Fragments

Ch.22 - Into Chaos

With the arrival of a dreaded day accompanied by a differently sounding bell, at 5 in the morning, the team met up in the winding hallway connecting their rooms in their usual, organized chaos.
However, the Guardians soon found out the raid wouldn't be the only stressful aspect of today, as, bizarrely enough, one man from their team was missing.
Occasionally interrupted by tired, unfocused yawns, in a rush they looked through bathrooms, the hallway itself and went into Reuel's room once they found out the door was unlocked, finding just an empty, messy bed…
"Where the hell did he go?" Yuu wondered as he peeked inside, voicing the question everyone had on their mind. "And why today? Doesn't he know what day it is?"
Regardless of the unusual wake-up, the team needed to continue onwards and meet their Instructor downstairs…

"Wait, what?" Asuma repeatedly implored where Reuel could've gone, if anyone knew about his plans, intentions or had useful information, getting no answer, only shrugs from the equally confused team.
A mutual, silent agreement was made – considering everyone's experiences with his "instability", he either silently quit or went rogue. Considering his power, which option was worse, wasn't clear…
"As much as I'd like to discuss this, Asuma sighed, checking her watch, "the raid starts at 7:30, so we can't."
Her response was only a comical yet understandable silent gulp.
"Right, I'll be in as much of a hurry as you guys. We depart at… Let's say 6:50. I'll go ahead and explain the plan, then you're free to do whatever, eat something, do some final check-ups, whatever you need."
With the introduction out of the way, she pointed to a table in the corner, which had a map of Hinansho and its surroundings taped to it, with tiny arrows and blocks representing the vehicles they'll use. Their target, an old factory for pharmaceutical products, was unfortunately in the settlement's center, meaning a direct path would only open through a forceful, direct assault.
"These black blocks are tanks, they'll stay near the border and act as artillery," she began, tapping near a cluster of cubes. "Our main force will be these red arrows, Aegis's standard weaponized trucks, which will charge inside in an arrowhead formation, with you guys in the middle, in an armored van… If it goes according to plan, we'll clear a direct path to the factory, and from there, you know what to do – defeat Saiken's leader, capture him alive and get back safely… Ari and I will be leading a different team, one charged with not letting any Reapers escape the area and killing as many as possible. Now," she said with increasing intensity in her voice, "the hard part comes. The whole area will be carpet bombed 30 minutes after we start, to erase the settlement and kill any remaining or incoming enemies, at which point we all have to retreat… We need to fulfill our duties in that time span," Asuma said, providing clear and concise explanations of their duties. "This type of mission is a first, even for me, but we just need to use our knowledge and experience at a larger scale…" Her eyes raised from the map, looking over the young men and women surrounding her, whose performance everything hinged on. "Is everything understood, or are there any questions?"

As final preparations were undergone, another mission inching closer with every passing minute, those without much equipment, like Rosea and Ku, sat around, eating breakfast in relative peace…
"I'm scared," the girl said shakily, twirling a tiny spoon in a ceramic teacup with an aimless gaze.

"We all are, Rosea," Ku said, attempting to calm her. "Nobody knows what to expect there… We can only hope and pray we'll find use for the things we learned."

"No, please, that's not what I meant," she interrupted in an unexpected manner. "I know that, but– you know how I grew up, don't you?"

"Hm? Yeah, you told me a few days ago," he responded immediately. "You mean how your family never had much trouble surviving, because your dad's a CEO?"

"Mhm… And I wanted to be a Guardian because I felt indebted to others for letting us live so freely. I want to save others and repay them for my happy childhood… But I'm scared I'll just be a burden. I have an exceptional ability, but I can't– I just can't handle these things, I feel like breaking down and crying whenever it comes up…" With tears in her eyes, the girl leaned into Ku's embrace, looking down at her arms she still vividly remembered as burnt-off stumps. "I feel like quitting, going back to my home and helping my family or something… No matter how much I'm helped," she said, thinking of her friends and the assistance they provided, "I don't feel confident… In anything."
Min-jun, Yuu, Lilly, Ku – they were all people she didn't want to disappoint, but she felt inevitable failure regardless… And failure against a Reaper meant only one thing.