Para Bellum 1/?? (Sequel to Le Jeu Sinistre)

[grateful_days]

Disclaimer: I do not own Full Metal Panic. This is a parody.

Chapter One: The Rabbit Hole

As Sousuke sat in traffic, his cell phone began ringing. Kaname had given it to him for his birthday. It was small and the full color screen took up about half the device. It had digital photo capabilities as well and, although he had tinkered with them a few times, thinking that it might prove useful for espionage work, he ultimately found the camera to be too complicated and completely ignored it from then on.

He fumbled for the phone in his pocket and extracted it, keeping one hand on the wheel at all times. A flashing box on the screen informed him that he had an "Incoming Text Message."

Sousuke found this a bit odd. Only four people called him regularly: Melissa, Kaname, Tessa and Kurtz. It was a Friday after school, so Tessa would be busy with student council and Kaname would be practicing with the softball team. Sousuke was supposed to pick her up when practice ended but that wouldn’t be for at least another two hours. It was certainly possible that practice was cancelled but highly unlikely, as he had seen the coach right before he left Jindai. Sousuke had also spoken with Melissa and Kurtz before leaving so it was unlikely that they would feel the need to talk to him again all of a sudden.

Now, it certainly could be Tessa, Kurtz, Kaname or Melissa but why would they send a text message? Speaking would be much quicker and efficient.

Finally, seeing no other alternative, Sousuke accepted the text message.

The message scrolled across the screen in English:

>the truth shall set u free

"That’s odd," Sousuke said to himself. Someone in another car honked and Sousuke accelerated, getting to a different spot in the unmoving line of traffic.

After some serious thought, Sousuke typed his reply.
>what?

A new message appeared almost instantly.

>c vis pacem para bellum

Sousuke had to think about that one. Then he remembered what the phrase meant: "If you want peace, prepare for war." He typed his second reply.

>who r u?

There was a long pause in between messages. Then…

>sagara

>yamato

Licking his lips, Sousuke clicked in his third reply.

>what do u want?

"Sagara Yamato"’s reply came without delay.

>go 2 the shintaikkyo dojo in roppongi

>come alone

Sousuke typed out "why?" but a window came up immediately, reporting that "Requested user is not available."

He had two hours before he had to pick up Kaname, Sousuke decided. That was more than enough time to get to Roppongi and back again.


~
After the whole incident with Mithril and Rome, Sousuke began to adjust to civilian life. One of the first things he did was take all the money he had been saving out of the Swiss bank account and buy, among other things, a car. It was a bit difficult to get, him being so young, but after driving all manner of assault vehicles and piloting several of the most deadly machines ever created, Sousuke had no trouble passing his tests.

Now, he had become the unofficial chariot of his friends. That was why Kaname had gotten him a cell phone. So they could call him where ever he was to get a ride. It wasn’t like he had anything better to do.

Shortly after returning to Jindai, Sousuke and Kaname announced that they were dating. This was no surprise to anyone at all. In fact, most of their classmates already assumed that they were dating or, at the very least, were "friends with benefits." Because, why else would he put up with her?

There was an almost empty lot next to the dojo. Sousuke pulled in and parked. On the other side of the lot, near the building, a group of five teenagers were huddled around something.

Sousuke went around to the trunk of his car and popped it open. Inside, he kept a large, military style box for "special occasions." He opened it and selected a Glock 26 handgun. Part of being a civilian was not carrying a weapon everywhere he went. And Sousuke abided by this for the most part. However, he liked being prepared.

After concealing the gun in his school jacket, he started to approach the teens. They seemed like your average, every day gangsters. All of them had their hair dyed and two were sporting Mohawks while a third only had bangs. They were dressed in ripped jeans and leather jackets with more chains on them than most Southern prisoners.

"I’m Sagara," Sousuke said, announcing himself. One of the boys looked up.

"Who the hell cares?"

"I was told to come here."

"Not by us you didn’t," replied another without looking up. Sousuke peered closely at what they had situated themselves around: An uncensored American porno magazine.

"I was contacted by Yamato Sagara."

One of the Mohawk guys looked up at him. "The war hero?"

"I… I’m not sure."

"Whatever." Then he went back to the magazine.

Deciding that they would be no help, Sousuke approached the dojo. It was massively run down, as though it hadn’t been touched for twenty years. It was boarded up and when Sousuke tried the door, it wouldn’t open. Locked.

Glancing over to make sure the gangsters were still occupied, Sousuke drew his pistol and fired two rounds into the lock. Then, he delivered a swift, purposeful kick to the center of the door. It swung open.

