Mocha collapsed face-first in the street.

“Mocha! Dammit, you crazy woman!”

Mayumi looked around for any enemies or spectators. Clear. She pulled out a first aid spray and inspected Mocha’s body. Where do I even start… Mayumi used up both cans on her comrade, covering her flesh in the green mist. She tossed the empty cans aside.

She minimized her golden sniper rifle three-quarters of its size then swung it around her back. She lifted up Mocha’s blood-drenched body over her shoulder, clutching her wrist with her left hand and pulled out a golden silenced pistol in her right. Mayumi’s pure white outfit was getting trails of red all over.

“Is the sneak point still the same? Mocha! The bunker!? Aghhh. I hate you… Just kidding. Stay with me…”

Mayumi ran with Mocha on her shoulders. The weight was nothing compared to the 405 pound squats (two reps, easy-peasy) she hit last week. She pulled the hammer of the pistol with her thigh and hopped over the rubble of the burning torii gate.

Tatsuki came out of the latrine with his hair nearly dry. He switched from the bloody hospital scrubs into the same outfit as everyone else. He had the camouflage hood of the poncho above his damp hair. All the children were asleep. Tatsuki heard Ichigo and Yuki whispering and giggling as they sat around the fire.

Yuki looked up at Tatsuki, welcoming him to sit with them.

“Feeling better?”

“Oh yeah. Best shower of my life,” Tatsuki said with a sarcastic tone, but he meant it. He felt refreshed physically and mentally, but washing away all that blood was still unable to remove his worry for Mocha. He scanned the room for Yoshi.

“The bot? It’s waiting up the ladder by the hatch,” Ichigo said.

“I think it's waiting for Mocha,” Yuki added.

“I’m worried about her,” Tatsuki confessed.

“Me too,” Ichigo said, then looked toward the sleeping children. It wasn’t his own safety he was concerned with. The exodus would be impossible without Mocha. Nobody in the bunker knew where this dreamland was or if it even existed. Their actions were purely gliding under the wings of faith.

Tatsuki layed out the items from his bag. Carton of cigarettes—a non-negotiable grab from the grocery store—a few lighters, a two pound bag of white rice—

“Rice?!” Ichigo exclaimed.

Tatsuki appreciated the enthusiasm. Can’t live without rice! He continued; an unopened bottle of whiskey—

“Whiskey?!” Yuki shouted, then covered her mouth with a blush. Everyone laughed and Tatsuki opened the bottle.

“I’ll get us some glasses.” Ichigo hurried to the kitchen.

“Ok,” Yuki said giddily.

“It’s the little things, right?” Tatsuki said. Yuki agreed.

“It might not be the right time, but… with everything that has happened… I could use a break… Even if our conditions remain the same. It’s like partying at the end of the world. Is that wrong?”

Tatsuki shrugged. “I agree with you. I just wish Mocha—”

A metallic screech came from the hole. Tatsuki gestured to Yuki to get back as he grabbed his pulse rifle. He aimed it up the ladder and saw Mocha hanging from the back of a jacked woman in white. Droplets of blood fell from them. Yoshi descended underneath as if spotting their climb.

Tatsuki dropped his rifle and set it on the ground. Mayumi released Mocha’s wrist and Tatsuki caught her limp body.

“Is she alive?!” Tatsuki cried out, his voice breaking.

“Yeah, she was…” Mayumi caught her breath and stretched her neck. “Damn you, Mocha… This isn’t the first time I had to save your ass. Probably not the last… Hopefully not…”

Yuki rummaged through her bag and pulled out a custom first aid kit that she built herself.

“Lay her down right here,” Yuki pointed to a blanket near the fire. Tatsuki did so and put his ear to Mocha’s chest. Blood got on his ear and cheek. He didn’t know what he was doing and heard nothing. He noticed the faded brown engravings underneath her eyes and along the tops of her feet.

“What are these markings?” Tatsuki looked at Mayumi. She tightened her lips. That was Mocha’s story to tell.

Yuki put her hand on his chest and gently pushed him away. She put two fingers to Mocha’s neck and nodded as if hearing something.

“She’s just unconscious. Tatsuki—go get me a bucket of water and some rags, quick!”

