literature

Trauma Team: to let go: ch. 2

Deviation Actions

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Note: This takes place after Trauma Team, spoilers are abundant, and if you are picky on spoilers, proceed not to read anymore.

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Ch. 2: what happened before, what happens now

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It was dark, and quiet.  All she could remember hearing was the short breath of her Mother as she carried her in her arms.  Violet eyes looked up, as similar violet eyes looked down, giving a serene smile.  The small girl's lips quivered a little, she was scared... scared of who they were running from.  The woman who held her tenderly placed a finger to her lips, making a small 'shh' noise.  It was the woman's way of saying, 'it'll be okay, we'll be okay.'

There was a sudden 'woosh' sound, and a crunch.  The Woman's violet eyes narrowed, and she put the girl down quickly, a hand going behind her back and pulling out a dagger, while the other one went to her belt.  She crouched down into a defensive stance around the small girl, who could only move back, frightened.  The small girl couldn't see much, due to the cloak that her Mother wore obscuring her vision.  She closed her eyes, listening to their surroundings.

They were surrounded by five enemy ninjas.  She could imagine her Mother holding the dagger up defensively, waiting for any movement from the enemy.  No one moved, and it was silent.

The stand down continued on, and then suddenly, one sprang forward, while the rest assisted him in any way.  The woman however, made quick work of the man who sprang forward, moving swiftly, and catching him by the throat with her dagger.  She dodged one of the ninjas that sprang forward, kicking him into another, while stabbing another that ran at her -- incapacitating him from the battle.  The last one standing shouted something that the small girl couldn't understand, but her Mother made quick work of him as well, going into a short hand-to-hand combat with him.

The small girl opened her eyes as she realized, the other two that collided into each other, had come back.  She opened her mouth to warn her Mother, but it was too late.  She was slashed from the shoulder, to the left side of the hip, but in recoil, she twisted the arm of the wielder, and stabbed him, killing him instantly.  The other one attempted to kick her, but she blocked it with a painful wince, and sent him flying back with a palm strike.

All of them were down, and the Mother let her guard down, collapsing to her knees.  The little girl ran towards her, shouting for her.  The Woman smiled again, shushing her Daughter again.  However, she patted her head gently, reassuring her that she was okay, as the little girl stared at the large slash mark.

They both didn't notice the incoming barrage of kunais, and the Mother reacted quickly, pushing her body on top of the little girl's -- effectively taking the hit.

The little girl could remember her Mother's heavy breathing coming to a short halt, and all the blood being splattered on her.

And she screamed, tears of anguish rolling down her cheeks.


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"...!!!"

Tomoe Tachibana sat up quickly, her breathing coming out rapidly.  She brought a hand to her chest, placing it gently over her heart.  She gingerly touched a hand to her face, and felt fresh tear stains.  She swallowed, before leaning back in the airplane chair, sighing heavily.  It was a dream... or rather, a nightmare.

"Lady Tomoe?" The same ninja that informed her of the news appeared, crouching and bowing politely towards her.  "Is there a problem?"

"N... No, it's nothing, I... I was just having a bad dream."

"Is there anything I can get you then?"

"... Just a glass of water will be fine, thank you."

The ninja nodded, before disappearing in a flash.  Tomoe moved her head to the side, staring at the clouds they were flying above from the window.  No matter what happened, no matter how much she changed, she couldn't let go of what happened so many years ago.

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"What?!  Tomoe went to Japan, again?!"

Maria and Chief Esha jumped immediately, as Hanzou had informed them of the disappearance of the Endoscope doctor.  He bowed in apology, "It was urgent."

"The last time it was urgent, she almost didn't come back to America!" The Chief slammed her fists down, making the other males in the room jump a little.  Hanzou kept his calm, polite posture.

"However, this time it was a decision she made on her own."

There were a few 'what' and a couple of gasps of surprise that came around the room.  Gabe stepped forward this time, "What do you mean, 'it was a decision she made on her own'?" He asked carefully, his shoulders slouch, and hands in his lab pockets like usual.  Hanzou straightened out, looking over at Gabe.

"Lady Tomoe went back to Japan on her own free will."

"It... doesn't make sense." CR-SO1 said slowly, as he stepped forward, a contemplative state on his face, "Dr. Tachibana wouldn't just... get up and leave on short notice, at least without letting us know."

He explained, and Maria nodded, "Yeah, I agree with him!  I mean, last time she gave us at least a day of notice!  But this time, she just went up and gone!" She flailed her arms a little, before making one into a fist, and smacking her palm into it.

"That girl, when I get my hands on her, I'll teach her about making her friends worry..." She started to mutter quietly to herself.  Everyone else stared at Maria a little, but then pulled their attention back at Hanzou, who spoke up again.

"Please, respect Lady Tomoe's decision.  It was something that she could not... ignore."

Hank noticed the subtle hesitation in Hanzou's voice, but he didn't say anything, as everyone started to argue again about why she left.  However, he knew Hanzou was hiding something -- and it was something about Tomoe that the rest of them didn't know.

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For the rest of the plane trip, Tomoe had troubles sleeping, so she spent most of her time either contemplating, or busying herself with reading.  The plane trip was smooth, and they arrived in Japan considerably earlier than it would take on a public airline.  Tomoe was escorted back home, back to the Tachibana clan's household.

