[FIC] Whispered Reign (pt. 4)

[Sgt. Sagara Sousuke]

Whispered Reign: Part 4

1123 Hours (Japan Standard Time)
Choufu-shi, Tokyo, Japan
Jindai High School

“When the Tokugawa government fell in 1867 – 1868 due to heavy political pressure, Emperor Meiji was restored to power. The emperor moved from Kyoto to Tokyo which became the new capital. The actual transfer of political power was from Tokugawa Bakufu to a small group of nobles and former samurai,” a voice droned on about the topic of the Meiji Restoration.

“The new government aspired to be a democratic nation with equality among its people. The borders distinguishing between the social classes of Tokugawa Japan were gradually broken down. Ergo, the samurai suffered the worst as they lost all of their privileges,” the teacher continued in a monotonous tone as if he were reading from a text book.

Wait! He was indeed reading from a text book barely looking up from his book to check on the students, whether they were paying attention or not.

Kaname sighed. She was losing attention to this boring lesson and looking around, she deduced that the other students must feel the same. Not knowing why, her gaze locked onto Sousuke. She noticed that he was paying full attention to the teacher, treating the lesson as if it were one of his briefings. Unlike the other students who were slumped over their chairs bored, Sousuke was sitting straight taking in every word.

In truth, Sousuke was a bit distracted. It wasn’t that the lesson was boring for him as it did contain slight militaristic value. He stared blankly at the teacher while his mind wandered into the past when he was still Kashim.

He thought about how he had met Zaied. That’s right – when he was transferred under the care of Jacob. They were in the same camp and Zaied was always looking out for him. Zaied had betrayed him and now, Zaied is no more. His mind instantly offered a rebuttal- Zaied did not exactly betray him. He had just chosen a different path and when their paths crossed, something had to give.

His thoughts switched to Omar and Jaafar. He did not think that they had survived; the last of his childhood friends still alive and well.

“The new government also sought to catch up in the military sector. Universal conscription was introduced, and a new army modeled after the Prussian force, and a navy after the British one were established.” The voice only registered as mere murmur on the students’ mind.

Sousuke jerked when an electronic beep echoed throughout the classroom. He nearly jumped to the conclusion that there was a bomb in the classroom until he realized that the sound originated from his vicinity. His cell phone was ringing.

He took out the cell phone and checked the number of the dialer. It was that of a secure line that Mithril use to contact its operatives.

“Mr. Sagara. You do know that answering or making calls during a lesson is against the rules, correct?” The teacher was glaring at Sousuke.

“Yes, I’m sorry. But this is an important call. It is from my guardian, Mr. Kalinin. He would not have called me if it wasn’t utterly important. May I be excused?”

“… Very well. Seeing that you’re quite a serious young man, I forgive you. This time.”

“Thank you, sir.” Sousuke walked out of the classroom to answer the call.

Kalinin’s voice was the one that greeted him when he answered the call. Without wasting time on pleasantries, Kalinin cut straight to the chase:

“Urzu 7, you’re being called back to TDD-1 for another mission. Your current mission will be taken over by Wraith. Extraction in 15 minutes.”

“Yes, sir. Means of extraction, sir?”

“By helicopter at location Omega.”

“But that’s the school field. What if people are playing there?”

“Let us worry about that.”

“Yes, sir.” And that was the end of the call.

Sousuke slipped his cell phone back into his pocket and walked into the classroom. The teacher was up to the Russo-Japanese War when Sousuke returned to his seat and began packing his books into his bag.

“Japan defeated China and received Taiwan but was forced by Russia, France and Germany to retu…” the teacher slowed to a halt. “Mr. Sagara, what do you think you are doing?”

The teacher felt that Sousuke was being disrespectful, just packing and leaving without saying a word or asking for permission for that matter.

“I’m sorry. There is an emergency and my presence is required immediately.”

“What sort of emergency?”

Kaname who was feeling a bit drowsy earlier was now watching the scene with great interest. Of course, the whole class was watching the scene with interest but none of them felt as worried as Kaname felt right then.

