Operation Blood Mask

Recovery and Recalling

Suddenly, I hear voices coming from behind me.

"Smoke, detonate your grenade," I said to him.

Smoke activated his grenade and we hear several coughs and wheezes coming from behind us. Smoke takes a look outside and releases a sigh of relief.

"It was only a few terrorists. I thought we managed to kill our comrades," he said.

"I was only out predicting an ambush. Is Hibana all right?" 

Sledge helped Hibana to her feet. She had one hand covering her right arm. Sledge hands her over to me.

"Take her to Doc. We'll cover you," Sledge said to me.

"Right," I replied.

Sledge and Thatcher led the way and Smoke and Mute followed behind me. There weren't many White Masks remaining in the building, we weren't willing to take that chance. Thatcher spots the man with the blood mask and calls for a halt.

"Damn, he really is here," Thatcher said. "Renegade, you go on ahead. We'll take care of him."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, I have some questions that I want answered."

"Alright."

I continued my trek towards the infirmary with Hibana in tow. The two of us managed to make it and hear that the threat has been taken care of and that the White Masks are fleeing. Doc greeted us on our way in.

"What happened?" Doc asked.

"One of the White Masks shot me in the arm," Hibana replied.

"I see," he replied taking her from me. "Give me about thirty minutes Renegade. I'll treat her wound."

I walked out and sat down. I fell asleep waiting for the treatment to finish. After essentially two operations, I was a tired dog.

"Renegade?" A voice said.

"Wh... what?" I said waking up.

"Hibana's wound has been taken care of. She is resting in a room. She wishes to see you."

"Ok."

Doc leaves the infirmary, possibly to help with the cleanup of dead bodies. I walked in to see Hibana fast asleep. She sat up once I entered the room.

"Cole?" She said to me quietly.

"How are you feeling trooper?"

"Better than before."

There was a moment of silence before Hibana looked into my eyes.

"I can't seem to escape being in your debt. You have saved my skin three times now."

"I didn't really save you the last time. I just took you to the infirmary," I replied.

"You did. And I thank you for it."

"I didn't really do anything special."

"But I must know this. How come you save me despite that it will put you in danger?"

My mind went blank for a moment. I never really thought about it much. I give her a serious look.

"I lost most of my family to the White Masks. I've made it my wish to protect those I care about no matter how much danger I put myself in. I've endured many losses and I don't want anyone on Team Rainbow to be one."

"Renegade?" Vigil said over my earpiece.

"Yes Vigil?" I replied.

"We need your help with something. Can you come up to the meeting room?"

"Yeah, I'll be there in a moment."

"You are needed elsewhere?" Hibana asked me.

"Yeah. I wish I could stay here to keep you company, but duty calls. I'll let you rest. I will see you later," I replied walking out towards the meeting room.

Hibana's POV

As I watched him leave, my mind was taken over by some thoughts. My mind took me back to Operation Red Crow, when the two of us first met.

*Flashback 2 years ago*

I heard that the SAS sent over one of their operatives to assist us. Now was the time to get serious. A man wearing a gas mask approached me.

"Are you Yumiko by any chance?" He asked me.

"Yes I am. You are?"

"I'm Cole, the SAS operative sent on this mission. It's a pleasure to meet you," he said extending his hand.

"Likewise," I replied accepting the hand shake.

"Yumiko! Everyone is ready!" A voice shouted at us.

"All right Masaru. We will be there in a moment," I said before walking over to the rappel zone.

*time skip to the end of the mission*

Things went very smoothly. Cole and Masaru were a big help. We were escaping as the chopper threw down the ladder. Masaru climbed up first as the White Masks started to fire on us. I feel a hand on my shoulder.

"Start climbing up. I'll hold them off," Cole said to me, pulling out his AR33.

Since he was suffering from an injury, I was surprised by what he said. I started to climb up the ladder, but I kept my eye on him as he dodged bullet after bullet and returning the fire. As I finished, he grabbed onto the ladder and signaled to gain altitude. He climbed up as we started on our way to Hereford. He sat down next to Masaru and across from me.

"I wanted to thank you for your assistance. You were a big help," I said to him.

"It's no problem. I only did what I was ordered to do," he replied.

"Yumiko, I just received news from Rainbow. We made it in," Masaru said.

"Seriously? That's great!" I replied to him.

"Congratulations you two," Cole said.

"Aren't you in Rainbow?" Masaru asked Cole.

"Sadly no. Four of my closest friends in the SAS made it in, but I've been training so that I can one day."

"I know you will make it one day," I said to him. "By the way, why did you decide to hop on last when you were suffering from an injury?"

"I've made a promise to myself to keep my team alive. I've lost quite a bit and I don't want to lose anyone else I care about."

"What do you mean?"

"I'd rather not talk about it. It's very personal and I'll just end up mourning if I do."

"I see."

*End of Flashback- Present Day*

"So he is still the same person I knew two years ago," I said out loud.

I feel my heart pounding whenever he is near. I've always known him as a friend, but circumstances have changed in my heart after learning about him more. Then I remember when he asked me why I gave him that shotgun.

"It's because I wanted it to protect you when I can't. You are a very important person to me and I don't want to lose you," I said to myself.