The Kapo and the Jew. Part One of the Tragic Series. Their love was as strong as the sun, more tragic than Romeo and Juliet, and most desperate at the brink of death.
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Aspirator
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They were herded in a warehouse-like building, with bunk beds on both sides, but without the mattress.
This was presumably where they'll stay for the next - only God knows how long - weeks.
There were two Kapos in charge of them. One male, one female. They both looked stern, and cheerless.
"Everyone shut up!" the male Kapo roared.
The room immediately quieted but for little Youichi, who cried to Mikan, "I need to pee!"
Mikan tried to shush the boy, but someone else got to him first.
The male kapo touched him with his foot, causing Youichi to look up at him with big round grey eyes. The sight of the older gentleman immediately quieted him.
Apparently that wasn't how others saw it, for the girl next to him gasped in repulsion, "you just kicked a little kid! How dare you!"
Others in the group tried to console the lady, glancing at him with fearful eyes.
However, instead of the expected strike against her, the man merely stared at her, his lips twitching. Then suddenly he turned and walked away.
The woman kapo, on the other hand, huffed, "you were lucky." and trailed after him. And they would find out later that they were, indeed, lucky.
The two walked out the doors, but failed to close them all the way.
Occupants of the room whispered amongst themselves but a hush fell over the room when voices escalated outside.
Almost immediately, the woman kapo huffily stalked back in, slamming the door behind her. Facing the anxious crowd grumpily, she lifted her chin, then started, "this is a prep talk, but not really. My name is Sumire Shouda and the other Kapo is Hyuuga. He doesn't like people calling him by his first name. This is a concentration camp. I know it says work makes you free but that's not exactly true. Work lets you live." and she continued with the general orientations.
Outside, Natsume waited, knowing that an assignment with marked people meant a visit by Persona. He saw the red mark on some of the Jew's shoulders. And that one girl sure looked like trouble. They handed him an entire group of Troublers. But that was expected. He and Shouda had a reputation in that camp. They were the Kapos that could tame anybody.
"I see you've handled them nicely." a dark voice spoke from behind.
Natsume turned cooly, hiding his aggravation. Persona had that effect - he sneaks up on you.
"Yes, sir." he replied monotonously.
"So the question is, can you handle them 'til the end?"
Natsume resisted the urge to roll his eyes, "yes, sir."
"Good." he nodded just the slightest, "I'll be checking every few weeks."
And Natsume knew that meant surprise visits. He held in a growl of annoyance til the man had left.
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The group later found out that though their Kapos looked stern, they weren't quite whip-friendly or anything of the sort. They were talkers. They reasoned with the prisoners and put them back on track.
The group began to like their Kapos. For they were fair, and they were modest.
Except for one, who still held a grudge against the male.
"Baby-kicker," Mikan muttered.
Natsume rose his brow, then leaned down to address the boy in question, "How old are you?"
The boy looked back innocently, "I'm eight."
Natsume nodded, straightening up, he turned back to Mikan, "I don't consider eight a baby, and I didn't kick him."
Mikan opened her mouth to protest, but the man had considered the problem resolved and already walked away.
She opted to growl in irritation. But a pull on her sleeve distracted her. Youichi looked up at her with bright eyes, "I like 'im."
Mikan smiled slightly, maybe a truce wouldn't be so bad.
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A few weeks later, the group began to slowly become accustomed to life in that concentration camp. At night, they talked amongst themselves.
Even the woman Kapo joined in.
But Mikan noticed one person was missing, and that was the male Kapo. She looked outside - "there you are!"
Natsume glanced at her, startled, then looked around in alarm. "What the hell are you doing, stupid girl?" he asked as he herded her back inside.
"I-" Mikan frowned, so much for that, "I wanted to talk to you!"
"And get killed apparently," the man grumbled.
Mikan pouted, and he sighed. He situated her beside the door, her back against the wall. He sat in doorway. And so, they sat almost across from each other. He muttered, "okay, so talk."
Mikan frowned again at his rudeness, but blurted out, "why do you always watch? Do you ever sleep? I heard Kapos were also prisoners. You're a prisoner too? Do you get better food?"
Natsume glanced at her warily, "too many questions." but he answered them anyway,
So every night since then, for three months, that's where they sat.
While everyone else talked of their joyful pasts and dreamed of the future, the pair talked of the present. They talked of nothing and of everything. They just kept each other company.
That, Mikan would later realize, was how they fell in love.
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They were so lucky, they knew. And so they held it for as long as they could. In the daytime, they didn't look at each other, afraid of getting caught of having a special bond with each other.
After three months, they were a tight knit group. Even the two Kapos were part of their group.
They did everything quietly, they made sure, so that their Kapos wouldn't be punished. Because ever heir Kapos were part of their group.
In the nighttime was when all the fun began. The Jews sat around a circle, shared stories. This was what kept them alive, when kept them going. They talked and talked until eventually one by one, they went to sleep.
The last of course, was Natsume, who made sure everything looked as it should be before he left.
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There was one instance where Natsume almost compromised the whole team. It was funny how he regarded them as a team, because in reality, they were his prisoners.
Anna was sick, and Natsume got the camp's best doctor for her. In the most unethical way, too.
Dr. Imai scrutinized him, stating blandly, "she had pneumonia...and the gash on her arm wasn't deep. It's just a scratch."
Natsume said nothing, but stared blankly back.
Dr. Imai continued, "she's fine now."
Natsume nodded curtly, turning to leave. "Good, she can go back to work." He stated, just for show.
But the doctor's next words stopped him, "but you won't, will you?"
Natsume didn't respond, only paused.
The doctor took the chance to continue, asking cautiously, slowly, while looking around to make sure no one was listening, "do you...care for her?"
