01 The Girls Arrive in the East / Ramen Shop

- 1.1 - The Ramen Shop Is Open for Business -

The owner of the world's oldest surviving ramen shop watched, with bleary time-worn eyes, as the light pink four-door kei-car pulled up to his stand.

The old man tried to remember the last time he saw a working vehicle. Not since he was very young. A child. Growing up in those terrible first decades when the Orc Menace had been in full force, destroying and terrorizing everything in its path. During that time he had witnessed the very last cars in this world blink out of existence.

And now he saw that the rumors were true. There was indeed still at least one working automobile in the world.

The car slowed to a stop. Clunk. The sound of a handbrake engaging. Then the engine turned off, and the doors swung open. The driver emerged, followed by the passengers. The shotgun passenger, and the two in the back. The sound of the girls' voices overlapped as they stretched their stiff, tired bodies. ("Ah-hhh! Finally! I'm starving! Starving!" "Really, Ivy? You had like, three sugar buns this morning …" "Legs … Ow … My legs … Pins and needles …" "Ra-men! Ra-men!")

The old man shuffled toward his customers, and bowed deeply as they approached. "Welcome, welcome!"

- 1.2 - The Girls Wait for Their Order, and Then Eat -

The four girls had taken seats at the bar of his wooden stall. He took their orders, and set to work on boiling the noodles. The fragrant scent of broth and spices filled the air.

The two girls who had sat in the backseat, Ivy and Violet, were all but drooling.

Ivy, squirming in her seat with anticipation: "Wow … The real thing. I can't believe we're going to have the real thing."

Violet, mouth watering, stars in her eyes: "I've waited all my life for this moment. Everything has lead up to this one meal. I'm so ready."

The old man smiled. "You girls must have had a hard trip. Coming this far East."

The driver, Ruby, answered. "It wasn't so bad. A week on the road. No bandits, at the very least."

The girl beside her, Anemone, the one who rode shotgun, was the tallest of the four. She had long, jet black hair, and slung across her back was a bolt-action rifle.

Violet noticed the shop owner staring at her friend's rifle. She pointed out, smugly: "It fires, you know."

Anemone shot an admonishing look at Violet across the bar, and hissed, "… Violet."

Violet: "So you better not cross us, or you'll be sorry! We're quite dangerous, you know. Annie can snipe the hair off a rabbit ten miles away!"

Ivy grabbed Violet and covered her friend's mouth with her hand. "She's kidding. She's joking. Don't mind her. Ah, I mean—not about the gun, though. The gun is real."

The old man chuckled. His voice was raspy, yet full of life. "My, my, lucky me. Customers at my store, and they just happen to not only be the owners of the world's last remaining car—they also happen to be in possession of the only gun immune to the Orc's Field Effects. My, my. This is an auspicious day indeed. My, my …"

The old man hummed as he went back to his work.

When the noodles were done he pulled them out of the boiling water, and the girls watched in amazement as he struck the metal noodle strainers against the counter to shake out the excess water. In doing so, the image of the young man he once was seemed to return to his face, if only for a brief moment.

He portioned the noodles into four bowls, and ladled fresh, steaming broth into each one.

And then their bowls were served.

Violet and Ivy slurped greedily, without a word.

Ruby blew on the noodles, and ate more slowly, savoring each mouthful, letting out squeaks and moans of pleasure between bites.

She looked to her friend sitting to her right. "It's soooo good! Right, Annie?"

Anemone didn't respond at first. She just stared at her bowl, admiring the clear broth, the shape of the noodles, the tiny oil spots blinking in and out of existence on the soup's surface. Then she looked up, at Ruby.

Anemone, smiling: "Yeah, it's good."

- 1.3 - Conversation After the Meal - Ruby Makes a Declaration -

Ivy and Violet had seconds. And then thirds. The ramen maker was more than happy to serve them.

The old man and the young girls talked. They asked him about life in the early days of the Orc Invasion. He told them about the initial Invasion, the horrifying first few years. The two whole decades spent living in fear and misery as they roamed and terrorized the surviving human population. And then the day they finally left Earth. Not in defeat or surrender—but simple boredom.

Then he talked about how the land here changed over the decades. His life, his story. Loved ones. How they had lived, what had happened to them. Why he was now alone.

The girls in turn explained what they were doing all the way out here, so far away from what they called home.

Violet, boisterously: "You're looking at the four best delivery girls this side of the Boundary!"

Ivy, indulging her friend's bit: "… and the other side as well! That's right! We've never lost a package! And as a bonus, we'll take care of any bad guys along the way! You can count on us! Because we're …"

Violet and Ivy, together, winking: "… the Usagi Couriers!!!"

Ruby, rolling her eyes, to the old man: "Yeah, you can just ignore these two dorks. Annie and I do, all the time."

Old man: "My, my … What lively girls … It's nice to see, the spirit of youth."

Violet: "Say, gramps—"

Ivy: "(Violet, don't call him weird names.)"

"—you need any protection around here? Once we finish our deliveries, we can stick around here for a while."

Ivy: "(You just want more ramen, don't you?)"

Old man: "Oh, don't worry about the village. It's plenty safe here. We can take care of ourselves. Bandits, wild animals … That's all we have to worry about these days. Nothing we can't handle. Things in the world may not be what it once was. We have no more technology, no modern medicine, we're always at risk of starving … But anything is better than Orcs. You young ones have heard stories, I'm sure … But unless you were here during the time of the Orcs, well … This may sound harsh, but you've never known true terror."

Ruby piped up. "Actually, I have."

The old man turned to face her.

Ruby: "The Orcs destroyed my hometown. They razed it to the ground. They torched the houses, they tortured and slaughtered everyone I knew since I was born. I was the only one who survived."

The old man didn't say anything.

Not that she expected him to.

It was fine—Ruby didn't expect him to believe her. Besides her companions, no one ever believed her.

She could already tell what the old man wanted to say: That the Orcs were gone for good. That the Orc Menace was over. That they had all returned to wherever they'd come from.

But she knew what she'd seen. She had the scars to prove it. The nightmares.

Ruby: "Make no mistake, there are still Orcs around. And I will find them! And I will avenge my family!"

Then she shot up and, chopsticks still in hand, a noodle strand still hanging out the corner of her mouth, extended her arm straight up, and pointed a finger to the grey clouds above. "As long as there is breath in my lungs—I, Ruby Hanasaki, vow to exterminate the Orc Menace once and for all!"

The old man stared, bewildered. "Ah … Ah. I see. W-well, you'll certainly have to gather your strength, for such a … noble cause. Ha ha … Please, please, eat as much as you can."