Move 3: Initiative, Material, Development

Minister Takakura is dead, sir.

Oh, is that so? His complacency came back to bite him, it seems.

Things are still pretty quiet in the lower and middle echelons, but the higher-ups in the intelligence ministry are starting to panic, sir.

I pity the fools. Resting too much on their laurels, thinking that no one would see through their charade. If a purge takes effect I wouldn’t be too surprised.

That seems highly unlikely sir. Considering the situation our country is in right now…

Oh, I was just joking, joking! Anyway, what else do you have for me?

We’ve just confirmed that all classified information that he withheld from the Emperor have been retrieved by whoever broke into his compound, sir.

Very thorough, I see. Good thing we were able to eliminate any data he had on the Amaryllis before things got leaked, eh?

Indeed sir, although I’m worried he may still have some bits of information concerning Amaryllis stashed elsewhere…

My dear, dear protégé, you worry too much! You are still pretty young and yet, you think like an old man! That won’t do you any good, you know.

All due respect sir, it doesn’t really make a difference to me.

Quite the resolve. I suggest you get that game face on for when the main phase begins, though. For now, be a good lad and fetch me my Bourbon Santos.


ICHIMONJI’S SMILE STRETCHED from ear to ear as she set the safety on her MP5A3 before laying it down on the bench. She was literally skipping her way to Admiral Aikawa, her smile still unwavering as she closed in on her ‘prey’. “Looks like I win this one, Admiral!”

Aikawa, for his part, was distraught, or at least looked like it. Seeing no other recourse, he raised his hands up in surrender. “All right, you got me there Ensign. Congratulations.” The assembled crewmen and aviators cheered in approval as the officer and the witch shook hands. Wholly justified, as it was an excellent shooting match overall, although it took a bit longer than planned.

“You’re not too shabby yourself, Admiral!” Ichimonji replied enthusiastically. “To be honest, I thought I was going to lose back there. Your groupings were pretty tight!” Putting her hands on her hips, she added, “I didn’t think old men in peaked caps could shoot like that!”

“I take offense to the last one,” Aikawa replied in mock indignation. Meanwhile, he momentarily turned to a nearby master chief, who understood his wordless order and immediately corralled the spectators back into the hangar deck, while two of the master chief’s subordinates policed up the spent brass and packed off the ensign’s submachine gun and the admiral’s own Type 89. Turning back to Ichimonji, he exclaimed, “Anyway, how about we get off this elevator and grab something to eat? Sounds good to you?”

The young witch pouted. “You’re forgetting our agreement, Admiral!” she huffed, crossing her arms in annoyance.

Aikawa chortled at the gesture, causing Ichimonji to pout even more. “Yes, yes, I didn’t forget your one gallon of ice cream,” he said, lightly pushing the witch off the carrier elevator. He glanced back one last time on the makeshift target platform—a rubber dinghy with the target pads set up on stools—as it was being pulled back to the ship. In his mind, he scolded himself for slacking off at the range; he was lucky he found his rhythm early. Still, he can’t get over the fact that he was beaten squarely by a 13-year-old witch using a submachine gun, without magic enhancements, and beyond the weapon’s effective range. “I won’t hear the end of this from the boys at the armory…”

“You said something, Admiral?” Ichimonji inquired, looking back on Aikawa who still had both hands on the witch’s shoulders as they entered the passageway leading to the wardroom.

“N-No, no, nothing, nothing,” the admiral replied distractedly. “I was just… thinking about the paperwork for your immediate return to the air, I guess. I didn’t forget the agreement, of course.” Even without hearing a response, Aikawa knew the ensign was happy at the news, as she now seemed to be skipping through the passageway. “Anyway, where is Ensign Kaede? Didn’t she come with you to watch?”

“Uh, no?” Ichimonji replied. “She went straight to the carrier’s library before the shooting started.” She then hummed a little ditty as they turned the last corner on the way to the ward room. Aikawa recognized the first few bars immediately—the Gunkan Koushinkyoku—and absentmindedly hummed along.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4viyTPzzzxI

The little witch made a beeline for the big table as soon as they entered the wardroom, leaving Aikawa standing at the hatch. Shaking his head, he turned to a nearby steward and listed off the witch’s order, before proceeding to the table. “You’re really excited about this, huh?”

“Of course!” Ichimonji replied happily. “Who can say no to a gallon of triple chocolate and vanilla ice cream?”

The admiral can’t help but smile at that. Ichimonji was a kid, after all.

Seeing as it would take a while for the ice cream to arrive, Aikawa decided to chat. “You know, I still can’t believe you could use that submachine gun at that range. Are you sure you were not using witch enhancement back there?”

“Nuh-uh,” the witch puffed. “I learned that back at the academy! The instructors said I was a natural, but they also told me that I should move up to bigger weapons before my training’s over.”

“And yet you’re still using that old MP5,” Aikawa quipped. “It looks like it's gone beyond its operational life, even. Shouldn’t you drop—”


“NO,” Ichimonji interrupted. “No, no, no, no, no, no, no!” The witch was breathing heavily afterwards.