The gangsters just stared at Sousuke. He glanced back at them and pointed the Glock in their general direction.

"You saw nothing."

"Sh-shit, man!" one of them yelled. They ran off, leaving the magazine lying open in the middle of the lot.

It was dark inside the dojo and Sousuke couldn’t find any lights. The former sergeant, always prepared, drew a flashlight and looked around.

As far as dojos when, it was nothing special. Large and spacious, with a hard wooden floor and a sword rack in the corner. It appeared to be a kenjutsu institution but Sousuke couldn’t be sure.

As he looked around, he saw something. A shattered picture frame, laying face down under the list of students. He knelt, turning it over. It was a picture of a woman, perhaps in her mid twenties, with long brown hair. She was smiling and cradling a small baby to her breast.

When he saw the picture, Sousuke felt an incredible rush of emotions, like waves splashing against the shore. All at once, he felt a sense of nostalgia, warmth, longing and sadness. The feeling was so intense that he dropped the picture. When he picked it up again, he did so with a sense of fear and trepidation. As though he knew he were about to look upon something he didn’t want to see but had to anyway.

Sousuke slipped the photo out of the frame and turned it over. On the back, in a woman’s casual, yet strangely elegant handwriting was scrawled "24/7/86- Maria and Sousuke."

A feeling akin to discovering a hidden corpse swept through the young soldier. Slowly, he raised his eyes up. On the wall was the list of dojo students. And, above that, the assistant instructors. And above that, the school director. A single name was written in strong, purposeful looking characters.

Yamato Sagara.

And then, a horrible pain tore through Sousuke’s head. It was like his skull was being cut open with a rusty saw. He squeezed his eyes closed and fell back, cradling his head in his hands. He gritted his teeth, biting his lip till blood ran down his chin.

Through his daze of confusion and pain, Sousuke felt a hand pat him firmly on the back. With each pat, the pain lessened.

"C’mon, lad, get a hold of yourself."

By the time the pain was gone, Sousuke was wasted. He forced himself to stand but fell back down, finally resigning himself to sit back on his knees while he regained his composure.

"Are you alright there, boy?"

Standing there, in the dusty darkness of the old dojo before Sousuke was an old, very dignified, very gentlemanly looking fellow. His suit was wrinkled and worn and his hair was almost white and combed over. Yet, he projected an aura of kindliness and strength that almost immediately righted Sousuke.

It was Jindai’s head Kendo coach, Ragasa Tomaya. Even though he was not on the Kendo team, Sousuke liked the man very much. He reminded him, in a way, of an officer he had known in Afghanistan. He was tough and firm when circumstances required it but, otherwise, he was a gentle and kind man. Moreover, he possessed the same kind of die-hard vigor and determination that Sousuke himself had and valued so highly.

"Sensei," Sousuke grunted, standing and bowing. Tomaya gave him the once over and tsked.

"What’s a … like you doing out here?"

Tomaya had a very old and very thick accent that Sousuke had trouble understanding. He quickly made up an excuse.

"I was researching pre-war buildings for a school project," Sousuke said, clearing his throat nervously.

"Ahh," Tomaya said, smiling. He looked over the dojo, still smiling serenely. "There’s a lot of history in this place, you know. I came to live in this neighborhood after the war… Many memories here… Not all good."

"Sir?"

Tomaya shook his head. "You’re too young to remember but there was a radical far right wing terrorist group based out of here. Mostly officers and war criminals. They were broken up in a police raid in the late ‘80s, though and they all scattered. It made front page news."

"I see."

"But, young man, I bet you’re not interested in old stories, are you?" Tomaya kept smiling. When he smiled, his smile ran from the corners of his eyes to his lips.

"No, sir, it’s very interesting. I enjoy history." This was true. Sousuke did well in History Class. His encyclopedic knowledge of world conflicts helped him a great deal.

"I was an officer in the war too. But nothing of note ever happened to me. I was intelligence. All I did was translate enemy documents. Near the end of the war, I was captured and spent a month in a prison camp before returning to Japan. The camp wasn’t even that bad. Because I spoke English well, the soldiers were kind to me."

"I see, sir."

Tomaya smiled and looked outside. "Like I said, I’ve known this dojo for awhile. When I saw the door opened, I wanted to see who was inside. I knew some of the fellows in this group. They tried to get me to join but I wasn’t interested. I did what I had to during the war and it was over. Time to return to life. I remember hearing about a teacher in Spain who had been imprisoned by the Inquisition for six years. When he finally returned to classes, he resumed his lectures with ‘As we were saying yesterday…’ I guess it’s hard for young people to understand things like this." Tomaya squatted and picked up the photo. He turned in over, still smiling and Sousuke stiffened. As if it were nothing at all, Tomaya folded the picture and pocketed it.

