Leave the rest to me

It was early morning, as usual. 

Practicing martial arts, enjoying their breakfast together, and resting with a cup of coffee or tea, everything was normal until the tranquility of the morning was violently shattered by a blaring alarm that cut through the peaceful atmosphere, its sound reaching every corner of the city. 

As the alarm sounded, a hologram screen appeared along with the sudden announcement from the mayor. 

"This is an alert from the National Defense Force. While traveling 10 km east of Tonakijima, a Japanese patrol boat came under attack by a submarine of unknown origin and went missing. Our forces were deployed immediately, but we have yet to apprehend or sink the vessel. The Kerama Islands have been subjugated to a missile attack from the sea, and the port facilities have suffered damage. We urge those of you watching this broadcast now to follow the emergency manual and start the evacuation process quickly and calmly. 

"Repeat. This is an alert from..." 

Isao watched all of this in silence and could feel his thumb throbbing. Moreover, unlike before, it was even more painful than the previous one. 

'Hmm...' 

Isao bit his thumb, trying to control it while thinking the more danger he encountered, the more painful his thumb would be. It was at this moment that Tatsuya came and reported that he got a call from Captain Kazama. 

"I have received a phone call from Captain Kazama of Onna Base suggesting that we evacuate to the shelter on base." 

At the same time, a call suddenly came, but somehow, Isao decided to leave the living room. "I will wait outside." 

"Yes..." Miya nodded softly since she could tell who had called her at that moment. 

Then, as expected, Honami, who received the call soon, gave the phone to Miya and told her that this call came from Maya, who was also Miya's twin sister. 

On the other hand, Tatsuya looked at Isao strangely, and he could see Isao close his ears, trying not to get involved in their family matter. 

Yet, Miya, who had been living in the dream, knew that she had to wake up from her dream and face her reality. At this moment, she was no longer Isao's woman but a member of the family of a certain magician clan. 

"Hello, Maya?" 

"Nee-san? It's been a while."

A sweet, flirty voice was soon heard from the opposite. "Things certainly seem to be hectic down there." 

"Yes, you are right about that." 

"Have you heard from Captain Kazama?" 

"About the shelter on the base? I see. So it was you who pulled those strings. Thank you. But as the enemy forces' target, wouldn't the base be more dangerous?" 

"We're talking about an enemy that wouldn't bother with rules like "never attack non-military facilities." The fact that they'd stoop to anything surely isn't lost on you, Nee-san." 

The memory from the past returned and haunted her once again.

Yet, she tried not to show her feelings through her expression and answered softly, "That's true." 

As the two talked, Miya made up her decision. "Very well." 

"I am relieved you're quick to understand. Also, do you mind one more piece of advice?" 

"No, go right ahead." 

"Circumstances being what they are... I believe that you should release Tatsuya." 

"Are you being serious?" 

At that moment, Miya's tone quickly changed, and she raised her voice subconsciously. 

Tatsuya, who was involved, was silent and never said a single thing, as everything was their decision. 

"What I mean is, you should disable his limiter temporarily. I am sure you can manipulate him at will without lifting a finger, can't you?" 

Miya fell into silence and didn't answer her little sister's question. 

"Nee-san?" 

"...let me think about it." 

"Hmm..." 

"Is there something wrong?" 

"It feels like something has changed within you somehow." 

"Is that so?" 

"Yeah! Did something happen? Can you share it with me?" Miya sounded so curious, wondering what was happening to her stoic older sister during her stay in Okinawa.

"Let's talk later after all of this is over." 

It was impossible to tell what Miya did on this trip with Isao, so she chose to end this conversation. 

"You are right, but you should use him, Nee-san, if you don't want something similar to happen to Miyuki and the others." 

Miya maintained her poker face, never showing anyone what she felt at that moment. 

"Then, Nee-san, please be careful." 

"Right. Thank you." 

As the call hung, Honami asked, "Madam, what did Maya-sama say?" 

"It seems that she was the one who arranged for us to shelter on base." 

