This is my first story for SNAFU and its a bit of a weird one I have to admit. The story does have original characters and a bit of an OC attitude from Hachiman, which will be explained later. It will eventually include the original cast of the SNAFU, but it will take some time to develop it. I took alot of inspiration for this story from CreativeOutput's "Deadeye" and I hope you enjoy this story just as much.
The spring heat of Afghanistan beat down on the U.S. Joint Forward Operating Base. It was a staggering 106 F and the lack of cloud coverage didn't help as the infantry marched around the large FOB. It had been established during the early 2000's and had exchanged hands twice between the Taliban and NATO forces. Featuring a runway, multiple hangers, and training grounds, the FOB was a key asset for the defense of the region. Furthermore, the FOB was situated in the northeast portion of Afghanistan in the mountainous region, where the elevation was your friend and enemy, and control of this location meant control of the area. Home to numerous NATO forces, the base also held numerous Special Forces groups as well. But, this wasn't exactly home to the JGSDF, who only until recently had been strictly deployed to non-combat roles outside the country.
Looking into the middle of the FOB, there was a large open marching grounds for the FOB and a stage for speech. Standing on the stage was a young officer in a new JGSDF Desert Flecktarn camo uniform, who seemed invisible to the other NATO forces. As many U.S. soldiers simply walked past him without the normal formalities they offered to their own officers. But, it seemed like the officer didn't care as he simply just kept looking down to avoid his face from being scorched from the sun. Slowly the sound of a Japanese platoon got louder as evident by the marching commands shouted in Japanese. The Platoon marched in front of the stage in three orderly columns as the officer looked on.
"8th Platoon halt! Attention!"
The staccato of the heels of boots coming crisply together as the Sergeant Major yelled at his men to stand at attention in front of their new commanding officer. The soldiers stared forward with intense focus at their new officer, who surprisingly didn't seem to care about the current situation he was in. In addition, the officer yawned slightly and didn't seem the least bit interested in the men.
'He doesn't seem like the type to lead.' One Sergeant thought as a bead of sweat dripped down the side of his forehead.
'Oi, oi this guy is in Special Forces?' A greenhorn Leading Private thought as he slightly groaned.
'You have got to be kidding me.' Another Leading Private thought viewing the actions of the commanding officer as unbecoming of their leader.
"At ease." The commanding officer replied with a startling firm voice for his appearance, startling the men who had slightly relaxed to quickly stiffen again by accident.
The commanding officer had the 1st Lieutenant Emblem emblazoned on his military cap and uniform. On the right shoulder tab he had the Japanese Special Forces Group Tab and on his left shoulder tab, the Japanese flag. He stood with his arms behind him, exposing his thin figure, but muscular abdomen and arms as he strained the uniform to tightly cling to his body. Moving up to his face, there was nothing that was unusual about it aside from his eyes. Every member of the platoon looked at the man's eyes, which could only be described as "dead fish eyes". The platoon relaxed, but some couldn't help be unnerved by the eyes of their new leader.
"My name is 1st Lieutenant Hikigaya, I will be your platoon commander for your time as part of the Special Forces Group during this deployment. I hope you understand that you will have to endure extremely rigorous training to get acclimated to these new altitude and climate. In fact, I want everyone to grab their kits and move to the track!" Hachiman shouted as his neck muscles stiffened as a result of his yelling.
"Sir, yes, sir!" The men replied in unison as they scrambled back to their barracks to grab their kits, breaking any sort of organization they had before.
'I am surprised they didn't fawn over me after they saw me. Maybe they don't recognize me? Or do they realize and are hiding it?' Hachiman thought as he lamented his known persona and eyes.
As soon as they left, Hachiman unstiffened and leaned forward while sighing. He had grown tired of this act of his, it was self-deprecating to have to control such idiot drones. Anyone could do it if they had the voice to, and worse he had spent four years of his college to just learn how to yell at idiots, something he could have accomplished without all the training. They were worse than drones, human workers, always not following your orders correctly or affected by trivial emotions. He bet some of them only wanted to join the look cool or get a girlfriend, the worst type of guys.
He scoffed at the thought of him getting a girlfriend anytime soon, he still had a deployment ahead of him and he was getting past his prime age, at least what society said was his early 20's. He was twenty five, and achieved the rank of 1st Lieutenant, which was surprising considering how he acted around others and his loner type attitude, but his commanders had seen his actions in the field and graciously given him the rank of 2nd Lieutenant within six months of his first deployment, extremely fast in the JGSDF. It was during that deployment that he earned the moniker, 'Dead Lieutenant' derived from his characteristic dead fish eyes and his unforgiving attitude in battle.
'I have my deployment extended and all my men go back home and I have to stay here? Great, just great. And with the new guys, most of whom haven't even seen real combat yet. Another six months in this desert and I will go crazy.' Hachiman thought as he walked off the stage toward the mess hall, slightly scaring other meandering soldiers with his eyes, which seemed to be tunneling in one direction.
He opened to the door to the mess hall and was greeted with silence and awkward tension. Many of the enlisted the mess hall had just arrived straight from basic and were stunned to see the 'Dead Lieutenant' in the flesh. This battalion was the only military group of the JGSDF at the current moment that was seeing active combat, so feats of bravery, combat prowess, and courage easily spread amongst the soldiers here and back in Japan.
Hachiman hated this attention, even after his drill sergeants back in the National Defense Academy told him that he couldn't be isolated and had to actually lead. There was only one drill sergeant that understood him, Asuha Hiratsuka, which who surprisingly was the older sister of his high school teacher. Apparently Asuha was told by her sister what a headache Hachiman was, but that he meant good, so Asuha took Hachiman under her own supervision for four years to straighten him out. By straightening him out, it meant mentally torturing Hachiman every day for four years.