Tatsuki turned around and saw Ichigo taking in the scene. He set down the tray of cups on the ground and went down to the kitchen with Tatsuki. Yoshi accompanied them. Ichigo filled a bucket with water and Yoshi airdropped it beside Mocha’s feet. Ichigo grabbed a stash of rags in a cabinet. Tatsuki tried to help, but he paced back and forth like he was lost…

They returned to Mocha’s katana, tanto, sword-belt, shoulder harness and gauntlets laid out beside her. She began undoing Mocha’s kimono, revealing the sarashi wrapping over her chest and hips. The once-white cotton was now soaked with red. Yuki unwrapped the sticky sarashi.

Mayumi took a chair and set down her gear on the wooden table. She stayed out of the way; she was the furthest thing from a medic. Her knowledge of healing was limited to copious spraying and maybe an elementary stitching with needle and thread, but she would have quite the trouble with such a delicate task. She would get it done but it would be far from passing the medical exams and a restitch would be required.

Yuki took out a tool that resembled a gun and unleashed a mechanism where the “ammo” was kept on top. She checked it was in order, shut it, then began hovering the tool over the gash in Mocha’s chest. With a hold of the trigger, a green ray stitched the wound together in seconds.

“Woah,” Mayumi muttered at the technology. She noted that she would need to get herself one of those for her next deployment.

Yuki repeated the process on the bigger wounds first, using up most of the ammo, then over the tiny cuts all over her body.

Yuki wiggled her fingers toward Tatsuki. He handed her a rag.

“Dip it in water!” Yuki shouted. There was no animosity in her voice; only a reflection of the situation. Mocha was in bad shape. Tatsuki did as she said with no gripes. Yuki wiped Mocha’s face of all the blood and grime, then laid a wet towel over her forehead. More rags were needed as she continued wiping Mocha’s body. As the blood cleared, they witnessed the multitude of gnarly scars all across her flesh that were hidden by her attire, along with the fresh gashes.

She took a tube of ointment from her kit and squeezed it into her palm, then rubbed the sticky substance over the several sickly purple bruises. The whole tube was used up by the time she coated every problem area.

Mayumi took out a foldable radio kit from her pouch and set it on the table, pressed a few buttons and took the mic in hand. It had a crystal embedded into the kit, providing a direct line to Genesis.

“Golf 117, this is White Panther at Bravo 3, stop. Lavender Kunoichi, critical condition, stop. Stabilizing, requesting momentary delay for recovery, stop. Three birds, four eggs, plus Whiskey Papa and Lima Kilo, stop. Please confirm, over.”

Three clicks came back, static, then another click.

“Copy, standing by. Over and out.”

”Sit her up.” Yuki grabbed a bandage roll and scissors. Ichigo and Tatsuki sat her unconscious body up and Yuki wrapped her. From her abs to her breasts, then diagonally over her collar she was snug in the white material. It looked just like Mocha’s original undergarments but more excessive. Yuki wrapped her hips in the sarashi from Mocha’s bag and bandaged a cut on her hamstring.

If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

“Wow. I’m impressed, truly,” Mayumi said to Yuki as she looked over her work.

“It’s the least I can do,” Yuki replied with a morsel of guilt. All this happened because Mocha was defending them… My hero…

With Mocha stabilized, the tension in the bunker that hovered like miasma began to dissipate. Everyone breathed a little easier and awaited further contact from Genesis.

Mayumi took apart her sniper rifle and cleaned the individual pieces on top of the table. Yuki returned from washing her hands in the latrine and sat by Ichigo at the fire as they both looked upon the broken woman on the floor. Please be okay…

Ichigo poured Yuki a glass of water; the bottle of whiskey was far from their mind. Mayumi periodically shifted her eyes to Tatsuki who sat beside Mocha. He had pulled out a journal that looked like it survived the 100 Year War. He scribbled into the pages, occasionally checking on the incapacitated woman.

“So! Introductions, shall we?” Mayumi filled the void with a cheerful boom. Ichigo and Yuki nodded and stood up by the fire. Tatsuki began writing faster as if to finish up his thoughts.

Yuki Kamado introduced herself first with a bow, her hands clasped over her waist. Mayumi replied with a curtsy, then shook Yuki’s dainty hand that was much more suitable for surgical precision, while Mayumi’s palms were thick and rugged.

Mayumi’s handshake was a tight grip, firm and commanding. It felt like she could pull you through a brick wall, a grip that you’d trust to hold you while dangling above the ocean from an airship.

“So I can see you’re skilled in the healing arts. Doctor, nurse, cleric…. Combat medic?” Mayumi asked with a coy smile. Mayumi waved her hand and laughed a little.

