See description for warnings.

~

Ryô finally performed the vaccination without further difficulty and was warmly rewarded by the joy and congratulations of his guinea pig and his instructor. In the end, he quickly proved to be very talented and very delicate. He therefore effectively assisted Seishi, which significantly shortened the vaccination session, and easily justified the learning time granted. Seishi sighed and wiped his forehead.

“Seishi-san, you haven't stopped all afternoon, I can finish if you want.”, Ryô timidly offered to him.

Seishi stretched and smiled at him.

“Thank you, I'm just going to take a short break.” He paused for a moment before adding. Ryô-kun... I think I've already told you but... You can talk to me on a first-name basis if you wish.

Ryô blushed and lowered his head.

“I... I'm sorry, it's that I didn't... not used to it and...”

“Well, do as you feel it after all.”, the doctor reassured him. “It will come one day... I hope. Well, there aren't many children left to vaccinate anyway.”

“I haven't seen Sama. Has she been vaccinated yet?”

Seishi looked at some distance, pointing to the child who was playing while carefully avoiding their gaze.

“No”, he said, “I think our little princess is not very attracted by the idea of ​​an injection.”

“Seishi-san”, Ryô began as he released his little patient, “I wanted to ask you if... Will... Will Sama be able to recover completely?”

Seishi sighed and kept his gaze averted.

“Alas... The only way to really cure her would be surgery, which is relatively complex although her anomaly is not among the most serious. And obviously that's unthinkable here.”

“But”, Ryô pleaded, “for now she is fine, right? You have cured her of her discomforts!”

“It's only temporary, superficial. It was a coincidence that I had this treatment with me. I brought some back from France and I somehow manage to have some sent to us but... our mission will end soon and I hardly know how to continue to send her the treatment. I have been trying to find a solution for some time now without success... Well, I will go and get her so that we can put all this away.”

~

Ryô watched the doctor walk away with a lump in his throat. Something had to be done. He clenched his fist. The mission was almost over, Seishi-san had reminded him. What would happen then? Seishi-san didn't seem to be considering staying here alone again. A new kind of anguish took possession of him. They would leave the camp and Sama of course... but them... Where would he go? And Seishi-san? Would he return to France? Would he lose sight of him?

Would they be separated and probably forever? Ryô's heart rebelled. No! Seishi-san was the only person he felt comfortable with, free...

Well, quite simply. It was stupid. Barely two years ago he didn't care about anyone, didn't depend on anyone and was closed to all emotion...

And now he couldn't bear the idea of no longer seeing Seishi-san, of no longer benefiting from his reassuring and soothing support. But was it a bad thing? Was he really happier before, certainly not... He sighed as he watched the doctor convince, with great patience, Sama to approach the small annex of the infirmary. He couldn't help but yawn.

“So, are we tiring the novice?” said a teasing voice.

Ryô jumped and raised his head. Moussah, the young African helper, smiles broadly at him.

“Are you finished? I saw that you did a hell of a job, did you like it?”

“Y... Yes...” Ryō nodded.

Screams and the sound of engines interrupted them.

Both of them searched for the origin of this incongruous din in this place, without success. Ryō observed that Seishi-san had straightened up and was now holding Sama behind him, staring at a point that the young man could not see from his seat. He turned to Ryō and the small center, ordering them not to move. Ryō stood up, sensing that something abnormal was happening. Ikeda-sensei then walked past them towards the doctor, which confirmed his fears.

Seishi-san was trying to send Sama back to them without success when a 4x4 pulled up near him and stopped abruptly. Six men jumped to the ground, gradually revealed as the cloud of dust, witness to their arrival, dissipated.

Rebel terrorists, Ryô thought almost mechanically. Everyone here knew of their existence. Remnants of independence fighters and civil wars, they had miraculously escaped them until then but they were shamelessly ravaging the country. Ryô shuddered, unable to help but compare them to gangs he had once known. That same aggressiveness, that same hound-like arrogance hiding their cowardice... Despicable...

Ikeda-sensei and Seishi-san tried to oppose their calm and bring a little reason to their exchanges. He hesitated, his eyebrows furrowed. He didn't like these guys at all, some of them seemed particularly unstable and the weapons they were brandishing didn't bode well in such hands. He was about to move forward when an arm held him back.

“We told you to stay here. Come help us get the people here to safety.”, Moussah murmured in a firm voice.

“No, let me go, I've already been around such individuals and...”

“Don't be stupid, you're more useful here in the shelter trying to keep everyone away. I know this kind of madmen too. Seishi and Yoshio try to calm things down but it's better to take precautions.”

Ryō took one last look before following Moussah and directing the people still present, including many children, to the infirmary hut. However, he couldn't help but keep an eye on Seishi-san and the others as shouts began to ring out.

“You will give them to us or your protégés will pay, starting with the children!” threatened the chief, pointing to Sama with his automatic pistol.

Seishi-san moved back in front of her, holding her back. Ryô this time abandoned his task and observed the scene with ever-increasing concern. Ikeda-sensei remained calm but unyielding, much to the fury of the armed group and its leader. A movement suddenly caught Ryō's attention. One of the most excited seemed...

He's going to... murmured Ryô before widening his eyes in terror. Seishi-san... He shouted.

“Seishi-san watch out!!!!”

He rushed forward without thinking, ignoring Moussah who was trying to hold him back. Seishi-san's gaze met that of the rebel a fraction of a second before tragedy. Everything then happened like a nightmare for Ryō, whose mind was obsessed with only one thing. Overcoming his suddenly knotted throat, he screamed again.

“Seishi-san! Seishi-saaan!”

His voice mingled with the terrorist's vociferations.

“Arrogant white imperialist dogs! You will learn who rules here!”

A sharp snap punctuated his diatribe, paralyzing Ryô's heart. Seishi-san stepped back with a muted moan, closing his eyes in front of a horrified Ikeda-sensei. The screams of little Sama and the camp residents present in turn drowned out those of the rebels.

“Seishi-saaan! Seishi-saaan!!!” Ryô screamed as the latter bent his knees and slowly collapsed.

He threw himself forward to catch him. Unconsciously he heard a second bang and saw Ikeda-sensei, who had turned against their attackers, fall to his knees, holding his shoulder. More bursts of voices erupted, in a dialect that Ryô did not understand. The chief was apparently lashing out at his subordinates and trying to regain control. Little Sama, who had rushed to Seishi-san with heartbreaking complaints, prevented Ryō from checking the exact condition of the doctor. His eyes, blurred by tears, could only make out the blood staining the hand he had just removed from his chest. An uncontrollable rage took hold of him. In a split second, he jumped to his feet and threw himself at Seishi-san's assassin.

“Omae o korosu!” he yelled.

A gust of wind rang out and a searing pain ran through his legs. He collapsed, managing to drag his target with him.

His furious mind screamed that if he had a katana this pig would already be in hell. He looked for a hold but was no match for him. A blow to the back of the neck put an end to the nightmare.