Chapter 17 - Emergency Meeting

The conference room inside the National Military Headquarters was silent. Five people sat around the long steel table, and no one spoke or even looked at one another.

At the head of the table sat Endou Tachibana. He wore a neatly pressed blue suit with a matching blue tie, his hands folded calmly on the table and his posture straight and composed. Only the slight trembling of his clasped fingers betrayed the storm of emotions he was desperately trying to suppress.

To his right sat Saki Nidou. Normally, she was the brightest person in any room, but today the cheerful smile that always defined her was gone. Dark circles rested beneath her eyes, making it look as though she hadn't slept in days. Her arms were crossed tightly, her jaw clenched as she stared at the tabletop.

Beside her sat Yuki Horikita. She remained as composed as ever, her white military uniform immaculate and her expression revealing almost nothing. Yet those who knew her well could see the subtle sadness hidden behind her calm eyes.

Across from them lounged Ryuen Shimada. He wore an extravagant purple designer jacket over a black shirt, with a pair of expensive sunglasses resting on his face despite being indoors. Unlike everyone else, he looked completely relaxed. One leg rested casually over the other, and a faint arrogant smile never left his lips.

Finally, at the end of the table, sat Sakura Tendo. She wore an oversized pink hoodie pulled over her idol clothes, her head lowered as her long pink hair hid part of her face. Her hands rested quietly in her lap, trembling every few moments. Her swollen eyes made it painfully obvious she had spent many nights crying.

The silence felt endless.

Then—

The conference room door opened.

"Sorry for the wait."

Every pair of eyes turned toward the entrance.

General Horikita entered. Despite appearing to be a man in his sixties, his posture remained straight and commanding. Years of military service had left countless wrinkles upon his face, yet his sharp eyes still possessed the same unwavering determination they had held in his youth.

He walked toward the projector without interruption. After placing a folder onto the table, he looked at each of them in turn.

"I know every one of you is carrying your own burdens."

His voice was calm.

"I'm also aware that comforting words won't help anyone in this room."

He folded his hands behind his back.

"So..."

"I'll get straight to the reason I summoned all of you."

The projector flickered to life, and the first image appeared: a photograph of Taichi Konoha. His bright smile seemed almost out of place inside the dark meeting room.

General Horikita spoke.

"Taichi Konoha disappeared in District B of Starlight City on October 9."

"There were no witnesses."

"No evidence."

"No leads."

Silence followed.

Out of the corner of his eye, Endou noticed Sakura quickly lower her head even further. A small tear fell onto the table.

The General changed the slide, and a photograph of Roland Stronoff appeared.

"Two weeks later..."

"Roland Stronoff also disappeared."

"He was last seen pursuing an unidentified enemy after receiving a personal distress call."

Another image appeared.

This time, the room became even colder.

The screen displayed an image extracted from Roland's Braver armor recording: a girl with long crimson twin ponytails, a black sailor uniform, a crimson ribbon, an impossibly wide delighted smile, and narrow delighted eyes.

The Witch of Greed.

General Horikita continued.

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

"She identifies herself as the Witch of Greed."

"We currently believe she is responsible for the Plaza Incident."

Images rapidly changed across the screen: destroyed streets, collapsed buildings, black goblin creatures, emergency responders, and military units.

"The attack resulted in approximately one hundred confirmed casualties."

"The number of missing civilians currently exceeds one hundred."

The room became completely silent.

General Horikita stopped speaking and instead looked toward Endou. Without saying a word, he gave a small nod.

Endou slowly stood, his composed expression remaining unchanged.

"My statement concerns Roland's disappearance."

He took a slow breath.

"At exactly 10:27 p.m..."

"I received a call from Roland."

The room listened carefully.

"He informed me that the Witch of Greed had taken his wife and daughter hostage."

"She lured him to an abandoned district beyond effective satellite coverage."

Saki suddenly slammed both hands against the table.

BANG!

"That monster..."

"Using his family against him..."

Her voice shook with rage.

"I'll never forgive her!"

Yuki quietly placed a hand upon Saki's shoulder. Without speaking, she gently encouraged her to sit back down.

Endou continued.

"Military reinforcements and I reached the location shortly afterward."

"There was..."

He hesitated.

"...nothing."

"No Roland."

"No family."

"No Witch."

"Only an abandoned warehouse."

General Horikita resumed speaking, his expression remaining stern.

"As of today..."

