The War of Four: Recovery

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Catching up with the Gang, Bonding of Mortal and Immortals
"Attention! To all operators of the D.C.O. and the Gotei 13!" Hachiro's voice would be loud and clear over the loudspeaker that connected to just about every other speaker within the base, catching the ear of just about everyone within. "All enemy forces have been routed and are retreating from the base. I repeat, the enemy has been pushed back. Great work, everyone!"

They were the words that brought a fresh wave of relief over the exhausted troops and personnel, who had been fighting heavily and taking hard hits for their trouble. With the enemy presence gone, they could now tend to the wounded, properly dispose of the dead and clean up the mess left behind. Soldiers fortunate enough to have gotten through it relatively uninjured resumed their patrols if their work of medical assistance was over with. It was a rather slow transition, and dealing with the damage done seemed to be more work than the defense of the base. Nevertheless, no one complained. The fact that they could do it at all was the sign that they still had control and that the Inner Circle's attempt to push them off what little foothold they had was thwarted. It brought about at least a small boost in morale for the Gotei 13 forces.

The majority of the V-14, who were gathered at some undisclosed location within the hangar, had mixed reactions to it.

Oliver and Angelika, who had returned to her old garments prior to the trip to Aether, had been walking down a hallway leading to the hangar when they heard the announcement. They slowed their footsteps, their eyes directing upwards at the source of the voice. The German seemed to take it with a grain of salt, her time spent in the healing waters having calmed what had been a mind under stress. But the American, even after what he had just gone through, seemed to be very displeased with the fact that the V-14 had not a chance to participate in the fight this time. He was quick to express it.

"The fight's over and done with?!" He exclaimed, throwing his hands up in the air. "You've got to be fucking kidding me!"

"It seems that the defense wasn't so worthless after all..." Angelika commented, sliding her hands into her coat pockets. "I can safely predict that the majority of the V-14 were staying within the medical spa area during the entirety of the invasion. After what we've took, it was most likely needed. I almost feel a bit guilty that we were the only ones not to have lifted a finger to help."

Oliver let out a groan, swinging his hands back down and hanging his head a little as they resumed walking. "You'd think that there be at least some of them who would think, "Oh, maybe we should keep them from getting back up as quickly" and attack the medical areas first before moving on to the main area. I was really hoping to kick some ass with my sword and get at least a little bit of practice in."

Briefly, Angelika closed her eye tightly as she spoke the next words. "And end the hunt? For them and especially someone like Yashin, they'll continue squeezing every bit of fun out of this before deciding to finally do away with us. Even if they say they're being serious, you can't take them by their word. There'll be plenty of more opportunities for confrontation..." Once her eye opened again, her expression lightened up a little enough for a small chuckle to escape her lips. "So you won't have to worry, Holmes. Besides..." Her gaze drifted towards him. "You're not regretting what happened back there, are you?"

Oliver smirked, moving over and giving her a peck on the neck. "Are you kidding me? I'd die before I regret anything I'd done."

"Good..." Angelika's smile briefly faded, and she turned her head completely to look at him. "I'm still your boss. Don't expect me to be any easier on you just because of this..."

"Wouldn't have it any other way, boss..."

With that being said, they reached the entrance to the hangar - or more specifically, one of the many entrances to the hangar doors. Angelika was the first one to reach it, pushing it open and stepping inside.

"Took the long way here, boss?" Hyōryū called out from the midst of the hangar, as most of V-14 gathered within it along with the entirety of the Dragonbird squadron, being maintained by Avaron Setsuko. She smiled as she leaned next to Anton, as they all were huddled near Rika's Dragonbird, ready to greet their leader and comrade.

"Looks like they sure liked taking their time to get here," Mōka smirked, winking at Angelika knowingly as she elbowed Yajū's side and wrapped an arm around Karitori, holding her close, "I guess they wanted their moment to last a lifetime..."

"Living in the moment is the only thing that matters, babe," Karitori muttered, briefly glaring at Yajū before leaning against Mōka near the bird, "I just wish I had a piece of the action those cloak and dagger peeps hogged to themselves..."

