Attention II

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A horn blared loudly, piercing the early morning silence.

The men bolted up from their creaky beds, then the olive-eyed, bespectacled lieutenant arrived, receiving a salute.

"Rise and shine, kids. Today, you're having the first of many field trips. You'll travel by bus to an undisclosed location, for some training." Goro was much more calmer than the brutal Miku, so they're thankful.

In the vehicle, everyone was silent, even if the squad leaders aren't present. It was a short journey before they got to a place surrounded by a wire fence.

The area resembled an abandoned town, complete with destroyed houses and debris scattered all over.

The soldiers stand in properly arranged rows, as the two women appear in front of them.

"Out in combat, you'd obviously need your weapons." Ichigo declared.

"... And experience in using them." Miku continued. "That's why we're here to play 'Capture the Flag', a classic training exercise, using wax bullets filled with colored liquid."

Zorome didn't think 'play' was the correct word to use. Surely, there's some kind of suffering involved. Summer is about to end and the heat is not a friend out here.

"We expect for you to take this seriously, as if you were in some war-torn nation fighting for your own country. You'll need these skills to save your asses."

"We will be your team captains." The shorter girl says. "Oh, and you'll be running around while carrying all your gear."

Hidden under their serious faces, the men wanted to complain, but they were also trained to be disciplined. Who would blame them? A soldier's gear weighs at least 60 pounds.

"Any questions?"

The purple-eyed man raised his hand. "Ma'am, what happens if you win or lose?"

"If you win, you win, plus bragging rights. If you lose, the team does the job of cleaning the paint off your uniforms, by hand."

Taking turns, the team leaders say the names of those in their team. Zorome was sure he'd be called last, he could feel it.

Miku silently signaled her confusion to her friend, Ichigo intentionally left Zorome out for her.

The red-head sighed. "Let's go, shrimp."

The two groups part ways to formulate their plans.

"Listen, we'll place the flag a couple of feet from here, there are some two- story buildings we could use."

She began assigning them with either offense or defense. Zorome zoned out for a second, watching her spit out orders and commands.

"Hey, you listening?" Miku tries to snap him out from his daze.

He awkwardly nodded.

She continued assigning tasks. "Anyway, you three secure an opening for me and pipsqueak." Miku pointed at Zorome. "You're coming with me. "

Moments later, the team moved out to hide their flag and those on the offensive sprint through the concrete ruins.

Suddenly, the noise of splatting paint and puffs of air alerted them, prompting them to take action. As the exchange of fire continued, Miku and Zorome slipped out, pointing their guns back in case of anyone following them.

The sheer weight of the backpack worn them down, making this a test of endurance. The pair ran towards an old house, getting cover from the crossfire.

Miku stood next to a hole in the wall-where a window's supposed to be, she huffed, trying to catch her breath.

In the corner of his eye, Zorome detected something moving in the distance.

He pulled her down by the arm. "Get down!"

Rapidly, a splat of color hit the wall behind her. She immediately aimed her gun at the direction it came from and paused when Zorome bolted through the back door.

"Damn it, now's not the time to chicken out! Get back here!" She shouts while trying to take out the opponent gunman.

Then, as she took a break, there was a grunt from the shooter. Looking up to see what happened, color was on his dark uniform.

Zorome gave his superior a thumbs-up, telling her to come over after he got rid of the guard.

They went up the stairs with caution, seeing another soldier-presumably to defend the flag, before Miku shot him down.

"We're in the wrong building." She says.

"Huh, but they have guards here. How could it-" They heard a chorus of yells and cheers.

"They already found ours." Outside, the men of the other team carried Ichigo while she waved our flag in celebration.

Miku kicked the wall, the impact making concrete dust fly off it and a crack formed.

"Whoa." He says under his breath.

Once they returned to camp, the losing group collected water and soap, to sit down and do the laundry. The uniforms used reeked of the stench of paint and body odor.

In their plain white shirts, they scrubbed at the stains.

"Don't they have washing machines out here?" One of them sighed.

"Nope, we're doing this because it's honorable." Miku sat next to Zorome, setting down a basin of clothes, water landing on his face.

"You're doing the laundry too?" He asked.

"Yep, the team lost and I'm still part of the team, no matter my rank." She says. "All of you better clean em' good. One day your girlfriends will need someone helping them with chores back home."

He stared at the cloth he was washing, bubbles of soap float around the place.

"Do you have a girlfriend?"

Zorome was surprised at her question. He heated up, and his eyes widened. "Uh, no."

"No wonder! Look at you, so wimpy. No girl in her right mind would want that." Miku smiled. "I guarantee you, once you complete training, you'll get one."

*********************************
To be continued.

I procrastinated again. I'm sorry.

But thanks for your patience.

🙇

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