She didn't bother looking around, nothing changed -- except there was more security around the parameter.  Although it looked like no one was around, there were always guards, and there were always invisible traps that were hidden to the naked eye.

Servants and elders greeted her alike, and she greeted them back, but not in the same manner as she done in the past.  She was apprehensive, tense, and from the look in her eyes, sleep deprived.  Instead of going to her room to settle down and dress in proper clothing to meet her Father, she immediately went to his quarters.  She bowed respectively for the two guards at the door, who disappeared inside to let her Father know she was here.

She waited outside patiently, albeit sighing a little.  She wanted to go lie down, but she was scared that if she closed her eyes, she would see those horrible visions again.  Just thinking about it made her stomach lurch, and she squeezed her hand into a tight fist.  Perhaps a little pain could ease it away, and make her remember that she was still a part of this world.

"Lady Tomoe, your Father is ready to see you." A guard appeared in front of her, bowing.  Tomoe looked up, and nodded slowly.  The door opened, and she stepped inside.

She went forward, before stopping, and going onto her knees, bowing forward towards the intimidating individual.  Yoshikage Tachibana stared at his Daughter with strong eyes, before he slowly nodded, "Rise, my Daughter."

Tomoe immediately sat up, and smiled gently.  "... Father." She greeted curtly, and he nodded back.

"The Kawaguchi family has... sprung again." Yoshikage said carefully, making Tomoe tense a little.

"But Father, we... we won the battle against them years ago... We declared a truce... We have been able to live in peace with each other this last century."  She commented, making her Father slowly nod, as he sighed a little.  His muscular body started to sag a little, relaxing.  He closed his eyes, as if he was contemplating.

"... Yes, I know.  I have contacted the Head, and we will be meeting in three days from now."

Tomoe bit her lip, "Then let me go with you, Father."

"Absolutely not." The response was quick and fast.  Tomoe however, immediately recoiled, "But Father!  If they will try to assassinat--"

"That will not happen.  There's something odd about these attacks." The old samurai sighed, and Tomoe sat back on the back of her calves.  He went on, explaining to her more about the attacks on the Tachibana household.  Tomoe shifted uneasily, and even had to look around to make sure that there were no spies around.

"... You're saying that they might not know...?" She asked hesitantly, and he slowly nodded.  "Indeed... I'm thinking, that the man who... killed your Mother, is the one behind all this, deserting his household and his name for revenge."

Tomoe's jaw tensed and she clenched her teeth.  "... I see." She said after a period of silence.  Yoshikage stared at his Daughter, sighing after, "Tomoe, you mustn't keep this grudge that you have had for years, its not--"

"But it is!  Father, it's my fault Mother died!" She lashed out, not bothering holding back her formal appearance.  Her breathing was coming out in short breaths, and her body was tensing up again.  Her hands clenched into fists, gathering up parts of her kimono in her fists.

"If... If I known faster... if I reacted faster... Mother... wouldn't have... And... if I were stronger..."

"Tomoe, you were still a child."

"I'm a child of Tachibana though, I should have known better!"

She was almost brought to tears.  Thinking about her Mother's death had that impact on her; she could never forget what happened, and never let go.  Yoshikage sighed, "And you are still a child of Tachibana.  You should know better now."

Tomoe held her tongue back, and slowly calmed down.  Yoshikage sighed, "... However, the next attack will happen soon."

She looked back up, "... They... warned you?"

He pulled out a scroll, passing it to her.  She took it, unrolling it, and reading the contents on it.  Her eyes widened a little, and she closed it shut.  She stood up immediately, "I'm going to suit up."

"Tomoe, I can't allow it."

"Father... I'm sorry but that's something I can not follow."

She didn't leave anytime for him to reply to her, as she got up, and left immediately.
I actually wrote the second chapter!

And personally, it's my favorite chapter altogether, haha.

Quick rundown of the chapter before listening to my thoughts: Tomoe's past is revealed with her Mother's death being an assasination from a rivaling family, and Tomoe can't let go of her death. After a meeting with her Father, she feels to be responsible to clean up the mess that is rising. Back in America, EVERYONE IS CONFUSED.

There done.

Fight sequences, albeit I'm terrible at them, are very fun to write. The thing with action/fight sequences is that you can paint it in your mind, but the trouble is, putting them down into words, to see if you can paint the same vision into other people's mind. I'm not a very descriptive person (in general) when it comes to fighting, so I hope that was enough for people to imagine the confusion Tomoe went through when younger.

The rest of the chapter is all drama, which I can pull out easily. XD;

(My) Tomoe is a bit different, at least, we're starting to see her in a different light at this chapter, and possibly from here to the end. So please, enjoy this one - I'll still try to make her close to her in-game one while co-inciding with her past-stricken one.

I hope the second chapter picked up the story a bit, at least didn't drag as much as the first. So I hope you enjoyed, and please, stick around for the third chapter.

That I have yet to write.

Disclaimer: Picup does not own Trauma Team.
© 2010 - 2024 Picup
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asianrice231's avatar
I freaking love this!