"W-wait a minute!" Although both Angelika and Oliver were quick to direct suspecting looks at Asuka, Oliver was the first one to speak out. "Did you--"

"I'm sorry!" Asuka blurted out, a slight flush on her cheeks marking her embarrassment. The tips of her fingers were covering her lips, though not enough to muffle her voice. "I really didn't mean to say anything about it, but it just slipped out! I only mentioned what Captain Shiba and I saw, nothing else! But--"

"Hyōryū and I heard things beforehand." Anton finished, grinning in amusement. One of his arms were slung around Hyōryū's shoulders, while his free hand was in his pocket. "I have to admit, Oliver, that was quite a heartfelt moment. I almost was tempted to shed a tear or two, but I didn't want Hyōryū thinking I was some sort of wuss. Didn't keep us from mentioning it prior to you two getting here, though--"

"My life is ruined!!" Oliver wailed, collapsing on his knees and falling on his hands in a bout of comical depression.

"Oi! I don't get it! Why is his life over?!" Zaii blinked in perplexion as he looked side to side at his comrades for an explanation.

Shinshin himself, sitting atop Rika's Dragonbird casually while being next to her, sweatdropped in sync with Shadō, as they both spoke out flatly, "I don't...get it either..."

Contrary to popular belief, Rika's Dragonbird had been recovered from the area at the time of the evacuation. Everyone, especially Rika, had assumed that it had gotten killed or captured within the attack on the Soul Society. But when its owner had found out that it had been rescued, she had nearly broke down in tears and would've probably hugged the creature to death if she had that much strength. So Shinshin, Rika, Yusuke and even Shinji (who was actively staying out of the discussion) all had the privilege of sitting on its back and watching it all take place.

"...quite..." Although a bit irritated at the new development, Angelika decided to ignore Oliver and her colleagues for the time being to focus on Asuka. "How is everyone doing?"

Asuka quickly broke out of her demeanor to settle into a more casual and conversational one. She put a finger to her chin thoughtfully. "Well, I suppose everyone's here and doing well after resting up. Ever since the attack on the Soul Society, we've had yet to hear from Shou or his subordinate Genesis." Her expression turned a bit wistful. "Mōka hasn't contacted us, either, ever since she had been incapacitated--"

"Incapacitated?" The slight alarm in Angelika's voice shocked Asuka a bit.

"Yes, she had been subdued by this strange spell Daigomi had used on her! But I had carelessly assumed it was no big deal and neglected to have one of the others see to her!" With each and every word spoken, Asuka felt more and more ashamed. "Forgive me, Angelika. I shouldn't have been quick to judge conditions--"

"No." Angelika was quick to cut her off, waving a hand dismissively. "The arrival of the D.C.O. was too unexpected. I doubt anyone would've had time to do anything about it. Where is she now?"

That was when the most unexpected scene would occur.

WHAM!

The entrance nearest to them would abruptly open, and the sound of the door banging against the wall would bring the attention of almost everyone there. The first two figures would be that of the two Daitenshi that had assisted them throughout their endeavour - Shou and Genesis. They came through the door as if breaching something, with the girl having her gun out and aimed to scan the room. Their prepared state of alertness quickly dissipated once they saw that this particular room was filled with allies and not enemies. Genesis lowered her gun, looking over her shoulder.

"All clear!"

The third and last figure stepped out, her crimson eyes looking around the room in a relaxed and serene manner. In her arms, she carried the aforementioned and currently unconscious Mōka Komori within her arms. After looking around, her eyes finally rested on the V-14 as she started her approach towards them. "Sorry to pop in your little conversation," She said plainly. "But I happened to hear you were looking for someone?"

ZOOM!

"You found her!" Karitori exclaimed within a heartbeat, as her body warped from one place in the hangar before reappearing before the Punisher. An emotionally distraught expression crosses her face as she reached out to caress Mōka's face, as tears streaked mascera down her cheeks, even as the rest of her squad came around to see their normally fearless and powerful leader unconscious, "is she okay?"