'Hiratsuka sensei 2.0, kicked my ass in the academy, but without her I probably wouldn't have made it past my first year at the academy.' Hachiman thought as he remembered his isolation and bad leadership skills had almost gotten him kicked out.
The soldiers in the room all stood up and saluted him, despite there being higher ranking superior officers who were in the room, which he worried about would bite him in the ass for this. He quickly brought his own legs together and saluted back before replying at ease, which was the signal for everyone to return to their own tasks. He sighed at the stupidity of these men, who were going to get him in big trouble with the Major.
"Lieutenant Hikigaya, please discipline these men…" the Major said while his right eyebrow twitched in annoyance with the insubordination of his men.
'Speak of the devil…' Hachiman thought as he replied with a stoic face, "Sir, yes, sir!"
"Everyone get in full combat gear! You guys are going marching." Hachiman commanded as he gestured for the other junior commanding officers to command their respective platoons in the march, who were not eager to march after just eating.
As everyone left aside from the cooks, he breathed a sigh of relief that the Major wasn't going to chew him out. Looking around he realized he found something he hadn't had since his deployment, peace and quiet. He silently got lunch and sat in a table in a corner by himself, despite no one else being in the mess hall. It reminded him of the old days he missed back in Japan, something like an empty room was hard to come by, even as an officer. So times like this he savored as he quietly ate by himself. It reminded him of high school, something he should he get over as he mentally berated himself for even thinking about it.
'Oh yeah, I wonder what had happened to 8th platoon.' Hachiman remembered as he threw out his waste and headed toward the barracks to grab his own kit.
"I am surprised." Hachiman noted with genuine surprise as he stood in front of the formation of his men.
"Yes, sir! We stood by the track as per your orders. I didn't let a single man leave or use their canteens." The Sergeant Major replied tonelessly but it was evident that a hint of pride was intermixed.
Looking at his men, Hachiman saw them soaked in their own sweat and could smell the stench of them even from ten feet away. They were dedicated he saw, as he told them two hours ago to stand near the track and not a single one moved. He walked around between them to check for any faults and was surprised that he couldn't find any. He did however take note of a few female soldiers, which was uncommon to find in the JGSDF let alone Special Forces.
"You may all drink from your canteens now." Hachiman announced as he was beginning to worry less about dedication and more about a heat stroke in the Afghan desert.
His men greedily emptied their canteens into their mouths and desperately tried to get every last drop they could out of it. Not wanting to kill his new platoon on their first day, he ordered them to go the mess hall when everyone else was marching the arduous 10 km march. Garnering some thankful faces, Hachiman thought that maybe he should do this more often with his new recruits he gets to region, as it would maybe weed out the dedicated from the undedicated. But, he knew the truth as he saw the Sergeant Major stare down at a few men that looked like the sort of kids that would be popular in high school or college.
Sighing, Hachiman looked at his men, all of them were a part of the 8th platoon and a part of Bravo Company. The battalion was composed of three companies, each headed by their own respective officers. Alpha Company was logistical support from the Central Army of Japan and was under the command of Major Kono. Bravo Company was Special Forces from the Eastern Army of Japan and was under the command of Captain Hazama. Finally his own personal favorite, not really, Charlie Company was the Peace Cooperation Activities Training Unit from the Eastern Army of Japan and was under the command of Major Tanami a.k.a. Major Grumpy. The Major was also the one who had ordered him to make the men go on the march from the disrespect in the mess hall.
Once again he entered the mess hall, but this time there was a stark difference, none of his men acknowledged him or saluted him, something he didn't mind. The men were talking away after grabbing lunch and the women of the platoon were doing the same, in their own groups. Hachiman had already finished lunch and therefore sat in on the end of table, far enough away to avoid social interaction, but close enough to observe. He had mastered this art of distance and conversation during his time in Service Club in high school, which was basically to sit as far away as he could from the girls, but close enough to not seem that distant.
"Yeah my Onii-chan was the best!" a bubbly voice said.
Hachiman suddenly was kicked out of thoughts as he looked toward the source of the voice. It was a relatively small girl who seemed like she was only nineteen or twenty. What caught Hachiman's attention wasn't her appearance it was her sentence and tone of voice, which deeply reminded him of his own sister, Komachi. He continued to look at the female soldier with a weird intensity that the men around picked up as they looked at his target and then back at him weirdly.
'I wonder what Komachi is doing right now? She should probably be in bed in her dorm at college. Or is she with a man! Unacceptable!' Hachiman thought annoyingly as he continued to stare at the girl.
"Uhh, Sir. I think it would be a good idea to avoid staring so much at the female soldiers…" The Sergeant Major whispered to him as he pointed toward the girls.
The girls were giving a weird look at their officer. Eyes that shouted, "Hentai" "ecchi" or "kill yourself". These looks of disgust were not that unfamiliar to Hachiman, but it hurt still. Deciding to try to repair the situation he tried to apologize.
"Sorry… I was just thinking about something." Hachiman spoke as he mentally berated himself for such a stupid reply.
'Do you wanna die?!' Hachiman thought as he mentally pulled out his hair.
"Humph." The girls replied as they turned back towards each other and resumed their lively conversation.
Letting out a sigh of relief, Hachiman turned towards Sergeant Major, who was holding back from laughing.
"Ha ha ha. It's funny, Sergeant Major…. Uhh….. Sergeant Major….K…?" Hachiman struggled to find the man's name.
"Sergeant Major Katsumi. Katsumi Orochi" Katsumi filled in for Hachiman as he reached out his hand to shake Hachiman's hand.
"Thanks." Hachiman embarrassingly replied as he shook Katsumi's hand.
"By the way are you the 'Dead Lieutenant'?"
'Now you have done it.' Hachiman thought as he felt the stares of the rest of the platoon focus on him.
