NEKOMATA II

Difficulty level: four

Status: Branch Alpha arrives at Mount Kita

21.14: Mount Kita, Minami Alps, Yamanashi Prefecture, Japan

After the long ride, they finally arrived at the foot of Mount Kita. The driver rang the bell and everyone became alert.

"All right everyone, we have to patrol the area first to locate the Bakeneko. Since it's already dark outside, we will start with flashlights and follow the signals left behind by the Giant Earthling branch's locator, please stick together okay? Let's pair you guys up; Harper and I will go in front, followed by Tommy and Jack, Jay and Dominique, Mark and Johnny, and Fushimi will guard Fuyu-chan and watch our backs. Let's change into uniform."

They grabbed their bags and pulled out their uniforms. They are composed of a skin-tight, light material turtle-neck, black cargo pants and combat boots. On top of that is a black chest protector, military styled with pockets to fit in extra ammo or weapons, or even bottles of potion. Some of the uniforms are a bit different, Yves' had a sash around his waist to secure his two katanas. Harper's uniform was designed so that he could transform back without losing his clothes, and Timothy, as the team leader, had a camera attached to his chest, which also had the locator inside.

The members grabbed their weapons and exited the bus as a pair.

"Anderson, you are strong," Dominique tapped on Jay's shoulders.

"Uh? Thanks?"

"You should be offering to carry this bag for me right about now."

"Oh! Uh, yeah! Give it to me." The big briefcase is handed to the taller man, Dominique nodded in satisfaction.

The team ascended the mountain's path in pairs, with one from each pair holding a flashlight. It is a bit of a struggle, but at least there is a path for them to walk on.

After roughly thirty minutes of walking, the path started to dissolve into forestry. Harper transformed into a bear and created a pathway for the team to walk through. Not only does the leading pair have to watch for direction, they also have to mind their footsteps so that they won't trip on rocks and fallen branches.

"Fushimi-san, I'm tired." Fuyu complained from the back of the line. Fuyu Aoki, the healer Iota. As the name suggests, he is a healer, similar to the medic team in normal militaries, but instead of using first aid kids and morphine, he uses magic. His magic is not of the same kind as Tommy's as he can only perform healing spells, but it is especially powerful. Being a healer, he does not participate in fights, but stands at the backline waiting for the injured, which is why his physical strength and endurance are relatively low. He is not weak by any means, Fuyu Aoki had gone through the same training the other members of his team had.

"Alpha, how far away are we?" Yves asked.

"About ten minutes to the place where the last signal was sent, is there a problem?"

"Fuyu-chan is tired, can we take a rest?"

"No it's fine, I can walk." Fuyu does not want to seem weak. He did not want to drag the others down, so he gritted his teeth and continued walking.

"Give me that bag." Yves ordered. Fuyu was holding a first-aid bag full of supplies like band-aids and disinfectants. Magic can help, but physical objects are also needed.

"It's fine Fushimi-san, you're already carrying your katanas" Yves grabbed the bag from Fuyu without listening. Fuyu pressed his lips in embarrassment, he's relying on others again.

"You should save your strength, this is going to be a long night."

"Right. Thank you Fushimi-san." Yves nodded.

Ten minutes passed by and the team arrived at a clearing in the middle of the mountain. The area was about ten meters across and five meters long with only grass that looked like it had been mowed.

"Alpha, what's the altitude?" Harper transformed back into human form and brushed away the leaves that had fallen onto his body.

"About 1.5 kilometers above sea level." Timothy patrolled around the area, trying to find the locator the previous team had left behind. It is not uncommon for clearings like this to appear in forests or mountains, but the absence of any living creature along the path where they have walked through was something Timothy had to keep in mind.

"What are you looking for Timmy?" Jack sneaked in from behind and looked over Timothy's shoulders.

"The locator, guys! Help look for a locator!"

"Is the signal still being sent?" Dominique asked.

"No, so it should be destroyed around here, or destroyed and moved elsewhere. Let's try to find it here before going anywhere. Ten minutes, then we'll move on." The team started looking around. It was a clearing, so there wasn't really anywhere it could be hidden in. Despite that, the team still patrolled the surrounding area in hopes of finding the small object.

"Why are we trying to find it if it's destroyed?" Mark, standing in the middle of the field, asked.

"The locator has an SD card like the ones in CCTVs, so it should have a log of what happened in the short period before it was destroyed." Johnny Wang answered. He returned from the nearby bush with a flashlight in hand.

"Hey Mark, have you noticed something weird?"

"In what way?"

"Well, it is a bit peaceful isn't it?"

"Right, I haven't been hearing any noises for a while now." The two of them nodded in agreement and stood there, dumbfounded.

"Timmy, you should come look at this." Jay called. Timothy returned from the forest, towards a bush that Jay was inspecting. "This is blood isn't it?"

It was true as he said. On a few leaves that were barely hanging onto the rest of the bush, there was a small area where blood was dropped onto. The remaining body was seemingly untouched, and the ground surrounding it was also clean.

"Not a splash, the drop had to be vertical." Timothy analyzed. The team slowly made their way over to the bush.

"Found it!" Jay announced. He crouched down and reached his hand deep into the bush before pulling a broken, rectangular piece out of its depth.

"Nice job Anderson." Dominique patted Jay's shoulder, and the ten of them surrounded the team leader to look at the footage.

The locator was in good shape, it seemed like it had just been dropped from the body of the previous team's leader. Timothy removed the back of the locator. "Locator is missing." He stated and pulled out the SD card before inserting it into his smartphone.

The footage started with the team leader walking through the forest, it wasn't very different from what they had previously walked through. They then arrived at this clearing that Branch Alpha is currently standing on. Everything was still for a few minutes, then a noise of bushes moving was heard from the back. The team leader turned around. There was a pair of yellow, glowing orbs staring at them.

"Subject located." She announced, her teammates all transformed into a beast of some kind and charged at the target. A loud meow was heard and flocks of birds flew into the sky. The team leader remained unchanged and gave orders to her subordinates.

The Bakeneko shook all its enemies away and charged for the team leader. She saw through and quickly shapeshifted into another giant cat and clawed at its face. The harness attaching the locator to her body was torn off by the Bakeneko. One of her teammates had transformed back into a human and threw a rope around the cat's neck. It roared and ran away, briefly stopping at the bush. The team leader followed close with her teammates quickly following. One of them accidentally kicked the locator, and it ended up at the bush Jay had found.

The footage ended there, which left an unasked question between the team. Who removed the locator?