[color=gray][center][color=white][b]12:02pm
Izayoi Village
Readying for Action[/b][/color][/center]

Sara has separated from the group after Abe gave his advice on which mission to take. The decision was ultimately left up to her, and she didn't know what she would do. Both options were worth taking the risk for. She walked through the village, headed toward her home to pick up Icarus. On her way, a young boy ran up to her, his aunt not far behind. Sara knew the boy, his father had died out on a hunt. He was killed by a group of yakuza. [color=white][i]"Sara-sama!"[/i][/color] the boy called out to her.

Sara smiled to him, and looked to his aunt. She had a tear streaking down her cheek. She nodded to Sara, and kept a fair distance away. Sara knelt down to speak with the boy, and smiled, [color=white][b]"Haji-chan, hey."[/b][/color] Sara's voice was strained, she had a feeling she knew what was coming up.

The boy held a necklace out to her. [color=white][i]"We heard you were leaving in the Bastion... I want you to have this. He will protect you."[/i][/color]

Sara eyed the necklace. It was a village tradition, to pass on a red necklace to somebody who had lost a family member on a hunt.
 [color=white][b]"Haji... I can't take thi-"[/b][/color]

[color=white][i]"You must!"[/i][/color] the aunt cut Sara off, [color=white][i]"You must take it. My brother wouldn't want to have his memory fade away in a village of scared and hungry people. His place was always in the wild."[/i][/color]

Sara stared at the aunt, and nodded. She felt a frog in her throat, and had to swallow it back. She took the necklace and clenched it in her fist, [color=white][b]"Thank you, Haji."[/b][/color] Sara stood up and walked over to the aunt. She hugged her, and the woman cried in Sara's shoulder. [color=white][b]"This village wont be scared and hungry for much longer. You have my word."[/b][/color] The woman let go of Sara, and called Haji back to her side. Sara continued on.

[center][url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P4SixFblP7A][img]https://i.pinimg.com/736x/5d/e8/ff/5de8ff4d345f1fd126e199131550f3fd.jpg[/img][/url]
(Click the image for mood music)[/center]

Before long, she was at the door to her house. She stood there a moment to take a deep breath, and opened the door. The interior was dark, the only light was the fogged obscured sun piercing through the blinded windows and cracks in the walls. Some dust floated in the air. Sara looked around, there was a pile of empty bottles on the dinner table. She let out a sigh and made her way over to the pile, picking up the bottles to put them somewhere else. [color=white][b]"You could at least say hello, dad..."[/b][/color]

Sara looked to her left, spotting one a legged man in the wheelchair, his face shadowed over in the corner. More empty bottles sat near one of the wheels. Sara's father spoke, [color=white][i]"You haven't been home in days."[/i][/color]

Sara walked across the room and smiled at her falcon. She glanced sidelong over to her drunk father, [color=white][b]"I was hunting."[/b][/color]

The falcon ruffled its feathers and flew onto Sara's shoulder. She petted it a bit. Her father brought a different bottle to his lips. Sara reached over and took it from him. He grabbed her by the wrist, his grip was tight. They made eye contact. [color=white][i]"I was told by your friend Taka. You're leaving town in that war machine. I wont allow it."[/i][/color]

Sara wrenched her hand free, taking the bottle with her. [color=white][b]"It's not your decision. I'm going to make things better here."[/b][/color] She stepped over to the table to set the bottle down with the pile of others.

[color=white][i]"You're going to die, girl. You know that? A gaggle of kids isn't going to fix anything,"[/i][/color] her father said.

Sara looked back at him, [color=white][b]"Then who will? You? You can hardly stand the light of the sun, let alone walk."[/b][/color]

Sara's father wheeled out from his position in the corner of the room. [color=white][i]"How ungrateful can you get? I protected you since you were a baby. Your mother died to get you on that boat. I lost my leg to make sure you survived! And you insult our sacrifices to ride off on some doomed quest? That's how you show your love for our family?"[/i][/color]

[color=white][b]"You're a shadow of the man you used to be. But despite all that, you're still my father. Even if you don't think so, I do love you."[/b][/color]

The man snorted and took his bottle from the table. He turned his back to Sara, [color=white][i]"Great way to show it... Go on, go get killed then. Leave me behind like everybody else."[/i][/color]

Sara glared at the back of his head, [color=white][b]"You aren't even going to say it back?"[/b][/color]

Her father turned to face her again. He made eye contact with Sara, but he didn't have a tender look on his face. He was angry, his teeth gritted and his brows furrowed. [color=white][i]"Get. Out."[/i][/color]

Sara could feel some tears welling up in her eyes. She took the necklace that was given to her by Haji, and set it down on the table. [color=white][b]"You're gonna need this then."[/b][/color] The necklace of a fallen hunter. With that, Sara left the house with Icarus still perched on her shoulder.

Her father looked long and hard at the necklace before wheeling over to it. [color=white][i]"Come back, Sara... Come back!"[/i][/color] She was long gone. Her father took the necklace in his hands, placed his face in his palms, and cried for the first time since his wife had died.

[center][img]http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-dSrBW1jaHA4/T2PKpqDX-uI/AAAAAAAAG4k/cmrcN-PCR5Q/s1600/160312tag_fabio_perez.jpg[/img][/center]

Sara climbed into the tank and got in her seat. Icarus found a place next to Sara to perch on. She turned some dials on the station's radio, and adjusted some of the frequencies. Sara didn't make eye contact with the others. She sniffled once, then rubbed away the only tear that had managed to escape down her cheek. While the others voiced their opinions of what they should do, Sara thought of Haji's father, killed by yakuza. Her mother, killed during an attack by the R.A.I. Her father, broken from his wife's death. [color=white][b]"I'm sick of witnessing good people being killed for no reason."[/b][/color] Sara said to the group, [color=white][b]"I say we go on the offensive and get rid of the yakuza threat for these people. Abe said it'd be about three months before the yakuza would counter attack. That's more than enough time to range out and acquire the silver on another expedition. The town can fortify, and when the yakuza come, they'll be faced with their own equipment and the Bastion. They wont want to strike again. We'll force the yakuza to lose their appetite for this village."[/b][/color]

Sara looked to the rest of the group then, a fiery passion in her eyes, [color=white][b]"Let's show these people that we wont stand for oppression. This tank is called the Bastion. Let's give reason to that name."[/b][/color]
[/color]