This time, Natsume turned to look at the doctor, stating shortly, "no."
But the doctor was reading his eyes. He nodded in understanding, "no, indeed." because he was in love with somebody else.
Natsume turned, glad that he understood.
"I'll keep this meeting a secret," the doctor said quietly after him.
The Kapo lifted his hand in acknowledgement.
They were lucky the best doctor in the camp was trustworthy.
That night, Mikan realized how kind Natsume really was inside. And Natsume? He tried not to take the credit for Anna's health, but Mikan was persistent. When she pecked his cheek in reward, he found that he didn't really mind that much.
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It had been three months. It was incredible, almost unheard of, for a group to stay that long together. But Persona was happy the Troublers were in check, and he'd like to keep it that way.
But three months seemed too short, because on one fateful night, the violin played a short concerto and the violinist left quickly. Natsume wasn't around to talk to, or watch the door, either.
The group sat in fearful apprehension. Should they proceed as usual or pretend like when Persona visits?
It was an excruciating hour before the door opened with a quiet creak. It might as well have been an elephant's roar, for the group immediately silenced, turning to the door in fear.
Sumire appeared, and the group breathed a sigh of relief. But the look on her face clenched at their hearts.
She spoke, quietly, grimly, to the crowd,"pack light, or better, don't pack at all. Tonight, we leave."
The group looked around in astonishment, but voiced no objections. They were going to be free!
Then quietly, Koko spoke up, "are you coming too?"
Sumire nodded, a small smile graced her face, "I'll be leading you all."
And it was small Youichi who asked, "Natsume?"
Sumire's smile widened a millimeter, she nodded again, "he will bring up the rear."
The group glanced at one another in joy and disbelief.
But Sumire's smile dropped, "this is a long and dangerous journey. I need to know all of you are willing to fight for your freedom, knowing you could be caught," she winced, "tortured, burned, shot to death any minute."
There was a fearful silence, then shy Yuu spoke bravely, "we work hard everyday knowing any of that could happen to any of us any day." his eyes flitted around the room, "I'll fight for a little while longer."
"May be a long while," Sumire corrected, but a smile graced her features.
She looked around the group and she saw determined faces. She nodded, "you have two minutes, get ready. Wear as many clothes as you can. Only bring the essentials."
They didn't need to be told twice.
Soon, Natsume appeared. He nodded curtly to Smire, who nodded to the rest of the group. They followed Sumire, stealthily and quietly, to the back of their building, where a tunnel into the ground lay. Sumire fearlessly jumped in, and so did the rest of the group.
Natsume had hung to the back of the group, and so did Mikan. They greeted each other silently.
Though everyone noticed with a small smile that they had hooked their pinkies together, they pretended not to.
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As expected, Sumire led the way, and Natsume covered their trails.
They explained as they traveled. There was a movement from inside the camps, because the Allied Powers were not fast enough. They called themselves Alices. They gathered intel first, and had a way of quickly getting it around to other Alices. Once the Americans, and/or Allied soldiers were near enough, they could break them out. The only downside was that they could only smuggle out a group at a time. And when that group has been smuggled out, the camp's security would have been tighter, and it would be harder for the next group.
It didn't take long for Mikan to notice Natsume wasn't among them anymore. She looked back to see he has stopped. She ran back to him, and he turned to her in surprise, grasping her shoulders and turning her around, "what are you doing? Go back!"
"What are youdoing?" she returned easily, at his uncertain look, she insisted, "tell me!"
He sighed, releasing his arms and letting them hang by his side, "they're onto us."
"What?" Mikan stumbled back in shock, "But you covered our trail!"
He shrugged, "I'm not that good." He glanced back to where they had come from, then looked her in the eyes, resting his hands on her shoulders, "Look, you have to go, tell Sumire to hurry. The Americans should be close."
Mikan took both his hands off her shoulders, clasping them in hers, "No! I'll go with you!"
Natsume searched her determined eyes. He sighed. Letting go of one of their clasped hands, he reached up to brush a piece of her hair from her face.
"Mikan," he started. She looked at him with understanding eyes, willing him to continue, "how much do you love me?"
She blinked, startled, she sputtered, "I - I don't know - I can't really describe it."
"Good," he smiled a small, rare smile, "multiply that tenfold. That's how much I love you."
Mikan blinked rapidly, protesting, "I - You can't do that!"
"I just did," He smirked. Then gently, he cupped her cheek, "Do you understand? You have to go."
Her brows furrowed, "but I-"
Natsume silenced her with a single word, "Mikan." She looked up at him in a tearful gaze, "You have to go, and you have to live." when she opened her mouth to protest again, he silenced her by continuing desperately, "live for me, okay? Live for us."
This time, she blinked slowly, "okay," she consented quietly.
Natsume tightened his grip on her small hand, "do me a favor, polka."
She smiled, "Anything."
"You've been watching me cover our trails. Can you do it?"
Mikan nodded, newfound determination in her eyes.
"good." Natsume confirmed for the second time that day. He squeezed her hand one last time then let her go.
He watched her as she turned reluctantly.
Suddenly, he reached out, wounding his arm around her waist and pulling her against him, crushing his lips on hers in a passionate kiss.
Mikan was caught by surprise, then she rested her hand lightly on his chest, melting in the kiss.
And everything was perfect for a brief moment. As perfect as love can be in war.
But they had to breathe.
When the pair gasped for air, he rested his forehead on hers, he breathed, "remember me."
"Always." she replied just as breathlessly.
Then he let her go, and he was gone. She watched as he strode purposefully away, taking out the gun slung around his back.
Then she turned, and she ran to join her group. She'll do her part as well.