Meteor Arts Saga

Chapter 4

It was an hour or two to drive to Osaka and Kobe since their departure from Kyoto in the morning. The teams assigned for Osaka arrived in the city, where city-folk working inside the office and the restaurants were quiet, even at Dotonbori, where Taro's team stopped by. The district was quiet. Since their arrival, Taro, Naotaka, Shintaro and Koki waited inside an okonomiyaki restaurant, sitting at a teppanyaki table, close to the window where they could have a good view of the river. Good time to have brunch in non-busy hours beforehand.

Knowing the Hagetaka were present in the city, the samurai trained themselves to adapt the mindset of being ready for war, even in a time of discomfort. Today would mark their first one or two battles against the Hagetaka, both officially and decisively, one here in Osaka and another over in Kobe. If the samurai were to die at the hands of Hagetaka today, no doubt their enemies would spread all over Kansai, and soon Kyoto, where the Renmei was based in. When there came a time the Renmei fell to the Hagetaka in Kyoto, then the war between the two factions would come to an end. Hagetaka Group would be the victor of the war, and the Meteor Artists would cease to exist. The samurai's duty was not allowing that to happen, regardless how easy or hard it may seem.

A waiter with a buzz cut and wearing round glasses came over and placed all four okonomiyaki on top of the table grill, leaving them warm. He whispered aloud while covering his mouth, "We'll give you guys a heads up before you start."

"Appreciated it," Taro replied.

The waiter bowed and walked away.

"What was that all about?" Koki asked.

"Don't worry, he's helping us out," said Taro. "Takami, the waiter just who brought us our food, is a fellow member of ours. That's why we're here in this restaurant and it's the best spot to prepare ourselves. Anyway, let's dig in."

"Itadakimasu!"

Koki watched his team taking their own spatulas and cut their own pancakes in small slices. He gazed at his own pancake. He could see the golden-brown batter underneath the gleaming okonomiyaki sauce, mayonnaise and bonito flakes. It looked so delicious, and the aroma was so delectable, his stomach was craving for it right now. He picked up his spatula and cut out of a small pizza-like slice. He picked up the slice with his chopsticks and ate it. He was chewing the piece ever so slowly to let the flavour sink in. After swallowing it, it surprised him. This is really good, he thought. He heard Osaka was famous for its cuisine, especially the okonomiyaki, and now he understood why.

They finished their pancakes half an hour later and Takami had returned collecting their plates away.

Taro pulled out a map of Osaka. He recapped on the briefing conducted by Tachibana-sensei himself after yesterday's training, explaining today's objectives. On the map, the ports were highlighted in blue, where the Hagetaka would enter, and also their strategic end points. The port city, highlighted in pink, served as their battleground to take course of action. The Meteor Samurai's goal was to directly drive the Hagetaka forces back into their ships. The Wind Artists would take position surrounding the area. The Water Meteor kunoichi will move into the sewers to create a distraction. And with fortune, a small group of Lightning Artists at their cause would disable every police vehicle in the entire city undetected, keeping them out of their business.

Operation would start at 1345 hours. The Lightning Artists were already on the move, taking care of the police. The Water kunoichi were doing the same in their own part. Now the Meteor Samurai would just have to wait until they were called upon. Meanwhile, the Wind Artists would serve as their stadium, the eyes in the sky and a 'divine intervention', controlling the environment in favour of the samurai and in rejection of the Hagetaka forces. Once the Hagetaka forces were forced back into their ships, the Water kunoichi would take everything from there, with the simple yet subtle use of Water Arts, sending them further away toward the vast ocean. Thus, the mission would end in success.