chapter 6

"I told you already. We should burn that thing," Anya argued.

"It's not illegal, it's just press. And knowledge is valuable." Misaka didn't even bother to look away from her reading.

The three girls sheltered in the military tent so as not to be spotted with their newest discovery.

"How do you know it's not an illegal press? What will you do if the sergeant finds o–"

"Anya!"

Anya almost jumped in surprise at the sound of the sergeant's calling.

"Yes, miss sergeant!"

The sergeant eyed her, and then the document in her hands. She sighed reluctantly and spoke, "For your bravery and loyalty, and to make an example out of you, the HQ deemed it appropriate to issue a promotion. Congratulations, you are now a first private."

Anya didn't budge. The sergeant left her in a daze. There was no need for her to react, as Rikka seemed happy for the both of them; she squealed with excitement. "So this is how 'Anya, a Career' starts!"

"Truly an astonishing feat, future General Anya,"Misaka added.

"Girls, stop!" Anya flailed her hands and tried to shake off the blush from her face "We have more important issues at hand! Did everyone forgot that we have a powder keg ready to blow up at the border?"

"So cute! Even in a situation like that you care about others!" Rikka approved and chuckled. "You will be a great leader!"

Anya wanted to protest, but seeing as even Misaka gave a delicate, warm smile, all the words were dismantled in her throat, and she couldn't help but accept the waterfall of praise, with proudness and a tingling of excitement in her gut.

***

"Um, Anya?"

Anya couldn't help but feel the food was at least slightly better this time. Nonetheless, the familiar girl calling out to her was a welcome distraction from the taste.

"For you it's 'first private Anya'" Rikka corrected her, puffing out her chest as if she was the one who got the promotion.

The girl turned her worried face to Rikka.

"Rikka! It's almost the same rank! It doesn't actually change the way people should adress me." Anya scolded the ever so proud Rikka. She was happy, however, that her friends felt so overjoyed about her success.

"Ah, yes, so… please don't think of it as anything much." The girl reached out her hand.

Anya started blinking– a few times at the girl before her, and then at the flower that she was offering.

"I had nothing else to give you, but please accept this gift as a proof of my gratitude," the girl spoke, albeit a bit shakily.

"Look at you, already getting your first fans!" Rikka beamed at Anya.

The girl reddened on her face, Anya noticed, though she wasn't sure since the only light during the dinner came from the fireplace.

"Oh," finally, the cogs in Anya's brain snapped into the correct place, "You're that girl from the polygon. Mio, was it?"

"My na–" She gaped at Anya, "I mean, I'm glad you remembered me." She looked away.

Anya grinned proudly and let away a tiny laugh. Before was no illusion. The girl was flustered and Anya enjoyed being the cause of that. "Why the gratitude, though?"

"Y– You saved me," She looked around, giving Anya the full view of her blush, and unknowingly fueling her smug demeanor even further.

"Oh, come on, It wouldn't be that bad." Misaka joined the conversation. "Worst case scenario is that you'd end up in a mental clinic."

"You're not helping, Misaka. You know that?" Anya scolded.

Misaka just smiled lightly, which Anya again found rather pleasant.

Anya took the flower from Mio's hand and placed it carefully into the chest-pocket of her uniform. "Thank you, but your smile was enough of a prize for me to know I did the right thing."

She contently watched Mio's fiery cheeks turn an even fiercer shade of red.

"Attention!" A harsh voice called out, and everyone sprung up into an upright stance. Sergeant's eyes looked more tired than usually, as she eyed her soldiers. "You have 20 minutes to pack all your equipment and be ready near the bus. Time starts now." She turned on her heel and when she was about to leave, a voice called her.

"Miss sergeant, where are we going?"

"To the frontier."

Anya felt a knot forming in her throat and she exchanged confused looks with her friends. They stayed like that until she grabbed them by their hands and made a run for the tent. Nobody dared to ask any further, so it was probably better to comply for the time being, lest she end up doing more push-ups for insubordination.

"What's going on here?" Rikka asked when they were at a safe distance.

"Isn't that rather obvious?" Misaka answered coldly.

"Calm down girls! We don't know much, and we shouldn't make assumptions just yet. Meanwhile, we should pack our things. Time is running out." Anya watched them turn around and unsurely start packing their things. "Oh, and one more thing." She grabbed their attention and glanced at the military camp and the heaps of lolis jogging around in orderly manner. "If you want to leave, now's probably the best time."

Anya eyed traced them with her eyes focused, waiting for their reaction. Their reaction was pensive, and Anya realized just how big of a tension was present on her forehead. She must have furrowed her brews very hard, but she couldn't really help it.

"What about you Anya?"

This question struck Anya heavily. The answer could quite literally have the life-or-death level of importance. She could still back out now. Leave the camp and stay home, never to be found again. Not while the Reich's army does well at war, anyway. If it doesn't she'd be forced to come back, and then it wouldn't be on her terms.

But even if she did back out, what about her dreams? What about her friends? What about Aiko? Would she be disappointed? No, Anya was sure her sister would always love her, no matter what. But would she be able to live with herself, knowing she's a quitter? Without ever fulfilling her biggest dream?

"I decided that I am going to stay, but it's going to be hard without you two."

"Well then, we won't leave you alone." Rikka smiled assuringly. "Well, I won't. Friends should keep together, right? What about you Misaka?"

"Yeah, It's not like I have anything else to do anyway."

Anya felt a great ballast no longer weighing her down. She loosened up, squared her shoulders, and did her best not to show her smile. But when she looked at her friends, she just couldn't stop herself. She let the biggest grin on her face. She grabbed them and squeezed them into as tight of a hug as her feeble hands were capable of holding.

"Then there's no way I could leave as long as you two are here!"