LOVE GAME | s. heizou [✔︎]

IX*

ROUGHLY THREE MONTHS LATER

•••

[Y/N] was tired. She was tired of the war, the constant fighting. The screams of agony echoed in her mind despite being from victims several months deceased, the blood on her hands never coming off no matter how hard she scrubbed.

Tears streamed down her face as she ran her hands under the water. Her fingers were wrinkly and dry from the constant washing, yet she continued on. She only stopped when she heard Heizou talking to her ninken, who was snarkily responding. Swallowing thickly, the woman dried her hands off and wiped her tears before hurrying out of the bathroom, smiling at the dog who was laying on their back.

The ninken yipped before bouncing to their paws, trotting over happily towards the two standing nearby. Heizou handed a manila folder to the woman. She cringed at the thickness of it before opening it to skim through the pages.

Shocked, she looked up, eyes wide. "Are these...all battle plans?"

When the male nodded, she closed the folder and swiped the air, opening her map. Without a second glance, she tapped the waypoint in front of the shrine and disappeared into stardust. Reappearing outside the shrine, [Y/N] gave a nod to the guard and briskly walked towards the priestess' office.

She clutched the folder tightly to her chest, knocking on the office door before opening it. Placing the manila folder on Kokomi's desk, she stepped back, her arms behind her back.

"Shikanoin gave me that just moments ago, Kokomi-sama. He says they include all possible future battle plans, including formations and details on every squad member."

The pinkette hummed as she thumbed through the folder, eyes scanning the words. "Impressive. Well done, [Y/N]-chan. However, I have some rather grave news. You're needed near the front lines to help with infiltration. Takei Kyou has requested backup and you're the best infiltration specialist we have at the moment."

Grabbing a red pen, the hydro-user circled the general location on the map that was laid out on her desk. "He and his squad are located here. Am I correct to assume you know the members of Squad 9?"

"No, ma'am. Squad 9 has always been new recruits stuck with a veteran. I've worked with Kyou-san, but I'm not sure of his squadmates."

"Squad 9 consists of four people: Takei Kyou, Onishi Suzume, Orochi Kenji, and Hatake Hikaru. Only two possess a vision; Kyou-san and Hikaru-san. They have explosives at the ready, but I'm sure your dendro vision will help with the destruction of the camp. Now go."

Kokomi flicked her wrist dismissively, eyes turning back to the manila folder. [Y/N], without a word, teleported to the waypoint nearest to the rendezvous point. She quietly hurried towards the squad, raising a hand in greeting as she came into view.

Kyou, upon recognizing her, let his face split into a grin. "Ahh, [Y/N]-heichō*! Glad to see you despite the circumstances. 'komi-sama d'brief ya?"

"Yes."

"Good, good. I got Kenji-kun and 'karu-kun scoutin' ahead to find where 'ta place the explosives. Should be a breeze! Jus' gotta have some dendro spread 'roud before settin' the pyro barrels off. Hikaru-kun's got an electro vision, so he can spread the dendro. Ya know I got a pyro vision, so don' worry 'bout that bit."

"Ah, thank you Kyou-san. I'll go ahead and help the two boys with it. The front line assault should be taking care of any enemies right now, but we have little time, so we should hurry."

With that, [Y/N] sped off. She followed the elemental traces left behind by Hikaru, easily running through the treetops. She frowned as the trees started to thin out, forcing her to the ground. A shout from ahead caused her to pick up her pace, eyes narrowing.