Return the Flag (Part 2)

Hiroshi stares on ahead as a massive explosion of red and blue smoke rises from the forest. He eventually manages to hear something new. "Things are going pretty much how Aya described.. I don't know about switching her and Emi's places though, she really wants to mess with Toshiko.." a voice says over the radio. 

Hiroshi silently jumps in excitement, only for it to come to halt. "Hiroshi.." Kazuki whispers over the radio. "Where are you?! Are you alright?!" Hiroshi yells. 

"Heh.. A bit of that paint got me, I'm finished man. Gonna leave it all up to you, alright? Go get em, Hiroshi.." Kazuki responds, the radio falling silent. "DAMN IT! Our leader is getting attacked, Kazuki's down, and our numbers are dropping... What can I do...? What can I do?!" Hiroshi yells. In distress, he manages to take a moment of clarity.

 Kazuki's last words and even the words of Toshiko in a time that felt so long ago echo in his mind. "That isn't to say it's not a bad thing for you to be timid though! I just think you should make yourself more known! Tell us more about who you are!" Hiroshi holds onto those words, holding them close to his heart. "Who... I am..? I always knew the answer!" He yells. 

He taps into the transmission as everyone across the forest hears their radios go off. "PLAN B IS ACTIVE! Aya took down Kazuki, but we aren't going to give up that easily!" Toshiko scoffs. "Damn, Kazuki's out? It should still be fine.." Paint splatters all over as Toshiko manages to take out two opposing members. 

As he's taking the paint from their guns, however, a paint bullet flies past his head. Emi holds her gun up to him. "If we do this.. there's no going back." He retorts. He holds his gun up as well. They stare at each other until quick footsteps approach Toshiko rapidly. Aya jumps into the cloud of smoke and swats at Toshiko with paint over her hand. He avoids her hand and pushes her back. 

"You've had it out for me and I don't even know who you ARE! What's your deal?!" Toshiko yells. "YOU are! You trample on people's things, their lives with no regard, you shouldn't even be talking to someone as amazing as Emi!" Aya yells, rushing back in. Toshiko jumps out of the smoke and starts running through the bushes, Aya and Emi close behind. "I have my own issues to work out, I don't need to be told that! But if I don't get a chance to talk, then what's the goddamn POINT!" Toshiko shouts before tossing some stray paint at Aya. 

The paint smacks against a tree as she quickly ducks down. Toshiko grabs his radio. "HEY! I'M HEADING DOWNWARDS ON A SLOPE AND I'M BEING CHASED BY AYA! I NEED BACKUP, ANYONE!" He yells. Everyone looks around, confused, but from Hiroshi's perspective he looks closer. "Judging from the explosion distance and how long it's been since his last transmission, he has to be pretty far.. but if I can get him over here.." Hiroshi ponders before grabbing his radio. 

"Toshiko, look up!" He yells. Toshiko immediately looks up as he sees a smoke bomb explode mid air. "Run over there, trust me!" Toshiko smirks. "Alright then, I'll be there!" Aya jumps at him, almost touching his arm. "Like I'd LET YOU!" She shouts. Toshiko immediately begins running faster, using the trees and foliage to his advantage. "Outrunning someone who's lived like their life like this is NOT something you wanna do!"

20 minutes have passed. 37 minutes remain.

Hiroshi jumps down from the tree, landing next to his team members. "Did you all manage to come up with something?" Hiroshi asks. "Thankfully, yes! You paved the way for us to plan this out! I wouldn't have done this if it wasn't for you, you're not too bad village boy." One of them exclaims.

 "Say that after! Right now.. we're going to win this fight! Just wait on my mark and we'll be fine!" Hiroshi shouts. "Right!" The group shouts. Not too long after, Toshiko keeps running towards the spot, Aya right on his tail. As he just reaches the tree, Emi flies out of the bushes and aims for Toshiko's chest. Toshiko whips around and aims at her head. They slowly squeeze the trigger until the paint strikes both of them. 

The paint from Toshiko's bullet splatters against the tree, as if blood was truly spilled. Toshiko and Emi lay on the ground, defeated. Aya slowly walks up to Toshiko, heavily breathing and disheveled. "It's all OVER! The leader is down, your troops aren't coming back for awhile, and even my brother abandoned you. And he's like a little lost puppy, how does that even happen?! Doesn't matter, it's all over now. Have fun sitting here in defea-" 

Before she can finish, a rhythmic tree knock causes a group of people to jump out of the bushes, guns loaded at Aya. She dodges the fire narrowly and throws a large ball of paint at the group, taking them all out. From the top of the tree however, Hiroshi comes down and lands on her back. "Lost puppy, right? I'm NOT that same person you thought I was!" He shouts. Toshiko smirks.

"Hehe... You thought I was the only one making the shots? You got into our comms early because you knew Hiroshi could, right? He knew that one right from the start! I'm pretty impressed.. that's why.."

