An Assassin's Respite

The Plan

With Kagura returning to the living room with the rest of her classmates, Ms. Katsuchi begins to speak.

“This mission is going to be a stealth mission so don’t expect to just barge into the place. You all are still young and inexperienced, but you all have been training with each other for over a year and you have me so you will have good teamwork and understanding of each other's power, while I have the experience necessary to come up with a good plan. So, we’re going to use those things to lessen the gap between your experience and the enemies.” Ms. Katsuchi explains. 

“Oh, and there’s no need to tell me about your powers. I’ve gotten all the information I need from Karma.” Ms. Katsuhci added. 

“So you’ve been keeping tabs on all of our powers?” Shiba asks. 

“Somewhat, although I personally didn't keep tabs. Kazuna would often turn to me and the other two for advice on not just your powers, but you’re fighting styles and tendencies as well.” Karma adds. 

“Amazing!” Emiko notes.

"Kazuna really did care about us." Kagura says to herself.

"Who are the other two?" Akeno asks.

"The dragons that reside in Kazuna's other swords. Whenever he summons the lightning dragon, that is a sort of spiritual manifestation of Kirin. The other is Bahamut. I'm sure once we rescue Kazuna you all will be able to meet them." He answers.

"I see." Akeno whispers with a hand to her chin.

“So, with the information Karma has, I was able to come up with a plan that will give us the best chance of rescuing Kazuna with zero casualties and minor injuries as long as you stick to the plan and no unfore=seen circumstances arise.” Ms. Katsuchi states. 

“Understood.” They all reply. 

“Good. Now let’s get started. There will be two teams, an extraction team, and a scouting team. Ayame, Shiba, Chiyo, and Akeno will make up the scouting team and Kagura, Haruna, Haruka, and Emiko will make up the extraction team. I’ll start with the scouting team first. Ayame your power is compass and it allows you to perfectly calculate distance, along with various other metric measurements, and your power Akeno is genius-level intellect correct?” Ms. Katsuchi asks. 

“Yes.” Ayame and Akeno respond. 

“The two of you will be charged with calculating the enemy base size and the pattern of the guards as well as locating the security cameras. This will allow us to find a window in order to sneak into the base without being spotted by the guards or cameras. Shiba and Chiyo, you two will be in charge of protecting the scouting team in case they run into trouble.” She states. 

“Understood.” They reply.

“Now for the second team, the extraction team. Your job is extremely difficult as I don’t have enough time to properly train you in stealth, so you all will have to move much slower than I would like. Also, you all will be getting fed information by me through special earplugs that our clan uses in group missions. Kagura, I’m going to train you in a technique that Kazuna uses to completely silence his footsteps as best I can. You should be able to use it to silence your and everyone else’s footsteps since your power allows you to control wind.” Ms. Katsuchi says. 

“A technique Kazuna uses?” Kagura asks. 

“Yes. I’ll go over the details later when we start the training, but for now, I’ll give everyone else their assignments. Haruka and Emiko, the two of you will use your powers to open locked doors. Haruka, your power should be able to short circuit any electronic locks and Emiko, you can use your power to get through doors that are locked manually. Whenever you reach the room that Kazuna will be in or if you find yourselves in a tough spot, you will use your power, Haruna to seal the doors shut. This will give you a little time to find a way to escape if the enemy backs you into a corner. And as for rescuing Kazuna, most likely the enemy has him chained up in some way. Even near death, the enemy wouldn’t be so foolish as to discredit him as a threat. So when the extraction team reaches Kazuna, Haruka, you are to layer a wall of ice and keep the enemy from the room as best you can. The rest of you will free Kazuna. Once you have secured him, inform the scouting team. I will be with them so when I receive word that you all have him, I will signal to some trustworthy allies that will be accompanying us on the mission, so that they can create a distraction out front, luring the guards outside and allowing the extraction team to escape more easily. Is everyone clear on their roles?” Ms. Katsuchi asks.

“I thought that there wasn’t anybody in the clan that would help Kazuna?” Shiba points out. 

“Remember, she said that most people were against Kazuna being the head not all.” Akeno notes. 

“That is correct. Although Kazuna doesn’t have a very good standing in the clan, there are still those that respect Kazuna and his grandfather enough to help even now.” Ms. Katsuchi adds. 

“So, now are we all clear?” She asks once more. 

“Yes!” They all reply. 

“Oh, and one more thing. If you come into contact with Zer, even… even if it means abandoning Kazuna, run. Do not engage him. Kazuna may not have been fighting at his full power, but Zer still beat him handily so none of you would stand a chance. Do you all understand?” She asks.

The room was silent. They knew that failure was the most probable outcome. But the idea of leaving Kazuna because things got difficult seemed cruel. They were all trying to be special agents, and that way of thinking is the opposite of what they were taught. 

“But, we can’t just leave him there.” Shiba argues. 

“Do you think that I want to leave my son to die? I fully understand how you all feel. But think about how Kazuna would feel if any one of you died while trying to rescue him.” Ms. Katsuchi bites back. 

Once again, everyone goes silent. Kazuna was willing to sacrifice himself in order to save everyone, so dying to save him would be cruel in its own right. 

“Good, now that we understand each other, why don’t you all go home, get some rest and prepare yourselves for the training that is ahead of you all. It’ll be a while before any of you are allowed to return to any after-school activities so we’ll begin training thirty minutes after school and we’ll meet at Kazuna’s house. Knowing him his house will be perfect for training for the mission we’re embarking on.” Ms. Katsuchi states.

“Understood.” Everyone replies a little grimly. 

They wanted to change her mind, but they didn’t have a single valid argument. They knew that they didn’t stand a chance against Zer and escape would be impossible while carrying a near-death Kazuna. Everyone had quietly accepted defeat and was getting ready to go home when Kagura suddenly stood up. 

“I’m sorry Ms. Katsuchi, but I can’t follow that rule.” She states. 

“Oh, and why is that might I ask? I hope you aren’t going to say it goes against what you’ve been training to do or that your pride won’t allow it. It’ll take more than shallow things like that for me to change my mind.” Ms. Katsuchi replies, a bit intrigued by her assertiveness. 

“No, It’s not about either of those things. It’s not even about paying him back for saving my life not once but twice. This is about something he said to me at the Coalition festival after the final match. He said that no one had ever worried about him as we did and that if he were to ever find himself in trouble, like he is now, that nobody would come to save him. And so far everything you've said puts credibility on that statement. I can’t imagine what it would feel like if we abandoned him just to save ourselves. So, no matter what, I won’t leave Kazuna there to die.” Kagura answers. 

The way she spoke made it clear that no matter what was said thereafter, she wasn’t going to change her mind. Ms. Katsuchi starts to chuckle lightly. 

“W-What’s so funny?” Kagura asks blushing. 

“Sorry, it’s just that you said something that I didn’t expect. Well, I expected the sentimentality but I didn’t expect you to say something that would require Kazuna to have opened up to someone. He has always been one to keep quiet about how he was feeling, so for him to talk about something so deep. Damn, and I really didn’t think that any of you would have anything to say that could change my mind, but I’m glad you do. So, make sure you bring my son back to me and come back alive. Got that?” Ms. Katsuchi replies, smiling at Kagura. 

“Yes, ma’am!” Kagura replies with a look of determination on her face. 

"No matter what, I will be the one to save you this time Kazuna. Then I can actually talk to you, the real you." She says to herself.