Chapter 254 – Burden of Risk
The time to prepare felt short. Sooner than any of us expected, the day of the final confrontation with the PSF approached.
We were all gathered in the tiny apartment, filling it with way too many people once more. It was the night before. The girls from the other world were already here. We would leave early in the morning. No one had anything to do anymore, and we were all just hanging around. The preparations still required were of another kind.
“This is finally happening, huh?” That was Katja to Carol. Split into small groups, a handful of quiet, parallel conversations slowly filled the room.
“Are you complaining? Isn’t this what you wanted?”
“It is, but… No matter how it turns out, it’s still a big deal. Three Records will change.”
“Scared?” Carol’s grin was much weaker than usual.
The plan now involved me and Narumi teaming up to create a distraction at the House. Miyuki whined, but in the end, we managed to find something that works. Going to the House served two purposes. Attacking the forces stationed there should see reinforcements being called in, and it protects our home from any last-second retaliation.
“We’re strong enough, aren’t we?” Narumi asked, leaning her shoulder against mine on the couch.
“Of course.”
“Strong enough to win without killing anyone?”
“Yeah… Don’t worry… No matter what, I won’t make you do anything bad.” I patted her head.
Sarasa’s ears twitched on the table behind us. “The real question is whether WE will make it through unscathed, isn’t it?” With a sigh, she slumped over the table. “And we’ll have to fight without Iroha there again… That’s so lonely… I miss fighting with my girlfriend…”
“Fufu… You’re the kind of lover that enjoys drama.” Said the princess from the other corner of the table.
“Hmm?” Sarasa raised an eyebrow, and that was it.
“But… Didn’t we just waltz in there last time?” Ririna asked. “If we group up from the beginning, no one’s gonna get hurt.”
Hecate’s finger calmly and coldly tapped the table. “It’s not that simple. We were able to move around easily last time because we sneaked in. We’re not sneaking this time, and they’re gonna be expecting us. Even with Iroha and Narumi’s distraction, we should expect much tougher resistance. Isn’t that right?” She turned to Miyuki, the girl sitting at the table next to her.
“Yeep… You’ll have to work a little harder now. Most likely,” Miyuki’s chin rested on her hand.
“We’re also tougher than before.” Carol said. “More resistance is not gonna stop us. If Miyuki is actually right.”
“Ehh… What’s with that attitude? Are you doubting me now?”
“How could I not? You were wrong before. You had going to cells looking for Iroha when she was already gone.”
“I blame that on our lovely Iroha! It’s not my fault that she’s just so unpredictable.”
It’s my fault now? Her ability to see into the future is just kinda faulty if even I can throw it off. That’s my defense.
“Now’s not the time to joke, Miyuki.” Hecate said. “You can’t be putting the blame on others when our lives are on your hands.”
“Don’t give me that.” Miyuki’s cheeks puffed up. “You still got exactly what you wanted thanks to my guidance. It doesn’t matter if I get a detail wrong or two when the outcome is still the same.”
“If you’re going to get details wrong, then we’re still not done preparing.” Katja stood up from the couch where she and Carol were and walked over to the table. “We need to come with a few contingency plans before tomorrow to account for those mistakes!”
Miyuki’s silly expressions disappeared. “You don’t need to come with anything. Relax… The outcome will be same. We take down the PSF leadership and go back to the House.”
“Then why can’t you own up to your mistakes? When something goes wrong tomorrow, like always, then what? What are you gonna do?”
“Even if something goes wrong, who cares?” I said. I don’t like this. “Let’s all calm down first.”
The tension eased a little.
“But, Iroha…” Hecate said. “What if something happens to us?”
“I know. That’s the last thing I want, of course.” I placed one hand on Katja and Miyuki’s shoulders. “But no amount of contingency plans or worrying will change that. We’ve always accepted that risk every time we fought and faced it head-on whenever something went wrong. What happened then?” I paused. “What’s really important is moving forward no matter what. You even taught me that, Katja. To make the first move in a fight and stay in the driving seat.”
“Well… Combat and life don’t follow the exact same rules.”
“But in this case, I think they do. With all of us together, we’ll find a way. No matter what happens or what may go wrong, we’ll find a way to work together and pull through like we’ve always done.”
“…” A faint smile appeared on Miyuki’s mouth.
“That’s why, even if Miyuki gets it wrong once or twice, I still trust her. She’s the one who points out our path forward. I trust you, Katja, to focus on what really matters despite how much inner or outer turmoil you might be going through. I trust Hecate’s eyes to watch over and keep everyone safe. I trust Carol to wrangle you back in line if one of you starts getting out of hand. I trust Ririna’s ability to come up with a last-second creation to save everyone. I trust Sarasa’s ability to spread just enough chaos to disrupt enemy plans. I trust Reia’s brain to catch any details we might miss. I trust Bea’s ability to rule over an unruly group of children. And I trust that Narumi’s hopes will lead us to the best possible end.”
“We don’t need to hesitate. We don’t need to fear things going wrong.”
“If we stick together without giving up, I’m sure that everything will end up going our way no matter how many twists and turns we have to go through!”
Silence. Just staring. Soon, the tension slowly left everyone. The girls loosened up and their lips curved up slightly.
“*Sigh…* When you put it like that…” Ririna leaned back on her chair, arms relaxed at the sides.
“It makes for a very compelling argument.” Hecate said.
“When we all do our part, there’s no reason to hesitate.” Next was Bea.
Carol with a smirk. “And if you’re confident enough to give a sappy speech, I guess we have no choice but to follow your lead.”
“Sa- sappy?!” What was sappy about that?!
“Why are you so shocked?” Sarasa tilted her head. “She’s not wrong. That was pretty sappy.” Now a grin.
“C- come on… It wasn’t that sappy… And it wasn’t even a speech! I was just trying to raise morale a little.”
Miyuki nodded along. “Yes yes… Often referred to as a speech, Iroha.”
“Arrgh! Enough! Now you’re just trying to tease me! I don’t deserve that when I was just trying to help.”
“With a sappy speech.” Gaahh! Carol’s words stabbed like a sword.
“I, for one, am grateful, Iroha.” Hecate said. “You tired to ease our worries, and that’s what matters the most. And you also made a great point. We have a goal we want to achieve. Until we get what we want, no matter how what highs and lows we have to get through, we can’t turn our backs on it.”
“We’d regret hesitating now.” Narumi said. “With them targeting Shinji and our location getting revealed tomorrow, there is no other choice than for us to act.”
“Exactly… That’s exactly right!” My voice picked up. “Girls, I’m counting on you. Together, we can do this! We’ll take back the House, our freedom, and Shinji!”
“Yeah!” In sync, we all raised our fists.
At least now I can’t get singled out for being sappy.
Sigh…
Despite everything I said, this is still a huge bet. I don’t want us to separate. I want to be there with the people I care about, protecting them. The danger they’ll face is real this time. I wanna trust them… I really do.
If it was me, I’d be fine. I can fuck up and get cut, stabbed, smacked around… whatever. I’ll find a way to scrape by and make it to the finish line. We’ve done the same as a group before, but… Can we do it again this time?
Miyuki… I really hope you got everything right this time…