the crisp, cool air of the night was a welcome feeling as it whipped past your face, pulling your hair in wild directions as you sat atop the back of the jeep.

"it's starting to get colder." yuichiro comments, putting words to your thoughts. he was sitting in the passenger seat, leaning his head on his fist as his elbow rested atop where the window would be on the door.

shinoa hums in agreement. "i like it better than the heat. it feels so crisp outside!" she exclaims, relishing the cold air.

"i think it's nice out." you sigh, leaning your head back and closing your eyes. "it feels so free."

"yeah, i think it's pretty nice." yoichi says. though you can't see him with your eyes shut, you assume he's smiling softly, just like usual.

"yeah that's great, but could you tell me where we're going shinoa? relying on you to navigate for us is getting kind of annoying." kimizuki says, a slight hint of irritation to his serious tone. you smile at his direct manner.

shinoa, unbothered responds calmly. "well, if you stay on this road we'll eventually end up in hakone. there we could soak in the hot spring, eat a feast and then wake up relaxed and refreshed. doesn't that sound like paradise you guys?" she says in a sing song like voice, expressing her desire to go there.

"sure." kimizuki says, deadpan.

you open your eyes, raising your head once more. "we're really headed to ebina." you announce to the group.

"ebina, huh? i don't think i've heard of it." yuu comments, glancing at you out of the corner of his eye as he speaks.

yoichi giggles. "honestly, i'd rather go to hakone."

his words make shinoa smile. "definitely, but i'm afraid a vacation just isn't in the cards. nagoya is our final destination." she explains, staring out at the expanse of road in front of them.

yuu holds his breath. "nagoya... are you there mika?"

just as the words leave his mouth, the car jerks to the side, everyone nearly falling out of their seats from the sudden movement.

"crap, they came out of nowhere!" kimizuki shouts, turning the wheel to avoid the four horsemen of john, who really had just appeared.

the pink haired boy continues to spin the wheel, directing the car out of the way in crazy jerks.

you groan, standing from your seat and flicking the coin between your fingers until it becomes your trusty axe. you raise it above your head with hand, swinging it down with force. "shizuka!" you yell loudly, activating your demons ability.

a deep purple light shines from the blade, releasing a blast of purple fire, blowing up the entirety of one of the four horsemen, reducing the thing to a small pile of ashes.

yoichi is quick to ready his bow, shooting two arrows at once, which hit two other monsters, leaving only two left.

yuu jumps up onto the hood of the jeep, unsheathing his sword and preparing to jump, ready to attack the four horsemen of john.

"i'm not slowing down." kimizuki warns, continuing at the current speeding pace.

"fine by me." yuichiro agrees, grinning as jumps. yuu flies towards the first monster and easily slices through it, kicking off of the body as it falls. he soars towards the second one, twirling his sword and making a clean cut straight through the second one as well.

"kimizuki another one! hard right, quick!" shinoa shouts, causing kimizuki to swerve out of the way. yuu lands on the pavement instead of the vehicle, looking forward in confusion at his miss.

you giggled, there having been no new monster at all, and the group waves at yuu as you speed away, leaving him in the dust.

"bye bye! we'll see you in ebina!" shinoa shouts back to him, insinuating that we were to make him walk all the way there by himself.

———————

"we will be leaving at oh seven hundred hours. six hours later, we will arrive in nagoya. the directives i hand out will cover specific strategic details." guren's voice is loud over the silence of the soldiers standing before him. you and the rest of shinoa's squad duck behind everyone, quietly trying to make your way through and act like you'd been here the whole time.

clearly that plan would not work, because just as you were thinking you were about to be successful, guren's voice rang out in irritation, startling your entire squad.

"oh, nice of you to show up!" he shouts over the crowd, crossing his arms in annoyance as you all freeze, glancing at one another in panic. you want to laugh, but you know this mission is serious and guren would not go easy on you for this one. "i'm surprised you didn't miss the entire war."

shinoa is the first to speak up, a nervous smile on her face as she begins to make an excuse. "well, you see sir, we have a really good excuse for being late. it's not like we stopped at the hot springs for a long luxurious bath-"

"don't make excuses!" guren shouts, cutting shinoa off completely. "this mission isn't some childish game. if you can't follow orders, leave now!" guren's aggravation is quickly taken to heart by the soldiers who had been here long before yourselves. they muttered amongst themselves in their own hushed, irritated tones.

yuu steps forward confidently, standing in front of the group as if to shield them from the lieutenant colonels wrath.

"sorry lieutenant colonel. this is my fault. i take all the blame." yuu claims, staring guren down from his place behind all of the soldiers, who had all turned to stare. "we were late because i took it upon myself to fight the four horsemen of john."

"does that mean you're going to leave?" guren asks, his stone cold eyes staring straight at yuu, but you could feel the heat of his gaze just the same from you stood.

"no sir. please let me stay. i want to help destroy the vampires." yuu's words are confident, determined. you step forward to place a comforting hand on his arm, silently thanking him for taking the heat.

"fall in line with the others. just know you'll have to face severe punishment later." after those words guren continues on with his speech, encouraging all the present members of the moon demon company to fight, motivating everyone to do their best, bringing confidence to all in both their abilities, and their teammates.