“No, no…. Nurse is what I’m trained for, yes. But I—”

“Torturer, right?” Mayumi hit the drone in the dark, minus the left-out ‘assistant’ aspect. Yuki was puzzled at her accurate guess.

“It’s ok, I get it!” Mayumi put her palm on Yuki’s shoulder, her strength pushing the girl down a little. “Omega put you up to it? You don’t have to worry about that anymore.”

Yuki blinked a few times and flashed a hopeful smile. Mayumi let go of her shoulder and looked at Mocha’s motorcycle parked at the far-end of the bunker. She remembered that at one point, she wanted to be a mechanic… Somehow she got dragged into being a soldier.

“You can be anything you want with Genesis… Only thing is, everyone has to work, or I should say, provide for the community. Not in the typical way you’re used to! Ah, you’ll see what I mean soon enough.”

Mayumi executed a left face and stepped in front of Ichigo like she was walking the ranks as a gentle drill sergeant. Ichigo held a wide grin at Mayumi who had a way of taking on the ‘defender’ role and made everyone feel safe and optimistic with her ‘champion’ demeanor. Her eyes quickly darted to Tatsuki who finally stopped writing, set his journal down and was in the middle of replacing the wet rag on Mocha’s forehead. She registered this in an instant, then smiled back at Ichigo.

“Ichigo Urameshi, pleased to meet you, Mayumi.” Ichigo offered his firmest handshake but his arm still felt like a noodle as Mayumi shook it up and down.

“Urameshi? Kamado? I thought those babies over there were yours?”

Yuki and Ichigo looked at each other with deep red on their cheeks and shook their heads.

“They are—I mean, no, no, we just met! Ahh, I have two kids, so does he.”

“Ah, coulda fooled me. Well, it’s great to meet you, Mr. Urameshi. And what is your profession?”

“I’m a chef at the Omega police chow hall. I’m… not a fan of the customers… But I do love my job. The cooking part. I guess I got a little lucky with my assigned occupation.”

“Mm, mm. So we got a doctor! And a culinary specialist! Two skills that are always needed. That doesn’t really matter though; you aren’t required to fill those roles if you don’t want to. You get to decide. Genesis believes in that old ridiculous notion called ‘free will’.”

Yuki and Ichigo laughed. Mayumi had successfully filled their spirits. She turned her attention to Tatsuki who got up from his kneeling position and gave Mayumi his full attention.

“And who is this that’s been doting on my comrade?” Mayumi crossed her arms.

Tatsuki blushed and averted his gaze. “Doting? I just, um—”

“Relaaax,” Mayumi flashed her teeth and grasped Tatsuki’s limp hand. “Tatsuki Piyoto, right?”

“Yeah, that’s me…”

“Mm. I don’t know much about you, just that you were the mark. Mocha was to rescue you, eliminate Lester the torturer, extract the data from their place of operations… Probably missing something… Eh, it’s not my mission, I’m only assigned to help with the exodus. Please, tell me about yourself, Tatsuki.”

“There’s not much to say…” Tatsuki looked away, but saw Yuki and Ichigo were both curious as well as they sat by the fire. Ichigo stirred the flames as they crackled in the bunker. Mayumi kept a patient, strong smile.

“My official profession is… Propagandist…”

Yuki and Ichigo’s eyes filled with surprise. A government official?! Technically they both worked for the government too, but a propagandist was a much more bureaucratic position. Tatsuki knew that he had to explain further. Mayumi nodded and listened, but did not seem as shocked, as if she already heard similar stories from other ‘terrorists’, as Omega liked to refer to them as.

“I was in the Omega military for a couple years. Didn’t see any combat, just burned poop all day,” Tatsuki shrugged and received a stir of laughter from his audience. He smiled and felt a little better. Mayumi gestured for him to sit down by the fire as he continued.

“You were outside the walls?” Yuki asked.

“Mhm… But not so far out, only a mile. There was nothing out there that I could see. We just did training drills. It was a waste of time, honestly.”

“So I’ve heard,” Mayumi said. “How did you get to be a propagandist? I heard they’re quite selective on who they assign that role.”

