CHAPTER 11

He still looked the same, the same as when he was crying at the train station when he said goodbye to her, perhaps he'd gained more muscle, but Yutaka Nakamura looked exactly the same. His hair was longer than usual, but his golden eyes still shone the same way they did whenever she walked into the room, and he still held that cold glare towards everyone else, not because he thought he was better but because he simply was. Yutaka was always better at everything, he was always the best, he was the Nakamura's prodigy child. Yuichi was the sweet, protective one, Ren the calm, and academic one, while Yutaka was the prodigious, and athletic child. Kohaku was the fire, she was always on fire, always screaming at her brothers, always outspoken, no matter what anyone said.

"What a surprise, Private Matsuoka, Captain Nanami." Yutaka spoke, in his perfect Japanese, his voice still the same, but it wasn't warm like when he spoke to her. It was cold, iced over, absolutely frigid. She could read him like a book, the small twitch of his brow meant he was uncomfortable, either because she was here, or because there was something big Mamoru wasn't telling him, that being the fact that Private Matsuoka, was actually a girl.

"I can explain, sir." Minori tried to talk to him, but it was a futile effort. Yutaka wouldn't listen to her, there was no way, and Kohaku knew it. He'd made up his mind, he wasn't going to consider anyone else's opinion, except maybe hers. But even that was a long shot.

"Matsuoka, shut your mouth," Yutaka waved her off like a stupid fly, "Sergeant Kaneko, I assume there's a logical explanation for all this?" Yutaka's right eyebrow raised, and Kohaku saw him scrutinize the sergeant.

"I'm afraid, most of this is my fault." Mamoru stood up, and faced Yutaka's blizzard. He weathered the storm that was Yutaka Nakamura like a professional, like he'd been doing it his whole life, and Kohaku would be lying if she wasn't impressed. Again, the eyebrow raised, the unimpressed, dissatisfied with his behaviour, eyebrow. The one that always made Yutaka look superior. Kohaku could see, however, that in Mamoru's presence, he was a lot less frigid, that he actually respected his fellow captain, despite holding a sense of resentment toward him.

"And how is this your fault? All I'm seeing here, captain, is your subordinates hiding these women from the Non-Lethal Extraction Team," Yutaka countered, "you do know that is practically treason, captain?" This time, Kohaku focused on Mamoru, watching the right corner of his mouth twitch, as if he were going to swear. He didn't though, he simply narrowed his eyes at Yutaka, straightened himself out, and started to speak in a tone that shrunk Yutaka to the size of a mouse. Kohaku was fascinated by the effect Mamoru had on Yutaka.

"Captain Nakamura, I'm aware of what my team has done, and if it weren't for private Kuramoto, then I'm sure you wouldn't have come," he looked at Yutaka, who shrunk beneath his gaze, "but I can assure you, we were handling the situation."

"Apologies, captain Nanami," she'd never seen Yutaka grovel so hard in her life, "but it is the job of NLET1 to extract possible Yōki candidates from the Hanran's protection."

"I know that, Nakamura," Mamoru shook his head dismissively, "but it seems you have a conflict of interest."

"I assure you, captain, that my sister—"

"It's fine, Nakamura," his face softened, and she saw Yutaka relax, "I will handle this situation. I will return them all to the Hiyokuna, and I will discuss their situation with Major Minami." Yutaka nodded like an obedient puppy, and stepped off.

"Get the chopper ready, we are leaving in five minutes." He dismissed Yutaka, who gathered the shattered remnants of his ego, placed them back together in record time, and then shooed his team out of the house. Kohaku could hear the helicopter blades starting to whir in the background. She should have felt betrayed, knowing she was going back to the Hiyokuna, but somehow, just somehow, she felt like she could trust captain Nanami and his Minori. They cared about the girls, they saw Sousuke's birth, they were going to help them.

"I'm sorry it has to come to this," Mamoru spoke with a certain softness in his voice, "but I assure you, I will get you out of the Hiyokuna, even if it means taking you back there myself, and losing my position for it."

"Why?" The word was dry on Kohaku's tongue, "why would you risk your career, your life for a bunch of girls you barely know?" Tears threatened to spill from her golden eyes, almost as if she couldn't control them.

"It's not about just that, Kohaku," he tried to explain, "I've never agreed with how our government handled the fertility crisis, and I still believe, despite having worked in law enforcement, that sentencing a woman to become a vessel for who knows how many children, only to be discarded if she cannot bear children anymore isn't human. I don't believe in objectifying women to the point where they function as simple reproducers, it's unfair, while men have to dedicate their lives to the Japanese government. We might live in an unfair world, but I'm not an unfair person. I'm helping you, because it would be going against my morals to stand by and watch you get taken by the government and sentenced to something worse than death."

