was out there bleeding with her countrymen. A significant chunk of the unit pulled away and out towards the fog, leaving a diminished force behind amongst the other fall soldiers. Time to help out!

“Just stand watch, okay? We have it under control here.”

“Are there- nope, just another body. Maybe you could look for some wounded over there.”

“Kind of busy, Ringo!” The medic grunted, loose gauze hanging from his teeth as he attempted to rip off a section for the wailing soldier as his feet. “Go look out for that Agent or something. Just don’t get in the way.”

What a group of professionals! Truly Annitou’s forces were something to be reckoned with, given how independent and self-supporting they could be in the field. Even as the sounds of warfare raged (or at least that is what Ringo assumed all the distant screaming was about) everyone in her unit was just so composed and motivated. Enemies of Annitou, watch out!

The patience and totally not annoying hovering around the scene finally paid off as Ringo heard a shout. “Cadet Ringo! Report!”

“At once!” She snapped back out, the eagerness dripping off her voice. Had an enemy been spotted? Was there some grisly task to be performed that only a hardened Agent-in-training such as herself could accomplish? Did they need her to give blood? She had a lot of blood to give!

Despite the quickness of her step Ringo seemed to arrive a bit too late. One of the medics was busying himself refilling a syringe, while at their feet a maimed soldier lay in what Ringo assumed based on his injuries was a near-death state. “He’s out, I just put him under.” The medic didn’t look at Ringo as he worked on stitching up some nasty looking gash on the fallen man’s side. “You said the Agent you fought was young, right? Young like you?”

“Yes! Uh, no.” Ringo pulled back a bit in her excitement at being useful. “She looked older than me.”

“Taller?”

“Ye- well, technically, yes. Not by much.”

“Like an adult?”

“No, of course not!” Ringo huffed. “She was clearly a teenager. No doubt in my mind.”

The medic grumbled something under his breath, then briefly cast a suspicious gaze towards the beaming Ringo. “Then the Agent out there isn’t the one you fought before. Before going under this soldier said the target was over eight feet tall.”

“Ah.” Ringo couldn’t let out more than that, not entirely sure what to do with that information. “I mean, uh, it’s foggy. Maybe he was mistaken.”

“Most people don’t make mistakes identifying their attackers when they are getting mauled.”

“But, come on.” Ringo wasn’t sure why she was trying to plead the point. “Some kind of ribbon-using Agent in the middle of the Jinchi jungle? It’s a perfect fit! There wouldn’t be two of the same jutsu on this island, that type of thing doesn’t just happen.”

“Coincidences happen. Listen...” The medic grabbed some more sutures from his side and got so close to the wounded soldier that his words came out muffled. “...this soldier said it was someone covered in bandages or cloth from head to toe. Called her a ‘monster’ for a bit, actually. I think he was delirious. Were there any registered Agents on the island that fit that description?”

“Oh. Okay.” Ringo pursed her lips. She ran through the list of names in her head, the immigration log that she and her teammates had been keeping track of for weeks. “Uh, no, definitely not. Armor techniques tend to get put on the watchlist, I would definitely know if we had any of those-”

“I didn’t say she was an armor type.”

“Oh, no, I’m sorry.” Ringo gave a little bow of apology, not sure what she was apologizing for. “I just assumed- anyone able to do this much damage must have an armor jutsu, or some kind of body augmentation. It would be suicide to engage our forces without protection like that! They would get hurt and tired too easily.” Her eyes lit up just a bit. “You know, like in the Battle of the Seven Pillars, when General Yasumi-”

“Not in the mood for a history lesson, cadet, kind of busy here.”

“Oh, yeah. Sorry. Only General Daisuke has such a jutsu on the island, as far as I’m aware.” Ringo frowned, again unsure why admitting such a thing was giving her pause. Perhaps she had let the tantalizing promise of revenge get to her. Jinchi was positively bristling with foreign Agents, maybe she was just too ashamed to admit Annitou had failed at properly screening all new arrivals. Everyone made mistakes!

Including seasoned veteran officers who should have known better. The orderly marching footsteps that had gone off into the fog returned without much warning, except they weren’t so orderly and it was less of a march than a scramble. The first soldier to pull back into view wasn’t quite the same man he was when he left. Literally, since much of his arm was missing.

“H-hey! New orders!” The closest Annitou medics rushed to his side, but soon a small number of similarly in poor shape soldiers stumbled in right behind him. It was just a fraction of the number that had left. “Captain- he gave us the go ahead, we’re to retreat!”

Those words in particular stung in Ringo’s ears, and before she knew what was happening she was up in front of the barely standing soldier. “Retreat! Fall back! We’re not to engage!”

That was all the supporting squadmates needed to hear, and at once all the wounded who could be moved were being assembled to prepare for a hasty exit. This would have been an ideal time for Ringo to help out, but instead she descended on their returned comrades and peppered them with questions. “Why? What happened? What’s the situation?”

Eventually one of the returning soldiers who wasn’t nursing a potentially fatal wound managed to shoot back an answer. “The bloody psychopath Agent out there is looking for something, it has nothing to do with us.”

Another shouted out through the pain of what looked like a set of broken teeth. “And she’s a bonafide nightmare! She can’t be hurt! It's gotta be another General!”

Impossible. The thoughts buzzed around Ringo's head as all hands moved to regroup and flee without an ounce of shame. Was this it? Her entire motivation, blown up in an instant without her even getting a chance to contribute? If only she was as boneheaded as Hajime, she could have at least gone out to see her dreams get crushed with her own two eyes!