Chaos Will Take You Everywhere

Chapter 58: Another Sunrise

Flannery took a sip from the cheap wine they had bought at a nearby convenience store before she passed the bottle to Teruko. They had deliberately decided not to buy a fancy brand, as they didn't really have anything to celebrate. They had won this battle, but it certainly didn't feel like a victory.

"Cheers to the rest of the Hunting Dogs," Teruko said bitterly before taking a pull on the bottle as well. She hadn't turned back into her child form yet, so they were spared the moral debate of whether they were encouraging underage drinking or not.

They were seated on the floor of the meeting room that Teruko had wrecked just this morning. They had pushed the chairs and tables to the walls so that they could form a small circle of sleeping mats, blankets and pillows in the centre. It was almost poetic, sitting in the middle of all the destruction as though they were floating on a lifeboat.

"Cheers," Flannery mumbled, staring at the flashlight that they had propped up like a candle to have at least a little light in the dark room. "Things are going to be very different from now on, huh?"

"Yes," Tetchou confirmed. "We're going to need a new captain."

"Well, the choice is quite obvious, isn't it?" Jouno replied, taking the bottle when Teruko handed it to him.

"What do you mean?" Tetchou wanted to know.

"Teruko's obviously going to become our new captain," Flannery answered. "She practically ran the last mission all by herself, Fukuchi was barely present."

"And yet here we are, dreading the government's decision," Teruko cursed. "I'm sorry for failing you."

"You didn't fail us," Jouno objected.

"How should you have even known?" Flannery added. "After all, the page was there specifically so that people like us wouldn't find out about the Decay of the Angel's plan."

"You've proven more than enough how suitable you are as a captain," Tetchou spoke. "You killed the last one although you were closest to him."

Teruko pressed her lips together for a moment before she nodded. "I suppose you're right. Well, the choice for vice-captain is equally as obvious. Jouno, are you ready to step up?"

"I am," Jouno replied. "We've got this."

"I know," Teruko said, grabbing a blanket and throwing it over hers and Flannery's lap. "I know we can come back as a unit. I know you and I will be good leaders. I know that one day, people will think of us when they think of the Hunting Dogs, and not the captain. It's just...damn, we're supposed to be winners. So why do we keep fucking losing?"

"We did win," Flannery began, pausing for a second to take another sip as Tetchou had just passed her the bottle. "Technically. We just lost someone who was supposed to be a person we could rely on. Hell, we were betrayed by him, he's been planning to use us for years. It was already terrible for me to learn that all his kind words to me were nothing but lies. I can't even begin to imagine what it must've been like for you."

"It was like nothing I've ever felt before," Teruko admitted, absentmindedly swirling what little wine was left in the bottle when Flannery handed it to her. "I still don't quite want to believe it. At first, I was so angry that I could've torn the whole world apart. Then, I felt defeated in the face of disillusion. And finally, the numbness settled in. It hasn't quite worn off yet, and I'm not quite sure if I even want it to."

"It does help with accepting the situation," Tetchou agreed. "I'm disgusted with how he essentially used us for the opposite of what we thought we were doing. It's hard to somehow reconcile that with my conscience, even though I know I had little chance to see through his plans."