Taimanin: The Weakest's Resolve

Five Days Break - 01

Summary: After a streak of successful missions, Kotaro decided to go on a short vacation. He only had a five days break to enjoy and make the best out of it. Nothing could have gone wrong in a peacefully quiet town, right?

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The bus stopped. He took off with a backpack dangling over his shoulder and a small luggage. Dropping the belongings on the ground, he let out a long sigh out of exhaustion. The heat of a sunny afternoon made him dazed a bit after spending half of the day on the transportation.

Fuuma Kotaro briefly scanned around. Dense forests were all he could see from here. The road which the bus took didn't lead to anywhere else beyond this point. He waved at the diligent driver, who was making an U turn and left, back to the nearest station. It would probably take another long trip until the bus arrived at the previous stop sign. Kotaro was finally alone in that place. He checked the reception on his phone. He didn't surprise much as there was no signal. He was that far away from civilizations. Stretching his arms to get rid of the tension that built up during the whole trip, Kotaro grabbed his luggage and followed a single pathway that led to the destination on the other side of the mountain.

"This must be the place." Kotaro muttered.

He stopped before a wooden board that lied on the ground. Its leg was broken, seemingly too old and almost rotted. The name on it matched with the one written in the letter he received back in Gosha Village. He was on the right track.

Though, a fence was blocking the way. The moment Kotaro tried to remove it, the whole thing crashed down, making him feel a bit nervous. Just like the board, the flow of time seemed to eat it away due to the lack of maintenance. That meant not many people came around this place. This detail soon faded in the back of his mind as he continued to focus on the long, narrowed path.

Hopefully, it would take him elsewhere within these mountains.

///

"Take a break, everyone. You earned it."

He remembered being told by Asagi, the leader of all Taimanin herself, to enjoy a good rest from all the missions and classes for the time being. It was thanks to the huge success of the previous operation that everyone in the Task Force got the chance to recuperate. Otherwise, another hedious task to track down and capture the target was guaranteed. Good thing the plan worked.

Five days break. That was the reward for the whole team. Kotaro promised himself to make full use of it the moment he stepped out the briefing room with the biggest grin on his face. He quickly raced back to his home before any of his colleagues could call out his name.

Kotaro had made a decision.

He would hang out with Hebiko and Shikanosuke later. He would play game with Yukikaze later. He would train with Rinko and Su later. He would hit the gym with Murasaki later. He would carry the shopping bags for Sakura later. He would keep his promise to take Noah to a restaurant later. He would accept Shiranui's offer to cook him a meal later. He would discuss the paperworks with Asagi later. He would follow with others' requests LATER! A good rest called for a quality private time!

There was a stack of books waiting for him to read. Kotaro regretted leaving them in dust for weeks ever since the previous mission started. This time, savoring his own quality time was top priority. Then, here he was. On a trip to somewhere he could spend his precious break alone.

"Finally!" Kotaro said out loud in relief.

Having been walking for hours, his leg nearly gave in. But the sight of a smoke column rising from far away gave him an immense motivation boost. Kotaro moved faster, the four wheels underneath the luggage repeatedly kicked the earth until the source of that smoke came into his view.