"I didn't realize my name was that well known."
"Of course it would be well known! 1st Lieutenant Hikigaya, 25 years old, at the age of 22 he achieved the rank of 2nd Lieutenant within six months of his first deployment. He got his name, 'Dead Lieutenant' after a fierce battle with Taliban where he killed thirty four Taliban single handedly, saving the convoy from doom. The only commanding officer to have any real combat experience worth mentioning. Who wouldn't know you?!" Katsumi stated proudly as the platoon nodded their heads in agreeance.
"This is why I hate these sort of stories. Always fabricating the truth to make the protagonist seem better than they really are."
"Then what is the real story, Sir?" A voice called out in the crowd.
Not bothering to look, Hachiman replied, "That's for another time."
The men groaned in annoyance as they wanted to hear the story from the legendary lieutenant himself.
"Since it seems like everyone is full now… Everyone get your kits back on and get to the firing range! Double time it!" Hachiman commanded as he clapped his hands to get everyone to move faster.
Appearing in front of his men in full gear, Hachiman stunned some of them with his new equipment, which, since they had just shipped in from Japan, was not issued to them. The Japanese Special Forces Group had a limited number of equipment and they wouldn't just go to recruits, even if they were Special Forces. Styling the latest equipment, Hachiman wore a Type 3 bullet-proof vest Desert Flecktarn, Type 88 helmet Desert Flecktarn, JGSDF Desert Flecktarn ACUs, Alta knee protectors, combat gloves, and Combat Boots Type 3; all of which were from the early 2010's. Meanwhile the average soldier in the 8th Platoon wore late 90's equipment, intermixed with some early 2000's equipment. Looking at the group, one could clearly tell that Hachiman was the sore one out and probably the best.
"Ok everyone show me what you got. Just don't waste too much ammunition." Hachiman stated plainly as he sat down on one of the bench that overlooked the firing range.
He didn't know why, but everyone seemed to smile suddenly as they unholstered the variety of special weapons they were given access to. M4 Carbines, FN SCARs, G36s, and FN Minimis appeared in the hands of his men as they took places on the firing line and ranged and fired at targets. As the harmony of guns firing soon reached Hachiman's ears, he took look around judging all his platoon's accuracy with weapons and stances. Since all the JGSDF did aside from marching, marching, and more marching was practice firing stances and accuracy, everyone seemed competent with their weapons. But, there was only one thing off, only two designated marksman could be found. Normally in a platoon of three squads, each squad would get their own designated marksman or sniper, but no other one could be found. He looked around for someone to fit the bill to be a designated marksman as they required specialized training and accuracy to do.
Ting, Ting, Ting. The sound of repeatedly hit targets reached his ears as he looked towards the direction of the sound. Instead of easily hitting the close 100 meter targets, this person was hitting the 600 and 700 meter target repeatedly, changing stance and alternating between targets every once in awhile. This person was only using a M4 Carbine to hit targets that far out repeatedly. Looking toward the source of the fire, he saw exactly who he didn't want to see, the 'Onii-chan' girl from the mess hall.
'She is a good shot… but if I approach her again it's' going to seem like I am stalking her. Remember what Hiratsuka told you! Stop overthinking your stupid social reading… God damn it!' Hachiman thought as he slowly walked towards the girl.
Feeling a presence behind her, the girl rolled over to her side to see her commander looking over her. She had a slightly disgusted face as she looked at the lechery officer.
'Don't give me that face please. You are making it worse.' Hachiman internally cried.
"Fire at the target 400 meters out." He commanded without any expression of his internal thoughts.
The girl quickly rolled back over unto her stomach and looked through her M4's sight and fired at the target at 400 meters out. The sound of the target getting hit by the lead reverberated through the air as she kept laying rounds into it.
"Now standing!"
She quickly stood up and resumed firing at her target, barely slowing down her rate of fire and still hitting her targets consistently.
"Crouch!"
Easily changing stances, the girl didn't lose a bit of accuracy.
"All units, hold your fire!"
Everyone placed their weapon on safety and looked toward their commanding officer, who seemed engross in looking at the girl who was crouched right in front of him. He placed his right hand underneath his chin and looked pensive for a moment before detached his HK417 and handing it to the girl.
"Ok I want you to try using this gun. Hand me your M4 Carbine." Hachiman ordered as he reached for her assault rifle.
"Yes, Sir." The girl replied in serious tone as she detached her M4 Carbine from its sling and gave it to him.
"Fire at the target at 500 meters. The sights are already adjusted."
The small frame of the girl shook as she fired the HK417, which featured the larger 7.62x51 mm NATO round. She had never fired such a weapon before and was surprised at the power of it. She slightly gasped as she saw the target she had hit before, which barely moved before, actually recoiling from the hit from the new weapon.
"Pretty nice huh."
She looked over at 1st Lieutenant who stood to the left of her with a slight smile plastered on his face as he put his left hand above his eyes to get a better view of the targets.
"Yeah… I never got to use a weapon like before." The girl replied slowly in awe of the weapon.
"Hmm, I am astonished they never let you use a DMR before. You have phenomenal aim that is a rare commodity around these parts."
The girl looked down slightly embarrassed before hearing the slight snicker of her other girl friends to her right, after which, she got even more embarrassed and looked down toward the weapon as if it was the most interesting thing around.
'Oi, you can't be that embarrassed from that comment. Boys can misinterpret that and get hurt you know.' Hachiman thought as he continued talk with her.
"You are holding my personal HK417 'Sniper', so I am going to have ask for it back, but I will ask the armory to see if they can hook you up with one of the 'Recce' versions. If you wondering what the difference, it's just a shorter barrel length then my one." Hachiman stated as he detached her rifle from his sling and gave it back to her.