Hiroshi points to the sky, dramatically. "I'M the real leader of Red Team! Hiroshi Nakamura, brother of the Nakamura Family's one and only daughter Aya Nakamura! You don't KNOW me, and you underestimate me! I've grown far beyond it all, WAY beyond!" Aya struggles profusely. 

"The last time I saw you.. you were just following that one guy...?! What.. happened?!" Hiroshi looks down at her. "Toshiko happened! Maybe I did rely on Kazuki too much, maybe I WAS just a shell, but now it's different! I'm Hiroshi Nakamura! Master Strategist in all regards! And that's why this game is OVER!" Aya stops struggling, looking defeated. "If it's all over then.. what was all that knocking you guys were doing?" Toshiko chuckles. "Well-" 

Stopping his sentence is a quick radio transmission from both sides. "THE ENEMY TEAMS FLAG HAS BEEN CAPTURED! WE'RE RETURNING THEM NOW!" The confusion causes Aya to push Hiroshi off. "Sorry, bro. I'm winning this game." She says, before sprinting off. "Quick, go stop her! Stall as long as you can!" Toshiko yells, before Hiroshi sprints off without a word. Toshiko and Emi lay there without a sound, Toshiko's tense face gradually loosing up while staring at the bright blue sky. 

Hiroshi pushes past the multiple dense forestry and finds a clearing. Hoards of students on both Red and Blue teams firing on each other, throwing paint and searching for the flag. Hiroshi rhythmically knocks on a tree and a red team member pokes their head out of the crowd. "HIROSHI-SAN! TAKE THIS AND RUN! IT'S UP TO YOU!" They shout, tossing a blue flag at him. He catches it, and runs as fast as he can. 

Aya spots one of her team members running with the red flag and snatches it quickly, before running off as well. Even with his lead, Hiroshi spots Aya running ahead. "D-damn it...! I can't make it..! She's too FAST!" He shouts, out of breath. "Attention, all participants. There are now less than 20 minutes left and the flags have been captured, so we'll allow anyone struck with paint to move again! Have fun!" A voice exclaims. 

Even separated by distance, a sparkle shines in both Toshiko's and Kazuki's eyes. "Emi, when this is camp thing is over, I'll probably tell you.. but right now? You can hate me as much as you want, I'll still be here regardless." Toshiko says, turning back and running off. Emi looks at his back, still dejected, but thinking. As Hiroshi starts to lose steam, Kazuki swipes the flag. 

"It's a team effort, ain't it brother? You did good, I'll take it from here!" He shouts. "Go on then! My lungs aren't built for this...!" Hiroshi yells back. Kazuki sprints through the forest, hopping over logs and tossing leaves with every step. He meets Aya mid run and shoots her a cocky smile before running ahead. "You goddamn..!" Aya yells. As the fire pit comes into eye shot, Kazuki gains a burst of determination. But Aya flies forward thanks to the height of a tree. She looks back, wanting to see the defeated face of her foes. 

To her dismay however, Kazuki only smiles harder. "WRAP IT UP, TOSHIKO!" He yells, tossing the flag forward. Toshiko runs out of the forest, leaping into the air like someone wanting to hit a spike. He grabs the flag and reaches the fire pit moments before Aya does. Sakura and Ryohei clap intensely. "That was INSANELY impressive! The winner is Red Team, Lead by Hiroshi Nakamura!" Ryohei exclaims. "H-how...?! I did everything flawlessly!" Aya shouts. 

"Well, we had a plan.. but so did you. That whole last part? We're basically neural-linked at this point, that's just friendship for you. Couldn't have done it without your leadership, Hiroshi!" Toshiko shouts. Hiroshi walks down the long path they just ran from, beaming ear to ear. "Ah, well, we wouldn't have won without your morse code idea! That would've lost us everything!" Hiroshi responds. "M-morse code..?" Aya ponders. Kazuki slowly walks up to both Toshiko and Hiroshi, staring at Aya confidently. 

"When you got me down, I managed to get one message out." He reveals. Kazuki flashes back to the mini skirmish they had, as Past Hiroshi looks surprised. "Aya is here.." Past Hiroshi whispers, before they return to the present day. "Soft knock is a dot, hard knock is a dash. Our whole "diagram" was just the morse code chart! It was all planned out!" Toshiko exclaims. Kazuki leans on Toshiko and Hiroshi crosses his arms dramatically. 

"That's our might combined, just who the hell did you think you were?!" Kazuki shouts. "I wouldn't say all that.. you underestimated us and ESPECIALLY me! That's why you lost!" Hiroshi yells. "...Pfft-! Alright, alright. You guys are pretty cool. C'mon, then. Well played, brother." Aya says, holding her hand out. Hiroshi walks up to her, before immediately giving her a big hug. Aya smiles, a warm feeling spreading over her body. "Love you too, Hiro.." She says.

The siblings embrace amidst the setting sun, with Kazuki and Toshiko giving each other a little celebratory high five.

Chapter 13 - The End.