"The Witch of Greed has officially been designated a worldwide priority target."

He looked around the table.

"I am requesting the complete cooperation of every remaining Braver."

"The military and government cannot face this threat alone."

Before anyone could answer, a chair scraped loudly across the floor.

Ryuen stood and casually adjusted his sunglasses.

"Count me out."

He smiled lazily.

"If that's everything..."

"I have a movie set waiting for me."

"I'd rather not waste any more time."

Saki shot to her feet.

"What is wrong with you?!"

"Two of our teammates have disappeared!"

"And you're thinking about filming movies?!"

Ryuen shrugged.

"There's no point worrying about people who are probably already dead."

The words struck the room like a knife.

Sakura covered her mouth as tears streamed down her face, and Saki immediately hurried to her side.

Ryuen continued without remorse.

"No communication."

"No evidence."

"No survivors."

"The conclusion is obvious."

Yuki finally spoke.

"...Enough."

Her voice remained perfectly calm, almost emotionless, but Ryuen knew her too well. He recognized the anger hidden beneath that calm tone.

He laughed lightly.

"What?"

"I'm only being realistic."

Before the argument could continue, Endou spoke.

"...Ryuen."

His voice remained kind.

"Please."

"Stay for one more minute."

Ryuen sighed dramatically.

"...Fine."

He leaned back against the table, silently waiting.

Endou folded his hands.

"It appears the enemy is specifically targeting Bravers."

"We've now lost two members..."

"...both while they were isolated."

He looked around the room.

"I have a proposal."

"For the next month..."

"No Braver operates alone."

"We rotate assignments."

"Each of us remains accompanied by one or two others whenever possible."

General Horikita nodded.

"I agree."

"The enemy seems to attack only when opportunities present themselves."

"If we eliminate those opportunities..."

"We force Greed to change her strategy."

He looked toward the remaining heroes.

"Meanwhile..."

"The military will devote every available resource toward locating Greed."

"And determining our next course of action."

Ryuen laughed quietly.

"I reject it."

"I don't babysit."

Endou nodded.

"I expected that answer."

"We're not asking you to change your schedule."

He looked directly at him.

"I only ask that another Braver remain stationed nearby for the time being."

Ryuen rolled his shoulders.

"...Do whatever you want."

General Horikita closed the folder before him.

"Then this meeting is adjourned."

"I'll contact each of you as new information becomes available."

One by one, everyone quietly stood and began leaving until the room was empty.

Outside the building, Saki caught up with Sakura.

"...How's your concert preparation?"

Sakura wiped away her tears before forcing a small smile.

"It... goes on."

Saki looked at her with concern.

"You could postpone it."

"No one would blame you."

Sakura slowly shook her head.

"...I made a promise."

She hesitated before looking toward the blue sky.

"If..."

"If Taichi is still out there somewhere..."

"...I want him to hear me sing."

Saki smiled softly.

"Then I'll stay close."

"No matter what."

The two girls exchanged a quiet nod before walking away in different directions.

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Sakura stepped outside the military headquarters and reached into the pocket of her hoodie. She pulled out her phone and unlocked it.

The wallpaper appeared: a smiling photograph of a younger Sakura standing beside a red-haired boy with a bright, carefree smile.

She gently touched the screen.

"...Taichi..."

she whispered.

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Far away, on the rooftop of a skyscraper, another phone displayed the exact same photograph.

Greed lay on her back beneath the evening sky, one leg lazily swinging through the air as she stared at the picture.

"When I was human..."

"...I only lived for everyone else."

She giggled softly.

"I threw away a normal life."

"I buried my own wishes."

"And most of all..."

"I rejected love."

Her delighted smile slowly widened.

"Why?"

"Was I afraid..."

"...of losing someone the way I lost my parents?"

"Or..."

"...did I think love would stop me from protecting everyone?"

She burst into cheerful laughter.

"Hehehehehe..."

"How silly."

"How wasteful."

Greed hugged the phone against her chest.

"This time..."

"I'll chase that wonderful feeling."

"I'll grab it."

"I'll squeeze it."

"I'll paint it black..."

"...until it blooms into the most beautiful dark cherry blossoms."

Her cheeks became slightly flushed as her impossible smile stretched wider than ever before, filled with such twisted delight that it seemed almost inhuman.

She looked once more at the girl in the photograph.

"...Sakura."

The name escaped her lips like a love confession and a death sentence.

"The next bestie..."

"...is you."