"Ok, thanks… Does that mean I am a…" The girl looked slightly confused, but with a slight glimmer in her eyes.
"Yes, you are now a designated marksman congratulations. Cheer for joy or whatever." Hachiman said unenthusiastically but smiled slightly.
"Isn't that a bit hasty…" Sergeant Major Katsumi said as he stood up approaching Hachiman, "The girl is only a Private First Class and does not have the certification for a designated marksman."
"True…" Hachiman pensively replied as he thought for a moment.
Without warning, Hachiman had a small epiphany as he quickly went prone on the next firing mat to the left of the girl. His men stood up and looked curiously at the evolving situation as they began to form a crowd around the left side of the firing range.
"Ok let's do a small challenge. You versus me in a marksmanship competition. If I win, you can't be a designated marksman and you have to do…. How about 10 laps around the FOB? How about it?" Hachiman as he looked to his right towards the girl.
A fire lit in her eyes as she enthusiastically replied, "Sure! But, what if I win?"
'Damn she knows…' Hachiman thought as his sweat began to run a bit at her confidence.
"If you win… you get to have my personal rifle for the deployment and get to be a designated marksman."
"Ewww what girl would want your rifle?" Another soldier jokingly retorted as the other soldiers laughed a bit.
Hachiman continued unperturbed, "Do you think that's fair?"
"Yeah I think it is." The girl replied while adjusted her M4's sights down range.
"Ok now the rules. 30 targets, randomly popping up between ranges of 100 to 500 meters. Doesn't matter where you hit it as long as you hit it within the time it is up. Whoever hits the most targets wins."
"Ok." She said while focused on cocking her rifle.
Pulling out his tablet, Hachiman set up the firing range lane for the two of them to both randomly pop up targets. Placing it back in its appropriate pouch, he then cocked his own rifle and aimed down range.
[3]
[2]
[1]
[Go!] The automated voice commanded.
Hachiman and the girl fired away at the targets that popped up in random order as spent brass hit the floor following each shot. At first, everyone was amazed by the girl who managed to hit all the targets despite the sudden range variation and the lack of training in marksmanship. But, when they looked Hachiman, they could tell he was in a league of his own. Not only was he able to hit each target, the center of each the target's head was hit, while the girl had an inconsistent pattern to hit the chest of the target in random locations: sometimes high chest, or waist level, and a little bit of everywhere.
As her friends cheered her on, the girl looked nervously through scope down range as she struggled to keep up with the pace of the range.
'This is so fast! What the hell!' She thought as she quickly readjusted her aim for a 500 meter target.
Sweat dripping down her face, she looked over at her opponent, the dead fish eyes lieutenant, who seemed to not have a care in the world as he fired another round perfectly into the head of an opposing target.
'What the hell is he though?!' She thought.
[Hold fire! Lane 30: 30/30 targets hit. Lane 29: 28/30 targets hit.]
"That's the 'Dead Lieutenant' for you." One Sergeant First Class remarked as he nodded his head.
"Jeez, I think he should have held back a bit for her." Another Sergeant commented jokingly as he shifted the weight of his body armor.
"You did your best, Kanata-san!" One of her female friends said in a positive tone.
Standing up, Hachiman smiled slightly as he reached over and tapped the top of Kanata's helmet with his empty magazine he had just used.
"You lose." Hachiman said coolly, but internally he was screaming, 'What did I just do! I acted like a flirt who beats a girl to win her heart! Hey at least I know her name now.'
"Ok, Sir. I am going to run the laps now." Kanata quietly stated as she kept her head down, which still made it obvious she was crying, and picked up her weapon and ran out of the firing range, clearly hurt.
The platoon briefly looked at their officer in disgust, trying to blame him for making a girl cry. Most gave up though, returning to their firing positions and resumed firing, albeit trying to shoot at the farther ranged targets. One of the boys though decided to make his opinion known.
"Hey shouldn't you go comfort her! You just made her cry!" The protagonist like Leading Private shouted.
"Why don't you? Since you seem so intent on helping her." Hachiman replied slightly haughtily.
The Leading Private had a conflicting look on his face as he debated whether or not to go after the girl.
'Oh come on, you shouted at me to go, but you won't go yourself. Typical pathetic hero that is only words and no action.' Hachiman thought.
'Still one shouldn't cry because they lost a contest, plus comforting a girl who is crying is a bit annoying…' Hachiman thought as his mind flashbacked to a certain night on a train with Iroha, 'Ok maybe it's not all that bad.'
"Sergeant Major, you are in charge, make sure these idiots don't destroy the range while I am gone." Hachiman stated while running to catch up with Kanata.
In his full equipment, Hachiman hauled it as fast he could to catch up with the girl, who to his surprise was nowhere to be found.
'Holy crap! How fast can she run!' Hachiman thought.
Finally after running half way around the base, he saw her. She was sweating extremely heavily to the point where her fatigues were sticking to her body. You could almost see her underwear through the ACU's and that would attract the attention of any man in this base, but the tears that flowed and soaked the front of her body armor stopped any man in their track as they tried to approach her. He could practically hear her sobbing from twenty feet back.
'Oi, oi you aren't going to die or anything from losing. But, there must be something deeper that would cause her to cry like this.' Hachiman thought as reached her.
Uncomfortably, he grabbed her hand, looking around rapidly to make sure no one was watching, and guided her back towards the Japanese Barracks. The U.S., British, and Canadian soldiers looked on curiously as they saw a commanding officer drag a crying girl through FOB back to the Japanese barracks. An U.S. M.P. (Military Police) officer almost stopped Hachiman, but with one good look with his eyes, Hachiman set the M.P. on his merry way.
'I have to say my fish eyes come in helpful.' Hachiman proudly admitted to himself as he continued to drag Kanata-san to his office.
