✔️ || Half-Vampire

Chapter 23 - The Start

" I am! I also don't want anyone to die. I also don't want you guys to die either. " at the last part, Yuu averted his eyes to the floor for a moment.

Narumi stared at Yuu before turning around and walked.

" Then at least remember your target's name. That's the minimum responsibility of a soldier. " Narumi said.

" There's no point in remembering a name of someone you're going to kill. But I do remember the names of people I have to protect. Shinoa, Kimizuki, Mitsuba, Yoichi... " Yuu looked down for a moment before continuing, " Narumi Makoto, Endo Yayoi, Inoue Rika, Kagiyama Taro, Iwasaki Shusaku. "

Narumi's squad was shocked that Yuu remembered their names.

" I won't let my comrades die. Like Guren said, we'll come back with victory. "

" I apologise for my subordinate's arrogant attitude, Sergeant Narumi. However, our squad feels the same way as Special Private Hyakuya. "

Narumi glanced at Shihou and Mitsuba who nodded.

" We may be newbies but we will do our best to not drag everyone down. "

" Fine. " Narumi took out a pocket watch, " We have six minutes until the mission. Yayoi, where's our target? "

" He should come out soon. According to the intel, he shows up at the square park every day at the same time. " Yayoi answered.

" Ah, hearing about it suddenly made me nervous. " Rika sighed.

" Calm down. This is a fight we can win. They're unaware of our movement. We, the Narumi squad and,... " Narumi trailed off.

" ...the Shinoa squad will calmly execute our mission without losing anyone. Right? " Shinoa finished.

" That's right. "

~With Yoichi~

Yoichi breathes heavily as he clutched his weapon tightly.

" Alright, Yoichi. Calm down. We have five minutes until the mission. " Shinya said.

" H-Hai. But every time I think about failing— "

" We won't fail. We, the sniper team, are going to finish off everything. " Shinya cut Yoichi off as he got ready with his rifle, already laying on the floor and peering through the scope.

Yoichi clutched his weapon tighter.

" You're setting yourself up for failure. This is your first sniper mission, right? Guren asked me to teach you things. So first, calm down. " Shinya advised.

" Hai. "

" Besides, even if we fail, there's still the combat team. Let's take it easy. The most important quality for a sniper is lightheartedness. "

" Right... "

" Snipers need to keep our cool to kill enemies, backup comrades, and kill our own before they're captured and tortured if they fall behind. "

Yoichi gasped.

" Kill your own comrades? " Yoichi asked shakily.

" If needed. As long as you don't forget to relax and don't get too nervous, we're ok. So, take a deep breath. "

Yoichi did as asked.

" Loosen up. Slowly take control over your space. Once you're breathing steadily, try calling for your demon. "