"Then again," he said, his soft words floating to Sousuke. "Perhaps you do." He turned and strode out of the dojo. As he left, he called out to Sousuke. "You’d better pick up Miss Kaname. I imagine she doesn’t like to be kept waiting."

~

The world was holding together surprisingly well. Extremely well, considering that A.) The existence of a super secret paramilitary group funded by the UN was revealed, B.) Said group was trying to take over the world, C.) Several members of said group didn’t much like that and took matters into their own hands, D.) Said matters involved blowing up the Vatican and, of course, E.) Leader of said group turned out to be the Pope.

And that doesn’t even consider the corruption in the UN that allowed Mithril to gain power.

All in all, things had been held together quite well, considering everything. As long as everyone didn’t tell twenty-first century society to go jump off a cliff and revert back to living in huts and running from the Mongols, it was to be considered a success.

Shortly after the incident, which also happened to claim the life of Geraldo Rivera, the world was in a state of chaos. Reports of possible civil wars in Russia, the US, India and all over Africa came in. These turned out to be exaggerations.

Russia, however, was taking it particularly hard. The Soviet Union, unstable to begin with, was upset further by this. Two months after the Vatican Incident, a civil war did indeed break out and, five weeks before Ragasa Tomaya found Sousuke in the dojo, the Soviet Union formally ceased to exist. Twenty or so factions claimed sovereignty over the empire, including several communist, socialist, democratic and at least two Muslim ones.

In the US, while there were no wars or revolutions, there were protests, especially when it came out that the military had been developing weapons along with Mithril. About half of congress resigned right there.

And then, there was the UN. There were massive protests and demonstrations in, literally, every nation against the United Nations. At the headquarters, there was an orgy of paper shredding. Finally, when they realized that they simply couldn’t destroy documents fast enough, they lit fire to the building and made a run for it. It was just as well, because the rioters outside would’ve broke it down anyway.

Meanwhile, Tom Clancy had a heart attack as a result of glee, knowing he would have material until the day he died and then some.


~

It was already dark by the time Sousuke pulled up in front of Jindai. Kaname was sitting on the sidewalk, leaned against a lamp post, playing Tetris on her cell phone. She was still dressed in her softball uniform.

"The showers are broken so I couldn’t change," she explained as she tossed her bag into the back seat and climbed into the front next. "So I’m sorry if I smell."

Sousuke nodded and grunted.

After they had been driving for a few minutes, Kaname cleared her throat. "Your place is closer so could we stop there so I can take a shower? I’ll make you dinner."

"That’s fine. I haven’t eaten," Sousuke answered in his usual, totally mechanical tone. Kaname eyed him and went on.

"Are you alright?"

Seeming to jump slightly, Sousuke glanced at her. "Of course. Why wouldn’t I be?"

"You’re really pale… And your eyes are bloodshot. And your hair…"

Sousuke took his eyes off the road for the briefest second to inspect himself in the rear view mirror. He did indeed look like a heroin addict. He hadn’t fixed his hair after his spell at the dojo so it looked unusually shaggy and stuck up in spots.

Kaname reached out a hand and touched Sousuke’s cheek. "You’re warm… Are you okay to drive?"

"Fine," he grunted.

"Did something happen?"

"No."

He turned the next corner sharply, making the tires screech.

"Nothing happened. Everything is fine."

Why am I angry? Sousuke suddenly wondered to himself, as he noticed his knuckles were white, clutching the steering wheel. He forced himself to relax, drawing in one, two, three deep breaths. He sighed as they came to a stop in front of his apartment building.

"I’m fine, Chidori," he said, this time with confidence. This seemed to satisfy Kaname for she asked no further questions.


~


Inside his apartment, Kaname slipped off to the bathroom. When Sousuke heard the shower start, he booted up his computer, logged onto the Internet and pulled up a search engine. He entered "sagara yamato" as his search, spelling "sagara" the same way he spelled his own name.

Sousuke decided it was about time he investigate his family, so to speak. Although he had known about his father ever since joining Mithril, when Kalinin, of all people, informed him, he had never pursued the matter further, preferring to let sleeping dogs lie. But the day’s events were troubling enough to warrant at least an internet search.