"You should be a politician, you know, cap," Kohaku laughed sheepishly, and then turned to Jun, "you're lucky to have one that stands firm. One that believes in you, and what he stands for."

"I promise, as well. I will try my best to help get you out of the Hiyokuna." Jun stated proudly, her voice still low, like it always was when she hadn't tapped her voice modulator. Afterwards, Mamoru hesitantly started to lead them out of the house, giving Sousuke to Jun, despite Akane's viscious protests, and hoping for the best. Yutaka stood to the side like a discarded toy, and watched with trepidation in his eyes as his sister stepped into the chopper. She was a prisoner of the government and he was letting it happen. He knew that captain Nanami said he'd handle it, but Yutaka couldn't trust him, not with something as important as Kohaku's life. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see a small flicker of light behind a bush. He figured it was Yuichi, standing, watching as his worst fears came to be, and knowing he could do nothing. It was Yuichi against most of the Japanese military, and while Yuichi was good at most things, there was no way he was going to get through both Mamoru's and his team.

Naoki was pacing, and she hated it. She never paced, she was always calm and collected, while Kohaku and Akane-san threw their fits, but this time, Naoki was panicking. She was not supposed to be in the Hiyokuna, ever, there was no record of her existing in the Hiyokuna, so she couldn't stay here long. But here she was, stuck, in a cell, in the middle of a militant forces compound. She wasn't the only one who was panicking, she could see Kohaku practically chew off her nails, while Akane hadn't stopped crying since they took Sousuke. That, Naoki could understand, Sousuke was barely an hour old as they took him from Akane, and forced her into a chopper, headed for the Hiyokuna. Naoki doubted any of the girls ever thought they'd come back to the Hiyokuna, especially Akane. The only one who didn't look like she was freaking out was Makoto, but Mako never showed emotion. She was always stoic, always calm, even now, while they were back in the Hiyokuna, waiting for death, basically. A door opened, and in stepped a soldier. Naoki recognized him, or rather her, from when she arrived to save Mamoru, she removed her hat, and tapped her wrist twice.

"I have to make this quick," her voice was low, but no doubt feminine, "you may not know me personally, but I'm sure Mamoru has told you about me, my name is Matsuoka Minori, but I go by Jun now. We're working on a plan to get you out, I promise." She gazed in the direction of Hitomi, with a forlorn look in her dark eyes.

"I have to go now, but hang tight. I'll figure something out." And with that, she was gone as soon as she'd appeared. It was a while before the next one came in, and with him, he took Kohaku, who was very angry to say the least. Naoki didn't know how long she was gone, because there was no way for her to measure the time, but when she returned, she was beyond pissed. The soldier requested Naoki's presence next. He took her by her hand, roughly, and dragged her through the metal compound, into a metal room, with an uncomfortable metal chair, and a cold metal table. He snapped two cuffs over her hands, and then she was stuck. She sat there for at least fifteen minutes, before another soldier stepped in. He looked to be of higher rank than the previous one, and carried himself with a certain amount of grace.

"For the record, state your first name, last name, and age." He commanded, and her throat felt dry. This was it, she was going to get stuck in here for the rest of her life because she had no Digicord. Naoki Kojima didn't exist.

"Kojima Naoki, I'm twenty-one years old." She spoke hesitantly.

"Kojima? Are you sure. I've never heard of a family with the name Kojima," he spoke, "besides, there's no record of a Kojima Naoki in the system. Who are you really?"

"My name really is Naoki. I'm not in the system, because I wasn't born in the Hiyokuna. I was born in the extra judicial zones," she tried to explain, leaning forward, and causing her handcuffs to move around on the table, "my mother was well-known in fertility science. She'll have a Digicord. Her name was Dr Miyazaki Kumiko."

"Miyazaki, huh? Now that's a name I can recognize. It seems, Miyazaki-san, you come from a very established family, a family who ran from the Hiyokuna years ago." He raised his eyebrow, like Kohaku's brother had, and she looked away for just a second.

"The sins of my parents are not my own." She said softly.

"Are you, or any of your companions, affiliated with the Hanran, in any way, Miyazaki-san?" He asked. It was odd, hearing her name, a name she'd been born with, but never spoken.

"We are under their protection, we do not serve them in any way. They just offered us protection," she defended, "I'm not a member of the Hanran."

"Do you know the name of the man who offered to protect you?" The interrogator asked.

"No, I do not," she tried to lie, "we were never told names, only given instructions. We meet with foot soldiers every month to receive supplies."

"Very well, Miyazaki-san, that is all." And with that, he stood up, and left her alone. Shortly afterwards, the same soldier who brought her to the room, took her back to the cell, and there she lay. Unable to do anything, but wait for Minori and Mamoru to figure something out.

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

f-f-f-filler!!!! sorry