Opening the door to his office, Hachiman guided her to sit down in his personal chair. She willingly sat down as she continued to wail. He then helped her remove her helmet and then removed his own to get a good look at her. When he removed her helmet he was surprised to see shoulder leather black hair come out as it, along with that the smell of her perfume.
'Damn why do girls need to smell so good, even when they sweat so much.' Hachiman thought as he felt his face get extremely warm.
Deciding to see how the situation progressed from there, he decided to wait for five minutes and walked towards the door and leaned on the door as he closed his eyes. After a waiting, what felt like an hour, Hachiman finally decided to try to stop her from continuing to cry.
"I didn't beat you that badly…" Hachiman tried as he approached from the door.
It didn't help as she continued to cry, albeit a bit quieter and with less tears as it seemed like she had expended most of her energy and tears.
"If you want, you don't have to run anymore laps around the base."
'I am so weak to these sister like girls… Uh why did she have to say that line during lunch.' Hachiman mentally berated himself.
Evidently, his words did little to help as she didn't seem to respond to his words.
Giving up he decided to do the only thing he knew how to do to calm down crying sisters, rubbing their head. Hachiman walked in front of her and simply placed his right hand on top of her head and gently rubbed it. No other way of explaining it, but this simple action had a therapeutic effect on Kanata-san. She immediately stopped crying, which actually worried Hachiman.
'Was it that effective?! Nice job, Hachiman. See your sister affection techniques you practiced for so long actually worked on someone else!' Hachiman mentally praised himself.
"Gross…" Kanata whispered as she casted her glance down.
"Well at least you are better now." Hachiman stated as he embarrassingly continued to rub her head as it seemed she didn't hate it.
She wiped her tears away with her hands quickly as she tried to clean up her appearance. Realizing it was probably it was best to let go, Hachiman began to lift his hand off her head. But, with a speed unprecedented of a girl of her stature, she grab his hand and placed it back on his head.
"Please, don't move for a bit, Onii-Chan…" Kanata quietly spoke.
The hair stood up on the back of Hachiman's back.
'Does she think I am her brother or something?' Hachiman thought worriedly as he knew of men who had similar coping mechanisms after a traumatic incident.
"I mean! 1st Lieutenant Hikigaya, Sir!" Kanata tried to correct herself.
"Don't worry about. Just call me Hikigaya when we are alone." Hachiman commented as he tried to lighten the mood and make her feel comfortable.
She awkwardly held his hand on her head for several minutes trying to figure out what to say herself.
'Oh god what have I done?!' Kanata thought.
"I am going to go now." Kanata mumbled as she blushed heavily and quickly made a break for the door.
As she tried to open the door she felt an unusual weight on it. Looking behind her, she saw Hachiman stopping her from opening the door with his arm.
"Sit down, please." Hachiman commanded with a serious look on his face that left little room for negotiation.
"Are you holding me against my will? My, my, my I didn't realize you were that type of man." Kanata mocked as she looked at her own body, which had her uniform sticking to it from the sweat, slightly exposing her underwear.
"This is an order. Sit down." Hachiman demanded, unfazed by her implications.
'Women… using our carnal desires as reasons to make us feel guilty.' Hachiman thought disgustingly.
She awkwardly sat down on the chair in front of his desk as he took back his own chair.
"So, why did you call me Onii-chan before?" Hachiman questioned.
"Maybe because I slipped." Kanata lied.
"Liar, I can tell it was something more than that. Why else would you run from the firing range while crying? You would have never made it past Special Forces selections if you cried from physical training. If you were physically hurt you could have told me previously, but you didn't seem injured either way. Something about being a designated marksmen broke something inside of you."
"What are you talking about?"
"Did something happen to your brother?"
A hazed look flashed across her eyes as she looked at the perceptive Lieutenant. Realizing her mistake, she tried to cover it up by rubbing her eyes acting like she had to still wipe away some tears.
"So what happened?" Hachiman pressed on as he knew he had hit the nail on the head.
"I don't want to talk about it."
"I can't have you break down in the field. As your commanding officer I need to know your mental health not only for your own sake, but to make sure I can rely on you and you won't get anyone else killed." Hachiman countered coldly.
"…."
Sighing as she remained tight lipped, Hachiman turned around and reached into the filing cabinet and pulled a file.
"What are you doing?" Kanata questioned worriedly.
"Kanata Izanami, female, 21 years old, Private First Class, originally training to become a combat medic before applying to become part of the Special Forces Group, Joined Rangers at age 19 before being recruited for the Special Forces Group at the age of 20, and quite young I have to admit. Family…. A brother…" Hachiman revealed as he read off her file while face his back towards her
"Stop! Please stop!" Kanata exploded as she tried to grab the folder from his hands.
Reacting instinctually, Hachiman shoved her, knocking her back. She fell on the ground in shock as he reacted so unexpectedly to her reaching for him.
"My bad, but you should know better than trying to grab someone from behind." Hachiman interjected with his informal apology.
"At least let me tell the story…" Kanata pled as she stood up.
"Fine I will listen." Hachiman mused as he closed her file and sat back down in his chair. Carefully placing her file to the right of him on the desk to keep a close eye on it.
"My brother was always…"
2 Years ago, Somewhere in Japan in the Kanto Region
"Nice job, Imouto-Chan!" A boy in a JGSDF uniform exclaimed enthusiastically as he grabbed the hands of the girl in front of him.
"It's not that much." The girl objected as a light blush tinted her cheeks.
The boy and girl were standing outside a JSDF military test center to join the JGSDF. The girl looked fresh out of high school and the boy looked like he was at least a college student. The boy was Kanata Yuudai, a member of the JGSDF since last year, and standing next to him was his sister, Kanata Izanami, who graduated high school two months ago. She always followed her brother since they were younger, especially since he protected her from bullies in elementary, middle, and high school, as for some reason she was the target of a lot of bullies. This following of her brother applied to her future as well, which she dedicated to him.
