Drake listened as the leaders of the village expressed their wants and desires. The silver would indeed help the village, but Drake personally hated the idea of paying of the Yakuza. As they departed the dojo, a small form barreled into Drake from behind. Knocking him off balance, Drake managed to keep his footing. A ball of red hair was smashed into his back. From it came a squeel of laughter as the little girl looked up. “Haha! Got you!” Andria laughed as she hugged Drake from behind. It had become something of a game for her to go around the town and run into him. Using the excuse of her left eye, Drake had always found it hard to dissuade her from the activity.

Sighing, all notions of the tank forgotten, Drake reached down to pry her hands off from around his stomach. Thankfully, having been the last one to walk out of the dojo, nobody could see the outlines of his tail from where Andria grasped his shirt. “Andria, you need to let go.” His voice, being more stern than usual, prompted the girl to finally release him. Then, holding her hand in his, Drake began to lead her along behind the rest of the cadets. Catching a glance from Foresight, Drake smiled back up at her. 

When they arrived at the tank, its view enveloped his vision. It was huge, and it sure as hell looked powerful. Then he heard Abe speak. Mulling over the idea in his head, Drake spoke his thoughts. “Honestly, it would make the most sense to attack the Yakuza like an outside faction. We can travel around and attack the from the side. This way they might think that it wasn’t Omi village. Also, we can gather a lot of supplies from attacking them.” Thinking for a moment, he continued talking. “Then we can go to the mine, gather the silver, and be ready to pay the Yakuza when they show up. Knowing them, they probably don’t think that Omi village would even be able to get a tank. So we wouldn’t have to worry about retribution from that.”

Having spoken his thoughts, Drake looked down at the girl that stood next to him. Her scars were prominent on her hand and face. “Right now, I have to go and take care of Andria here, I’ll be back within the next few hours.” Saying farewell to his teammates, Drake lead Andria through the village. “Hey Andria, I’m gonna be leaving for a few weeks. Ok?” Sighing just a bit, Drake continued, “I’m going to need you to do some things for me.” In front of the duo stood a small hut. It was located on the outside edge of the village and belonged to the Hayashi’s, an elderly couple that often took care of both Drake and Andria.

Getting down on his knee, Drake looked Andria in the eyes. “I need you to be strong, take care of the Gran and Pa for me, ok.” Andria nodded as she looked into Drake’s eyes. Then, giving him a tight hug, she ran off into the house. Gran stood there, watching. Waving Drake goodbye, she closed the door. 

Making his way back to the tank, Drake had made sure to grab his Kevlar vest. His rifle was strapped to his back while his pistol was on his hip. His goggles hung from his neck as the binoculars he received swung from his left hip. The tripwires and smoke grenade were contained in the pouches of the bandolier he wore. Tugging on his gloves, Drake rejoined the crew of the Bastion.