Yajū chuckled as he crossed his arms in thought, looking over at Karitori with confidence, "She'll be fine. She's just taking a nap after being zapped by that lunatic Dragon-guy or whatever..."

"She's never been kept down for long, you know that right, Kari-chan?" Shito asked his comrade, but didn't dare to lay a hand on her for fear of losing it to the volatile woman.

"The spell used on her was a sort of seal to suppress half-deities like the Hankami." The Punisher explained, looking down at the woman she carried. "She's suffered the most minimal effects, which I can probably guess because whoever cast the spell didn't use its full power." This prompted Asuka to raise her eyebrows as she regarded the Hankami with surprise and slight apprehension.

"Minimal, you said?"

The Punisher smiled grimly. "She always was such a lightweight when it comes to the likes of pain--" However, she abruptly stopped herself, cocking a slight eyebrow at the one directly in front of her. "And who exactly would you happen to be, miss Mohawk?" She asked in a casual, yet not-nice tone.

"I'm her lover, bitch!" Karitori quickly retracted her worried tone for a nasty tone of her own, which she didn't bother trying to hide her disdain as she looked at the Punisher, "you must be her bitched up mom. Can't say I can be surprised where she got her looks from, but from your stuck-up attitude, I can see why she can't stand being around you...!"

"E-E-Easy Kari," Shito raised his hands insistantly towards the volatile, butch-looking woman as she began crackling with chaotic Dark Force energies as she glared at Sakura heatedly, "she saved her, remember? You can cut her some slack after all for saving our boss..."

The Punisher scoffed, rolling her eyes before making her way towards the Dragonbird in order to set Mōka down. "Faggots, both of you."

This garnered mixed reaction from the V-14.

Those who had more of an empathetic side tended to wince and flinch at the Hankami's choice of words. After all, by now they understood Karitori had a very volatile temper. Not only was the Punisher insulting her, but she was also insulting her object of affection. The leaders were sensible enough to understand that another fight, especially between allies, was unneeded and detrimental. Shou, in particular, was slightly alarmed upon hearing the words, and he was quick to raise a protesting hand up. "My Lady--!"

"It's okay!" The Punisher waved him off, not even sparing him a glance. "I enjoy men, they enjoy women! You are what you eat!"

And then, there was those who were less sympathetic.

Genesis, who had been watching the whole scene in slight boredom, had doubled over and burst out laughing at the Punisher's statement. She clutched her stomach, trying to keep herself from falling to the floor. At the sound of it, Shou was quick to round on her with an annoyed glare. "Genesis!" He hissed. But the female Daitenshi continued to laugh without abandon, eventually falling on her back. Her stomach was starting to hurt from it.

"Y-you are what you eat, huh?! I can't b-believe she just said that!"

And despite being the most nearer to Karitori...

"PAHAHAHAHA~!!!" Oliver, after getting over his own drama, had started laughing loud and hard. He had his head tilted up to the sky, his palms over his face as his own shoulders heaved with each and every "ha" emitted. "I ca... I can't breathe...!!" Eventually, he fell over on his back, the black hilarity too much for him. "Oh, God...!!"

Anton had to pull away from Hyōryū and clasp both hands to his mouth in order to ensure that Karitori wouldn't give him an early grave. Angelika was the most composed of them, but that didn't keep her from having to turn away herself in order to keep the upward corner of her mouth from showing. At the very least, they were trying to be considerate...

THUD!

Yusuke had fallen off of the Dragonbird in his own fit of laughter, much to Rika's chagrin. "I-I'm so sorry..!!" He stammered, trying to stop himself. But the more he attempted to, the more he continued to laugh. "Th-that was just so funny!!" The display made the V-14 pilot place hands to her face in order to cover the embarrassed blush that had crossed her face.

"Y-Yusuke-san..."

Even the police officers and Avaron, who had been busy tending to the rest of the Dragonbirds within the hangar, had to fight in order to stifle their chuckles, lest they wanted the Dark Energy user to approach them.