"You should probably let go now though, Onii-Chan…" Izanami mentioned as she continued to blush and look down.
"Oh my bad!" Yuudai apologized as he pulled his hand away as if it was a hot pan.
She had just been informed at the test center that she had been accepted to join the medical program in the JGSDF, which would train her to become either a combat medic or a critical care nurse. Her brother was a Ranger candidate and sought to become a sniper or designated marksman in the Special Forces Group. He was extremely proud when he heard his sister, who never showed interest in the military, applied to join the JGSDF.
"Crap! I have to go to attend formations! It was nice seeing you again, Imouto-Chan! I will see you next free time I get!" Yuudai proclaimed as he sprinted to his car.
Time passed by quickly as soon it became summer, three months after passing her exam, Izanami had already passed basic emergency medical aid and was a certified Emergency Medical Technician. Her brother had occasionally taken leave from his training to spend time with her, but aside from that she didn't see her brother too often. But, when she did, he always mentioned how he wished he could just get his hands on an American sniper and become the Chris Kyle, but Japanese. It was a weird infatuation he had with becoming a sniper, he always researched the fastest path to become one when they were in high school together.
It was two weeks before the annual summer JSDF exhibition, a show to show the power of the JSDF to its civilians, and China. The strait between Japan and China had recently had been under a lot of conflict between the two countries as the situation escalated by the day. The show this year pulled out a lot of the stops to truly show the power of the JSDF. Divisions from all over the country were called to put on a show of epic proportions, thousands of personnel ready to show the might of the Japanese to the its people and the world.
However behind that wall of confidence and immense manpower, there were just as many issues. The Camp was not prepared to take on that many personnel suddenly, resulting in a lot of equipment being stored outside in the rain to make room for living quarters. A lot of unfamiliar pieces of equipment were suddenly thrown into the hands of the base's mechanics, who had never dealt such an array of equipment from a variety of decades. Even worse was that the army groups who had sent equipment didn't bother to send the personnel to maintain them, resulting in equipment which had been taken out of storage lacking the proper maintenance. The Japanese Self Defense Force was massively underprepared to move its military in any military conflict as evident by this show's backstage coordination.
'It's a disaster…' Izanami lamented as she stood from the shade of the medical tent which overlooked the field grounds.
Millions of dollars of military equipment laid strewn around the field as logistic personnel struggled to sort it out.
"Hey, Izanami, it's not just you thinking that this event is going to be crazy." Her close friend, Nayumi Miyuki, noted.
"I wish high command actually thought this through…" her commanding officer, Captain Chigusa Rika, mumbled as she sorted through the medical supplies on hand.
"Well at least we have all the medical supplies we need, Ma'am." Izanami comforted her officer as she resumed her own categorizing of the supplies.
"Yeah, we have more than enough. We have enough medical supplies for a company sized element, but not enough medical personnel on standby."
"Ahhh," Miyuki screamed as she tore her hazelnut hair out from under her cap, "Why didn't the other bases send any medical personnel?!"
"Never mind that, just get back to working. Our jump kits are ready, right?" Rika questioned as she stood up and grabbed her phone.
"Yes, Ma'am. Fully stocked and ready at a moment's notice." Miyuki reported as she also stood up.
Silently nodding to her, Miyuki followed the Captain outside the tent.
'I heard Onii-Chan say that today he was going to be part of the rehearsal. I think he said he was rappelling?' Izanami absently thought as she looked at the clock.
Izanami remembered the phone call she had received yesterday evening as her brother proudly announced that he was going to be part of event despite being only a recruit. Once again getting closer to his dream of becoming a sniper.
[All personnel near the field grounds, be advised, we are about to start a rehearsal for helicopter fast rappel. Medical, rescue, and logistic personnel remain on standby.] The mobile radio station called out.
Ten minutes later, the sound of helicopter blades could be heard as Izanami walked outside the tent to get a better view. She watched as the old Hueys flew their fancy flight pattern over the field ground in an attempt to swoon their audience. A strong head wind from the west suddenly messed up the approach of the leading three helicopters, who pulled back to reattempt the landing. The last two helicopters continued their approach, before another strong headwind from the east this time forced one of the helicopters to abandon the attempt.
'This wind today is horrible, why would they even attempt it today? We have too many supplies laying around to even do a fully deployment.' Izanami thought as she attached her earpiece connector into the radio to listen to the radio chatter of the pilots.
"What the heck is that pilot doing?!" Captain Rika exclaimed suddenly.
Seeing nothing was apparently wrong she turned on her radio to listen to what was going on. As the only reason her Captain must know something was wrong was from the radio chatter. As she tuned to the pilot frequency her ears were assaulted with the shouting of one pilot.
[-oned already! Bravo 2-3, pull out and do a go around!]
[Flight lead, I can do this!]
[Are you stupid, Bravo 2-3. Your aircraft's tail rotor is wobbling! I can see it from here.]
[Bravo 2-3, even if you can hover over the LZ. The trainees have never rappelled in such heavy winds.]
[Flight lead, I am sure they can! Please trust me, 1st Lieutenant!]
[…]
The radio chatter went quiet as all eyes were on the Huey that hovered forty feet over the field grounds. The back doors of the Huey opened as the trainees in the back tossed out the rappel lines, which gracefully hit the ground. The soldiers went down the rope one by one. It had only been ten seconds since the first soldier hit the ground when Izanami noticed the helicopter began to shake really strongly.
'What the heck? That can't be good.' Izanami thought as she worried about the two soldiers right beneath the Huey.