“I cannot disclose that information to you. Perhaps my guardian will offer you a satisfactory explanation later.”

“You are not a child anymore, you are a young adult and I cannot stop you from what you are doing. But you’d better be ready to bear the responsibility of your actions.”

“Always, sir.”

With that, he grabbed his bag and marched to the door. But before he opened it and disappear for a few days, he remembered that there was something he had to do first. He turned around and walked up to the teacher to ask:

“Sir, may I speak to Miss Chidori outside for a moment please?”

“And why is that?”

“Well… I-” Sousuke was searching for answer but could not come up with one. He was sure Kaname would not want him to convey his real intentions.

Kaname spoke up before Sousuke finished that explanation sensing that he needed some help. “Because I’m the class representative and should be informed of his situation. Right, Sousuke?”

“Err…”

“So, he should inform the situation to the class representative but not to the teacher?” The teacher’s tone implied a hint of sarcasm. “Never mind, hurry it up. You’re taking up too much of my time.”

Relieved that the teacher did not expect her to answer that question, she hurriedly walked up to the front of the class, took Sousuke’s arm and dragged him out.

Closing the door behind her, she looked back to see if anyone was trying to eavesdrop on their conversation. Glad that the teacher continued on with the lesson, she concentrated back to Sousuke.

“So, what is it now, Sousuke?” She was slightly annoyed.

“I’m leaving for a few days.”

“On a mission?”

“That is correct.”

“And you want me to do what? Cover for you? What do you want me to tell-”

“No, no… I just wanted to know. And that I will be returning.”

“Oh…” Kaname felt stupid then, jumping to conclusions. And Sousuke really surprised her- he rarely bothered to tell her that he was leaving on a mission before. And he even emphasized that he would be returning.

“Is that a promise?” she dared herself to say.

“… Yes, I suppose.”

“Well then, what are you waiting for!?”

He was already running down the hallway his sneakers making soft squeaks as they hit the mopped floor which was otherwise barely audible from inside the classes. Kaname watched as he slipped out the front entrance as silent as a cat before she reentered the class.

“Finished, Miss Chidori?” the teacher inquired, raising an eyebrow.

“Yes.”

“Good. Please return to your seat. I hope there will be no more interruptions…”

Kaname did not say anything and went back to her seat. Kyouko tapped her on the shoulder when the teacher resumed his dictation. She was concerned about Sousuke but in fact she was more interested in their conversation outside the classroom.

“So, why did Sagara leave so suddenly? And what did the two of you spoke of just now?” She did not do a good job at concealing her excitement.

Not in the mood to joke, Kaname answered simply “Family emergency.”

“Well, I hope that he’ll be alright. You really are worried about him, aren’t you?”

“Wha- Me? Of course, he’s a friend. And I’m the class representative.” She was about to do one of her trademark laughs when she noticed the teacher glaring at her. Her last reply was a bit too loud. She looked down ashamed and kept quiet.

The teacher buried his face in the book and continued his sermon. He was getting irritated at the constant disturbances. If there was anymore interruptions, he would give up and carry on the lesson another day.

“Sorry, Kana-chan. Didn’t mean to get you in trouble. Anyway, why is the teacher still teaching? Our exams are already over. Shouldn’t he be marking papers?” Kyouko whispered.

Kaname knew that this session was meant as preparations for next year but she remained mute not wanting to get herself into anymore trouble.

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Outside, Sousuke closed the door behind him and looked around. The school compound was desolate. The students were all in their classes learning diligently. On second thought, diligently may not be the right word. Sousuke did notice that his classmates were daydreaming when they should be concentrating. He was also referring to himself. With the exception of him, not a soul was outdoors.

He began to make his way to the school field. He did not hurry. The school field was not a long distance away. By the time he reached there, the helicopter would already be there. He did not think that there would be anyone at the school field. Probably that was why the Lt. Cmdr. did not sound too worried.

He arrived exactly on time but there was no transport there waiting for him. Since the sun was just about over his head, Sousuke went to sit down under a shed. He looked at his watch. The helicopter was late. He tried speculating the situation that was so important that he had to be pulled from this duty and extracted via helicopter right from school. Usually, they would provide a van for him to the airport where his flight to TDD-1 would be arranged.

