Chapter 16

"No way" I mutter silently, suddenly feeling a bit unsteady on my feet. Noticing my clear discomfort both Kimizuki and Shinoa step to my side. Shinoa rests her hand on my shoulder, squeezing gently, trying to give me some silent form of reassurance. "Don't worry Hana, this time we'll get the bastard." Kimizuki informs me, looking as confident in himself as ever. I nod in agreement but I'm not sure if I believe it to be true. "Hey give me that!" Yu exclaims and grabs the spyglass from the lieutenant colonel. He seems frustrated, wether it is because of what Crowley and his comrades did to his friends or the fact that we won't stand a chance saving the other soldiers with Crowley down there.After a moment of silence he pulls his eye away from the spyglass. "That's definitely him! I'm sure if it! He was super strong." He informs Guren, who seems displeased at the information.Guren's expression darkened, seeming deep in thought. "I see... then I highly doubt we could beat them by force alone." He mumbles more to himself then at us. "So then, what?" Yu asks the question that as been resting on everyone's tongue.Shinya, while preparing his sniper gun, is the one who answers. "We have two options. Either we shoot the hostages before they're tortured and run..." he begins.Yu, already frustrated with the situation starts heading towards Shinya, "What?! You can't be serious, you've got to be kidding!" Before things can escalate Shinoa grabs a hold of Yu, stopping him in his tracks. "Calm down. Don't freak out yet. That is one way but what's the other option?" Shinoa questions Shinya. Without looking at us he answers, "We somehow manage to split up the nobles and save the hostages and retreat. However naturally that plan is more dangerous. I doubt we all would survive." I was inclined to accept the first idea. I had seen Crowley's power first hand, everyone had when he was able to withstand that demon form of Yu. There was no way we would succeed, and if Crowley is true to his word, which I suspect he is, I will end up as his personal living blood bag. I involuntarily shuddered at the idea."We are not leaving our comrades behind right Guren?" Yu faced the lieutenant colonel. I wanted to smack him in the face for his stupidity, however loyal he might be, it was stupid. Surely the lieutenant colonel would see the danger in this plan. Guren stayed silent, seeming to think about all the components at play. Narumi decided to add his opinion, "Sir, I think it would be smartest if we killed the hostages and retreated. They did not attack us after Yoichi's failed shot so we are not important to them, we should retreat while we are still able to." Thank god for Narumi, finally someone with some sense in this group. However horrible his way of formulating that might have sounded, it is the most logical alternative. I open my mouth to agree but am beaten to it by Yu suddenly rushing forward. He grabs Narumi by the front of his uniform, forcing him to look Yu in the eye. "You bastard, you're acting stupid!" Narumi pushed Yu off of him, "you're the one who is acting stupid. I've got close friends in that group of hostages, it's killing me to even think about leaving them behind, but you don't see me making a scene of it like a spoiled brat." He said with venom and something that sounded like regret in his voice.Yu could say nothing but glare at Narumi. I could tell however that Yu would not change his mind in this. He was going down there to fight those vampires, either with us or alone.It was Shinoa this time who stepped in, looking at Guren directly. "Lieutenant colonel, this is still a decoy mission, correct? If we leave the nobles alone aren't we putting the Shibuya unit at risk?" She says cooly. I grit my teeth. Shinoa was right, it was still our mission to keep the vampires attention on us for as long as possible. I have not come this far to chicken out now. If I didn't learn to face my fears, which in this case was Crowley, I would never be able to seek my revenge for my old squad. "There is no way around this is there?" I ask Guren. He glances at me for a moment before turning his attention to the group. "We have to attack. We'll put on a big show so they think we're the main unit." Guren explains the plan."I'm not against killing the bloodsuckers, but I don't see how we stand a chance with them waiting around for us like this." Shinya commented, finally pulling his gaze away from the scope of his gun to look at Guren."If they start to overwhelm us we will retreat. Come on, we should move location." He said before turning around and leaving the rooftop we had all been gathered on.