[Bravo 2-3, you are ordered to cut your ropes and land immediately. Your tail rotor looks screwed.]
[Flight lead, this is Bravo 2-3, acknowledged. Cutting ropes n—AHHHHHHHH]
Without warning the tail rotor tore off the rear of the helicopter sending the helicopter in a spiral. Watching in horror, the entire base watched as the helicopter helplessly spun out of control. Gasping, Izanami witnessed a ranger was thrown out of the side of Huey and smashed into the ground. The ranger trainees on the ground went prone to avoid the inevitable out of control helicopter.
"Shit! Take cover!" Captain Rika shouted as she threw both of her subordinates to the ground as the helicopter met the ground.
The sound of metal compressing roared across the campus as the helicopter crashed hard into the ground. The helicopter's blades continued to spin even as they smashed into the ground, sending the helicopter spinning on its side. The blades sent dirt and rocks flying everywhere as it peppered the surround area. The sound of the blade's gearbox getting stuck was deafening as it continuously tried to spin despite being destroyed like a bird pinned to the ground like a net, still trying to fly back into the sky. The Huey then stopped in its tracks, leaving a path of destruction in its wake: the turf completely torn up, the two ranger trainees who had rappelled unresponsive, and a dead ranger who had died on impact after being thrown out of the helicopter.
"What the hell! Cadet Kanata and Nayumi grab the jump kits. Shit! I am going to radio it in." Captain Rika commanded as she ran back into tent to use the more powerful radio.
Izanami didn't need a powerful radio to hear what was going on. The radio chatter was frantic as people jammed up the frequency with inquiries, even on the emergency response channel, there was so much traffic that communication was useless.
"Come on, Izanami! We trained for this, now it's our turn!" Miyuki remarked as she threw Izanami one of the medic jump kits.
Rushing down the field, Miyuki quickly grabbed some confused soldiers to help her. As the group approached the helicopter, they smelled something they didn't want smell, fuel.
"Aw hell! Everyone pull back!" Miyuki ordered as she forced everyone away from the crash site.
"I am going to take care of those two injured soldiers, Miyuki." Izanami interjected between the wave of inquires that were being thrown at Miyuki, who was trying her best to take command of the situation.
"Ok!" Miyuki replied giving a thumbs up before yelling at the other soldiers to grab stretchers and call the fire response team.
Izanami approached the two unresponsive soldiers as she tried to make sure they were ok. As she got closer, she kept calling for them to look at her.
"Are you ok? Look at me if you can hear me! He—AH!" Izanami yelped as she saw one of soldiers had the majority of his neck removed, most likely caused by the rappelling rope, which had whipped the soldiers on the ground. The neck had a huge rope burn on it, but since it was so violent and fast it had teared through the skin and into his trachea, killing the man. Her knees shook as she swallowed her fear and approached the next man, who to her relief seemed less injured. She quickly stabilized him and radioed for a stretcher. The radio frequency had cleared up a lot thanks to Captain Rikia and Miyuki, both had yelled at alot of people on the radio to shut up about the obvious.
[Cadet Kanata-san, I need you at the crashed Huey.]
[Understood, ETA two minutes.]
[Captain Chigusa out.]
After helping the wounded soldier onto the stretcher and cover the dead trainee with a black tarp, Izanami jogged to the Huey, which had a rather large crowd gathering around.
"How is he not dead?" A soldier questioned.
"Can't we do something to ease his pain…" Another continued.
"It's too late for him." A 2nd Lieutenant walked away shaking his head from side to side.
'What is going on?' Izanami thought as her heart began to race.
"Hey, let her through!" Captain Rika Ordered as she gestured for the crowd to part to let Izanami through.
Izanami walked through the crowd nervously as she felt everyone watching her. Her uniform was dirtied, but she was not completely covered in blood or anything. She couldn't figure out why everyone was watching her so closely as she got through the ten person deep crowd.
"MPs, start getting these guys to disperse and get them to clean up the scene and find out how much fuel is still in this Huey!" Captain Rika shouted as she motioned for the MPs to get everyone to disperse.
"What is going on?" Izanami nervously croaked as she tried to get over the rather tense atmosphere that was formed after the MPs had gotten the soldiers to disperse.
"Izanami-chan, is that you?" A voice she recognized very well spoke.
'No…. no…. it can't be…' Izanami's thoughts raced.
"Oi, oi, oi, Izanami get a hold of yourself!" Miyuki blurted as she shook Izanami by the shoulders.
"Come closer, Izanami-chan…" Yuudai tiredly insisted as he reached his left arm to her.
As she looked toward her officer's feet, she wanted to throw up. Yuudai laid underneath the side of Huey. From his knees down, they were crushed by the Huey; his right arm was cut off from shrapnel from the shattering helicopter blade. In addition, a large fragment of the helicopter's main rotor had penetrated the left abdomen and was causing heavy bleeding. From her training, Izanami knew that her brother was going to die.
"Onii-chan!" Realizing that she needed to be strong, Izanami changed the rest of sentence, "Do you feel cold or anything? Do you need anything?"
"How rare to be offered something from Izanami-chan…Maybe a blanket, I am feeling pretty cold." Yuudai joked as he looked at his sister.
"What are you talking about? I always service you! Who else wakes you up in the morning for school or cooks breakfast!"
"Ha ha ha. I guess you are right."
Silence fell upon the group as Yuudai looked up into the sky for several seconds.
"I know you guys are her friends, but can you please give us some space…" Yuudai pleaded.
Her two fellow medics nodded as they walked away and shooed off any on lookers.
"They are nice people, Izanami-chan. Keep them close to you."
"What about you?!" Izanami quivered as she tried to hold back her tears.
"Don't worry about me. We both know what is going to happen… At least I know you are in good hands."