Just then, he heard the chopping sound of rotors slicing through the air complemented by the low humming of the engine. A strong gust began to build up and sand was blown away from a center point filling the air with haze. It reminded Sousuke of the sandstorms that occasionally hit the Afghani rebel camp.

Sousuke looked up but he saw nothing. The sound of the helicopter was coming from an invisible source. They must have activated the ECS Invisibility mode to avoid detection. A rope ladder was dropped down and it remained dangling from thin air like magic. If anybody else saw this, they would certainly be astonished or even frightened by this. Sousuke knew better.

Eyes squinted and looking down to keep the sand out of his eyes, he jogged towards the rope ladder and climbed it all the way to the top. At some point, a door slid opened and Sousuke could see the interior of the helicopter. It looked like a portal where one could see into another plane of dimension.

Upon reaching the top of the ladder, a soldier pulled the young man up into the helicopter where he sat down and strapped himself. The soldier closed the sliding door and indicated to the pilots that they were ready to go. One pilot nodded and the helicopter climbed to the skies.

**************
**************

They were airborne for a couple hours already since Sousuke boarded the helicopter. He hardly spoke with the other soldier, only answering in short replies when the soldier tried striking up a conversation. After several tries and not getting a positive response from Sousuke, the soldier gave up and talked to the pilots instead. Sousuke just was not in the mood for chatting.

“Kinda reserved, isn’t he?” the soldier told the pilot.

“He’s like that. Don’t mind him.”

“Always like that?”

“Yeah. What- don’t tell me you’re new? Don’t you know Sousuke here?”

“Heard of him, yeah. Never actually met face to face. I heard he’s good.”

“Yep, you heard right. Been fighting since he was a kid. Hey, Sousuke! You don’t mind us talking about you, do you?”

“Err… no. Please continue,” Sousuke answered.

Then he took no heed to their discussion and looked out the window. He could see the ocean below, the waves rippling causing the reflection of the sun to scatter and glisten. The sight was calming, soothing almost and Sousuke was lost in his own thoughts.

How tough is his next mission going to be? Was Amalgam involved? If so, what is their agenda? These are the things he found himself pondering. Amalgam had been posing as a bigger and bigger threat each time they revealed their presence to Mithril. Last month, they had made known that they have multiple Lambda Driver capable ASes and pilots skilled enough to employ such deadly force. Even though he defeated all five ASes, he was lucky the Lambda Driver performed at all during that skirmish.

His subsequent mission might be even tougher than before. Mithril being so anxious for his participation must mean that the Arbalest is needed. Would he be able to return alive? Or was he to die in the battlefield? He shook that thought out of his head instantly. He must return alive to Tokyo, to Kaname.

To Kaname? Why am I thinking of her at this time? That’s right. I promised to her that I’d return.

He would’ve smacked himself on the head if he was alone. Why did he make such an unwise promise? He could not have guaranteed his safe return. There was no guarantee every time he went on a mission.

Was it the look of desperation on Kaname’s face when she asked him for his assurance? His heart softened at the look of despair on her face. But he was a soldier. He should stand strong and not be affected by his emotions. His place should be in the battlefield. Sitting here in the helicopter, it felt so natural to him. But still, he had an urge to stay in Tokyo. How could one girl cause him to react in such a way?

“Hey, buddy. Hey! You awake?” the other soldier was snapping his fingers in front of Sousuke trying to wake him from his daze.

“Umm… yes.”

“We’re here.” And he pointed down.

Sousuke looked out the window and saw that they were right above the TDD-1. The flight hatch was open ready to welcome the helicopter. The helicopter was slowly descending onto the platform and the engine was shut down. The platform was brought down to the hanger as the flight hatch closed blocking the sunlight. Sousuke knew the drill- he was to report to Kalinin and ready himself for his coming operation.

[Kelek]

Very nice.

[Avlor]

I like the promise and him being distracted lately. Hopefully the promise will spur him on in tought times ahead.

more please.