For a moment neither of them said anything. Ichimonji was still huffing, while Aikawa just sat there, feeling awkward.

Another few seconds pass before the white-haired witch took in one deep breath and calmed down. “I… I’m sorry Admiral, I think that was uncalled for,” Ichimonji said sheepishly. “It just… I can’t let go of this gun…”

“I see,” the admiral replied. “It must hold some meaning for you.”

“It was a friend’s gun…” Ichimonji said softly. “She used to be with me and Kaede back at the academy. A senior, actually. She taught us most of what we know now. She always said I was a natural with the MP5, so…”

“Seems like she’s really close to you two,” the admiral commented.

Ichimonji nodded in response. “Yep. She basically took care of us during our academy days. She helped us adjust to being in an academy with other witches when Kaede and I just came in from the orphanage... She was the one who helped the two of us get to know each other, being from different orphanages and all. She was basically our big sister back then. She even stood up for us when people bullied us.”

“So how is this friend of yours now?” the admiral inquired. “Since she’s your senior, she’s already on the front, right? What unit is she attached to?”

Ichimonji hesitated before answering. “She didn’t complete training, actually.” She looked away before continuing. “She… she was chosen for a special mission or something during training and… never came back. She left the MP5 with me, saying something about trusting me to keep it safe…”

If there’s one thing Aikawa did not receive training for back in his piloting days, it was handling a little girl that was THIS close to tears. He suddenly remembered the scene on the flight line a week ago, with the AWACS officer and the vice commander of the air group. Now the admiral wished he had an equally good retort to help him out of this mess…

Thankfully, help arrived in the form of the steward from earlier, carrying a tub filled with the ice cream. The admiral wondered how the little witch would finish such a large amount of sweets as he received the tub from the steward, who then immediately left.

Ichimonji’s mood immediately lightened up as soon as the ice cream tub touched the table. The formerly dark atmosphere finally lifted when the lid was taken off. The witch’s eyes grew wide as she finally saw what was inside: three layers of extra-creamy ice cream, with chocolate, vanilla, and super-condensed highland milk flavors, arranged in a wavy pattern.

“Well, that was the best we could come up with,” Aikawa said sheepishly. “We were pretty lucky we managed to stock any ice cream at all, what with the stepped-up offensives into North Korea and China going on…” the admiral saw that the little witch was rearing to get her hands on the tub. Shaking his head in amusement, he stated, “Go ahead, eat up. You deserve it.”

Ichimonji’s happiness went into overdrive almost immediately. “I’m diggin’ in!” In a flash she scooped up mouthfuls, making sure to get all three flavors at the same time. She caught herself however, and feeling embarrassed, she started eating slower, taking in each flavor a spoonful at a time.

Aikawa laughed at that, feeling rather amused at what the witch was doing. Ichimonji caught him however, and in a mocking tone she said, “I think the Admiral thinks I act like a child.” Holding the tub closer while waving her spoon in the air, she added. “Of course I’m not a child! I’m an adult! I can act like an adult if I wanted to you know!”

“Oho, is that so?” the admiral replied teasingly. “I wonder if you can listen to this though. It’s a song that only mature people listen to, after all!” With that, he went to a nearby music player, set it to PLAY, and instantly, the first few notes of a six-year old pop track came on the speakers.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3RjKv8J1y4U

Aikawa started tapping one of the speakers, also doing the occasional air drum. Ichimonji, meanwhile, was not impressed. “Admiral, that song was from an anime! How can you say it’s a song for mature listeners?”

The admiral smirked, “It’s an anime for mature audiences, that’s what it is,” and continued tapping and air-drumming. He was genuinely enjoying the music though, as he hadn’t heard Casey Rankin in a pretty long time. He found the music somewhat fitting though; the line, “where are you going, when are you coming home?” reminded him of their current situation as soldiers, sailors, and airmen fighting to protect the empire, and how many of them went somewhere but may not be coming home.

He shook his head. That kind of thinking was reserved for undisciplined rookies. He may not be a model officer, but he sure as hell didn’t think like an amateur. He then glanced back at Ichimonji, still happily going through the ice cream which was now halfway gone. He reminded himself that no matter what happens he’ll get Ichimonji, Kaede, his niece Tamaki, and everybody else home.

Still, he can’t help but feel uneasy. It’s as if, even with a clear and obvious enemy in sight, there were still plenty more lurking around the corner. Maybe it was the relevant peace of their current AO. Quiet fronts can cause a lot of paranoia, after all.

Trying to distract himself, Aikawa thought back to Ichimonji’s outburst earlier. He hadn’t felt any kind of pressure like that in a while. Sure it was just a kid throwing a tantrum but, somehow the admiral felt some sort of very strong emotion. It wasn’t even like the kind of fear he felt back in the days when he would anger his wing-witches. Those days it felt pretty standard. With Ichimonji though, it was like… malice, a very strong hatred. Somehow, Sanada’s word rang back in his head. It was something about a ‘dark presence around the girls,’ or so he can remember.

Yet, looking at Ichimonji now dispelled all those thoughts.

“Undisciplined thinking again,” Aikawa muttered to himself.