It was no surprise when more than five hundred results came up. As he looked over various sites and boards, it slowly dawned on Sousuke how big his father was. Certainly, he was well known; the vintage propaganda, portraying Yamato as the idealized Japanese soldier had seen to that. But he was revered, worshipped even, fifty years later, especially by right wing groups. He was a popular source of discussion on conservative bulletin boards:

Topic Title: Prayers for Sagara-taii

I’m taking my family to Yasukuni tomorrow. We’re going to lay out a flag for my grandfather and my wife’s grandparents. I want to take a bottle of sake for Sagara-taii. Will anyone else be there?

Re: Prayers for Sagara-taii

I’ll be there. My grandfather served under Sagara-taii during the war and he asked me to place his officer’s sword there for him.

It turned out that November 24th, Sagara Yamato’s birthday, was a mini holiday for the most conservative Japanese.

Other sites were devoted to tales of Sagara’s exploits during the war. They were mostly exaggerated pieces of patriotic garbage. Sousuke couldn’t help but feel strangely surreal as he read war stories about his father.

A few less biased sites discussed Sagara’s involvement in the war. There were several heavy debates over whether or not he was a war criminal.

Re: Nomonhan Campaign

There’s proof placing Sagara at the time and place of the massacre. Since we already know that he had a low view of the Chinese, I think it’s certain that he took part.

Re: Nomonhan Campaign

Any so-called "proof" comes from the liberals. Sagara-taii was fighting on the frontlines. Whether or not the massacre took place is another consideration but if it did, there was no way he was there.

One thread, however, caught Sousuke’s eye:

Topic: Lunch with Tomaya Ragasa-shoi

As many of you know, I arranged to have lunch yesterday with Tomaya Ragasa-shoi, who served under Sagara-taii as his chief interpreter during the war years. I wanted to get information for the book I hope to write about Sagara-taii’s life during the war.

Much to my disappointment, Tomaya-shoi spoke very badly about Sagara-taii, calling him a, and I quote… "violent, cruel man" and "a disgrace to Japan." He went on to inform me that, if I really wanted to write a book about Sagara-taii, it should be a criminal case against him.

Obviously, Tomaya-shoi is jealous of Sagara-taii’s fame…

So, Tomaya had served under Sagara, Sousuke thought to himself. That would explain his having known about the dojo.

A sudden jolt passed through Sousuke. If Tomaya knew about the dojo and had served under Sagara, could he possibly know who his son was? Yet, since Tomaya obviously didn’t like Sagara, why would he remain civil and, indeed, almost fatherly with his former captain’s son?

In the distance, the shower stopped. Sousuke quickly book marked the sites and closed down the browser. Leaning back in his chair, he waited for Kaname to come out.

If Tomaya did know who Sousuke was, could he have been the one who text messaged him? But what purpose would that serve? If he had wanted to kill Sousuke, to erase Sagara’s seed from the face of the earth, he had the chance during the young soldier’s seizure. But he instead helped Sousuke.

"Hey, Sousuke…"

Jerked out of his thought, Sousuke tried to turn around in his chair but Kaname head his head still gently. She pressed herself up against the back of the chair slowly and Sousuke felt her warm flesh against his arms. A few drops of water dripped onto his neck and he felt Kaname’s lips touch his cheek.

~

A light sheen of sweat covered both their bodies and they were still panting slight. Kaname’s head lay on Sousuke’s bare chest, her hair cascading over both of them like an auxiliary blanket. One of his hands rested on her shoulder and the other stroked the back of her neck.

"Sousuke…" Kaname whispered softly. She was half-awake and half-asleep. She nuzzled her face into Sousuke’s chest, her breathing slowly becoming regular. Her pale skin almost glowed in the moonlight streaming in through the window.

The silence and the moonlit darkness served to quiet Sousuke’s worries over his father and Tomaya. With Kaname by his side, Sousuke was truly calm and relaxed for the first time since receiving the text message.

Still, even as he lay there with his girlfriend sleeping next to him, Sousuke couldn’t help but wonder if he was awakening sleeping ghosts… For a brief moment, as he took in the scope of his father’s exploits and his own, as well as the questions in his head, the young soldier felt like Alice, tumbling down the rabbit hole…

End Chapter One

Author’s Notes:
Hahahahaha, I said I would never write a sequel. I’m a lying bastard.
There’re probably quite a few classical references in here but I can’t remember them all.
"-taii" is "Captain" and "-shoi" is "Liuetenant." Nomonhan was a campaign near Mongolia during Japan’s war with China in the late ‘30s. For more information, read The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami.
Honestly, I'm not quite sure if I'll continue this. I'd like to but I get distracted easily.

2/25 Edit: This was previously posted on FF.net and Blissful Ignorance.

[Teletha Testarosa]

interesting...very interesting...i like it