"Then, the phone call that Tatsuya-kun received?"

"That's what that was about." Miya then looked at Isao, who had returned. "What do you think, Isao-kun?" 

As Miya's question fell, everyone stared at Isao. They knew that Isao had good intuition, and they wondered what Isao thought about their decision. 

"It's more dangerous here than in the base. At least, in the base, there are soldiers who protect us." 

"Is that so?" Miya nodded, then looked at Tatsuya. "Tatsuya, tell Captain that we'll be accepting his offer and ask someone to pick us up." 

"Understood." Tatsuya nodded. 

Still watching her son leave, Miya hesitated once again. Even though this was something that she had prepared when she thought about what would happen to her son after all of this, as a mother, it was impossible for her to stay callous and cold. 

"You don't have to worry. Let me handle everything." 

As if reading her worry, Miya looked at Isao, who said those words. "I..." 

"Shh... it's fine. You have given me everything, so this time, let me give you all." 

Isao patted her back softly and said, "Let's go to the base now. I will help Tatsuya and Honami first." 

"Um..." 

Hope. 

His words gave her that, and Miya knew that she didn't view him wrongly. He was this type of person, and he would do anything to protect her and her family. 

Like her deceased father, who destroyed everything that had hurt his daughter, even ready to give his life, she could see such a back from Isao, yet that was why she closed her eyes, trying to keep her tears from spilling out, thinking how they would be separated later. 

Soon after, the pick-up from the military came and brought them to the shelter, and when they arrived, the one who welcomed them was someone familiar, a man who had fought Tatsuya on his first day in Okinawa. 

"I'm Lance Corporal Higaki." Lance made a military salute to them, then said, "For now, I will be taking you to the break room on the second floor." 

"Sorry, can you put us at the common shelter for everyone?" Isao suddenly said. 

"Huh?" 

Lance was confused and asked, "...Is that okay?" 

"Yes, it isn't fair if we're being treated differently from others." 

"Is that so? Then, we will take you there." 

As Isao had said those words, Lance brought them to the general shelter located underground, which was filled with people. 

Isao took them to the edge so it could give them some space from others. 

"Sorry for making such a decision even though you aren't good with a crowd." 

As they heard Isao's apology, Miya shook her head softly and asked, "Is there something wrong with the break room on the second floor?" She asked with a doubt. Even though she wasn't good with the crowd, she decided to follow Isao obediently. 

"If this base is attacked, those who will be targeted are those important people that can stay in the break room." 

"...you are right." 

Instead of hundreds of commoners, the weight and conquests of taking a hostage of one influential person were heavier. 

While the public said every life was equal, in reality, it was impossible for everyone to be equal as sometimes one was above many and many below one. 

"Though, let's just be quiet and don't cause a panic." 

"Um." 

Only, if there was a reason why he was in this place more than the others was because he wanted to become a good person. 

Instead of saving a few people with positions, Isao wanted to save hundreds of commoners. 

Nevertheless, even though they were inside the shelter, no one felt safe. They were all tense, wondering whether they could keep their lives in this battle. 

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The sounds of gunshots sounded everywhere, and as the noise became closer, Isao suddenly stood up. 

"Tatsuya, try to close Miyuki's eyes." 

Tatsuya wasn't sure, but he followed Isao's words. 

Soon, many people suddenly scrambled inside, holding assault rifles, then shouted in the broken Japanese language, clearly showing their hostility and ready to shoot them at any moment. 

"THOSE WITH CHILDREN, CLOSE THEIR EYES!" 

"Huh?" 

While they were confused, they followed Isao's words and subconsciously closed their children's eyes, but naturally, this brought fury from those unknown soldiers; only at that moment, the heads of all of those people suddenly disappeared, and their blood spurted out from their beheaded bodies and fell, then dying helplessly. 

Before them, a figure wearing a short, aloha shirt and sandals, holding a bewitching saber, killing all of those people mercilessly. 

Tatsuya didn't blink, and his eyes never looked away from his teacher, who had shown him his power for the first time.