"Please don't say that…" Izanami plead as she cried.
"You know you were the best sister anyone could ask for…"
"Stop…" Izanami hiccupped between her tears.
"Although, damn I won't ever be a designated marksman or a 'Chris Kyle'. Ha ha ha. Dreams are a funny thing." Yuudai complained as he was beginning to cry himself.
"Please don't leave me! I can't live without you!" Izanami sobbed.
"it's fine, I am sure you will move on… because I love you. " Yuudai informed Izanami before he went limp.
'You are so unfair, Onii-chan… that was my line.' Izanami thought as she tried to find some solace in his confession.
Realizing her brother was gone, she sobbed into her brother's cold hand hoping for it comfort her one more time. As if it was the will of god, she felt the hand move out of her own grip and onto her head. The hand of her brother rubbed her head one last time and through her tear filled eyes, she could see a slight smile form on his lips. Finally he truly gave his last breath as the hand fell from her head unto the ground and his eyes lost any shine they normally held.
Present Day, Afghanistan Northeast Mountains, U.S. Forward Operating Base
"Do you need a tissue?" Hachiman asked awkwardly as he wasn't sure exactly how to deal with a crying girl still.
'I don't know what to think... It sounds too dramatic to be real, but there is some truth to the incident...' Hachiman thought slightly disbelievingly.
"Thanks, Hikigaya-san." Izanami replied as she dabbed her eyes from the tissues he offered.
'I heard about that incident when I was a 3rd year at the Defense Academy. Apparently everyone in the helicopter crash died and severe reprimands were given to all those involved, or who were thought to have played a part in the crash. If my mind doesn't fail me, which it never does, I believe seven people died in that crash.' Hachiman thought.
Izanami looked down towards the ground in silence with an unreadable look on her face.
'Who knew her brother was part of those killed in that mysterious crash. I don't think they ever determined the cause of the crash, but it's believed to be a combination of pilot error and failure to maintain the aging UH-1D Huey, which was probably taken from the old U.S. military inventory. In the end at least I know why she got so triggered before and I think I know how to correct it.' Hachiman thought.
"If it makes you feel any better. I am sure your brother would be very proud and maybe even jealous of where you are right now, Izanami." Hachiman comforted as he tried to gauge if using her first name would affect her.
"…"
"I don't mean to demean your story, but I have a sister as well, who I am extremely proud of. I am sure your brother feels the same way. Plus, remember you are not your brother. You do not need to complete his dream for him."
"Yeah, you're right…"
"Yeah I am right." Hachiman stated proudly as he puffed his chest out a bit.
Wiping the final tears away from her eyes, Izanami chucked, "You are pretty bad at comforting girls you know?"
"Urk!" Hachiman grimaced as he look down in defeat.
Izanami giggled as she stood up and put her body armor and helmet back on, "At least, you have an ok sense of humor."
Hachiman didn't respond as he returned Izanami's file back to its proper position and grabbed his helmet. He believed that he had done enough and was happy to see her at bit more normal to society's standards. Now it was up to time and her own friends to finish the job.
"Let's go, Private First Class Kanata." Hachiman informed as he took back his harsh, serious persona.
"Yes, sir!" Izanami returned proudly as she saluted.
'Now what to say to the men…' Hachiman thought as he battled to think of a way to explain why he had disappeared with Izanami for more than half an hour.
He rubbed the back of his neck as he knew the amount of stupidity he was about to deal with as he approached the firing range. By this point, the sun was setting and most of 8th platoon was just lazing around the firing range waiting for further orders. Sergeant Major Katsumi sensed someone approaching as he stood up suddenly, interrupting the platoon's poker game.
"Hey sit down. You are stepping on the cards!" A private berated Katsumi, who gave the private a sharp glare in return, before refocusing on the approaching presence.
Others noticed Katsumi's glare as they looked towards the point of attention. Everyone scrambled to their feet as they saw their commanding officer…. trailed by Private First Class Izanami?
"Everyone to your feet! Attention!" Katsumi barked as everyone did a unified, crisp salute.
"At ease." Hachiman returned as he looked around.
"Ok everyone, gather your stuff we are goi-" Hachiman ordered before being interrupted.
"Oh, Lieutenant, I never knew you had that sort of relationship with Kanata-Kun?" A Sergeant First Class interrupted in a teasing voice.
Behind Hachiman stood Izanami, who had extremely red cheeks, disheveled clothing, and messed up hair underneath her helmet. The other members of 8th platoon looked at her and back at their Lieutenant in amazement as they tried to find a connection between the two.
"It's not like that!" Hachiman tried to explain, but it was too late.
A lot of oh's and ah's rang out as they heard Hachiman vehemently trying to deny it, while Izanami got even more embarrassed. She hid behind him and clutched his shirt with her one hand tightly.
'Hey woman, why don't you explain?!' Hachiman mentally glared at the girl behind him.
'I can't do it!' Izanami returned with a tearful glance.
"Ok that's enough!" Hachiman bellowed as he adjusted his vision and glared at everyone.
'Oh we've done it now…' Katsumi thought as he prepared himself to march 20 km.
"Go get dinner and the rest of the night is yours." Hachiman surprised them with his orders.
"Sir, yes, sir!" All the men and women of 8th Platoon exclaimed as they hurried to the mess hall.
After watching the last person leave to the mess hall, Hachiman turned his head to face Izanami.
"How long are you going to remain like that?" Hachiman asked.
"Maybe forever." Izanami joked.
"Forever?! Are you kidding me! I have so much work to do I can't stand here waiting forever for…." Hachiman complained loudly.
Not listening to rest of Hachiman's ramble, she smiled as she continued to look down, still gripping Hachiman's shirt.
I apologize for a bit of the over dramatic cliche things. I hope you enjoyed the story.
-Taael