“It was my LT, Lieutenant Hartley; she’s the one that recommended me when my service ended. She always told me my opinions were dangerous, but that I can benefit the party if I shut up and put my knowledge to good use. It’s not really that interesting. They give me topics to talk about and I write scripts or fake news stories. I’m not allowed to put any personal opinions… It’s soul crushing, really…”

Tatsuki would have ended it there, but all eyes were on him. The floor was his, and nobody was going anywhere…

“5 years ago I started a little channel on the web, all in secret, but I suppose I didn’t hide my tracks well enough. It’s stupid, I even used my real name… I thought about it a couple times before; maybe deep down inside I wanted to get caught. I’ve been banned a bunch of times but I just make new channels. A Call For Disclosure, A Glitch In Omega—”

“Woah woah woah, wait just a second,” Mayumi raised her palm to Tatsuki. “You’re the guy behind A Glitch In Omega? Ohh, Tatsuki?! Securi-Team too, right?”

Tatsuki nodded in disbelief.

“No way. Dude! I thought your voice sounded familiar! Your videos are all the rage at Genesis!”

Tatsuki’s mouth fell agape. Apparently even Ichigo knew about A Call For Disclosure, but after that channel got banned he stopped listening and was unaware that Tatsuki continued under different aliases. Yuki didn’t know a thing about any of this, but was interested to learn more.

“Hey, what’s up guys, Tatsuki here with Securi-Team,” Mayumi impersonated (terribly) Tatsuki’s voice and introduction. She let out a heavy laugh, then shook Tatsuki’s hand again like she just met royalty. “I have to hear more! But, forgive me, that whiskey over there is calling my name. Do you mind, a toast?”

Everyone shook their heads with eyebrows raised. Ichigo got up to grab the tray of cups, but noticed he needed one extra—no, two now, for if—when Mocha woke up. He went to go to the kitchen but Yoshi flew in front of him and ‘nodded’, then glided down the hall to collect two glasses. Ichigo grabbed the whiskey bottle and poured drinks as Tatsuki continued.

“I… I really didn’t know my content was getting viewed like that. I mean, I get pretty good views, but… Wow, you said Genesis listens to my stuff?”

“Oh, yeah. You’re like, the ‘motivational guy’ for the resistance. Information too; the way you break down the psyop bit by bit, tell us what crap they’re pushing every day, consolidating all the banned information… It provides us clarity. And the way you do it is pretty hilarious.”

Yoshi delivered the two glasses and Ichigo passed around the cups.

“Kanpai!” Mayumi cheered and everyone mimicked her.

The group clinked their glasses of whiskey together and gulped it down. Tatsuki almost gagged, and Ichigo waved his hand in front of his face like he was trying to get rid of the bitter taste. Mayumi and Yuki looked at each other, stone cold expressions… They giggled.

“Come on boys, it’s not that bad,” Yuki said teasingly, her cheeks rosy and warm. The group all laughed together. Tatsuki now felt that itch to smoke returning with the drink in his system. He pulled out a pack of stogies and stood up.

“Do you mind if I get one of those, cowboy?” Mayumi pointed.

“Oh, sure. I was gonna smoke over there,” he craned his neck toward the far wall that Mocha’s bike was near. “I try not to smoke when I’m near the ladies.”

“Ooooo,” Mayumi said, feeling herself with her hands, “you hear that, Yuki? We’re ladies!”

They both giggled and Tatsuki flushed.

“I don’t mind, Tatsuki,” Yuki said. They were sitting directly underneath the ventilation cracks, and the children were far enough away that it would not be a disturbance. Ichigo did not mind; most Omega police smoked inside of the chow hall while they ate their food (nasty), and many of his coworkers smoked on their breaks. He was used to being surrounded by it, but never took up the habit.

“See? Nobody cares about a bit of smoke in the trenches. Hell, I’ve even seen Mocha smoke from time to time.”

“Yeah, she smoked with me earlier,” Tatsuki said with a bit of pride as he passed Mayumi a cigarette.

“Huh? She did? Well well well…”

“What is it?”

“Ohh nothing, that just means she likes you,” Mayumi said with a grin. Tatsuki’s face heated up again like he had a terrible sunburn. Mayumi burst out laughing. She waved her hand, ‘just kidding!’, then flicked an imaginary lighter in her hand. Tatsuki passed her the lighter and she sparked her stogie. Mayumi was not a smoker either, but just like Mocha, she enjoyed the occasional nicotine buzz when deployed.

“Ok, so Mr. Glitch In Omega, or should I say, Securi-Team,” as Mayumi blew out her smoke, they heard moans outside their circle.