Katherine found him, as Akito knew she would. She would want an answer, an explanation, but she would want so much more than that. The moment when the bill passed, Akito had allowed his eyes to fall upon her aggrieved face; he hadn't wanted to, but he had felt pity for her. All she had tried to do was help the Japanese refugees, but now her very bill had been horribly transformed into a weapon beyond her control or understanding.

As she marched down the corridor towards him, Akito could not help but see a ferocity that he had previously overlooked in her. From the moment he had lain eyes upon her, she had seemed little more than an ordinary college girl who had for too long relied on her pretty face and parents' money—and of course, she still was that—but in her anger, concentrated and directed, he saw something else, something beautiful and powerful.

"You lied to me," were the first words from her lips.

Akito had expected her to say as such and he wasted no time in retorting his reply. "I used you."

As expected, this took Katherine by surprise, which gave Akito the opening he needed to continue. "I used you, just as you tried to use me."

"I..." she stammered. She wanted to protest against what he said, but how could she when she knew it was true.

"You would have used me to get your bill passed. A bill that would have used the Japanese people to your own benefit."

At this, Akito knew, she would not keep silent. "My proposal was going to help the Japanese people. I could have saved them."

"Maybe," Akito said, unaffected by her self-pity. "But you are a politician and from where I stood, the bill seemed perfectly tailored to your own self-interest. I must say I was impressed when I first read your proposal. I thought to myself that this woman might become Prime Minister one day, such is her audacity; with one stroke, she not only wins public praise for solving the Japanese problem, but at the same time, she gains favor with the military for supplying them with fresh soldiers, at the same time, shores up new voters when citizens are made out of the Japanese refugees."

He knew Katherine had thought about this; he could see it in her eyes as she considered her response. She wanted to accuse him of the same crime; was he not using the Japanese people to obtain rank and command. But she never said it; it was on her lips. However, the two of them were different, and she would not stoop so low.

"I hope you are satisfied with what you have done, Akito, separating families for years, maybe for lifetimes. I hope you can still sleep at night after having to tally the dead, knowing that they never wished to be part of this war. But really, I hope that whatever you are planning is worth all the pain."

"It will be worth it," said Akito, as certain as the rising and setting of the sun. It was then that his lips almost loosened. He thought about reassuring her that it was still Japan for which he fought, but in the end, what would that accomplish. He had used Katherine Igawa, and now it was time to let her go.

Akito bowed and said farewell in Japanese. Her face was as stiff and cold as ice, but her lips moved and she said the words back to him. Akito turned, not looking back; he was not in the habit of looking back, accepting that he would never see her again.

(new scene)

Hyuga Akito—still no more than a private—wouldn't get his army without resistance. That resistance came in the form of General Ashwood. He was an enormous man with a lion's chest and a gait that made the floor tremble. Happening to be in London at the time, he was the man that the General Core had selected to handle the situation. The military would accept the new soldiers, as it was in their interests to do, but they could never accept the promotion of a solider from private to colonel overnight, not to mention on the recommendation of Parliament.

Akito had to move fast, for if he lost now, there would be no putting the pieces back together later. It was just a shame that he ran fast straight into Ashwood's gut.

"What has you in such a hurry?" mocked the General.

Akito was still recovering his balance.

"I presume you are not a fool, which means that you have made at least some preparations in the event of a response from the military. Well, Akito, that response is coming, and I will tell you now you may have been able to coax Parliament with your pretty words, but your sophistry is like a breeze and the military is a mountain."

"Poetic," smirked Akito.

The huge general marched forward, forcing Akito to scramble out of his way. "You have been warned, boy."

"That I have," retorted Akito, but not for one moment did he consider the implications of Ashwood's words.

With Ashwood gone from his mind as soon as he left, Akito hurried to his hotel and didn't waste any time in setting up the connection to General Irwin. As the General of the 3rd Army, Irwin was the ultimate arbiter of Akito's fate. The military could simply decided that Akito would have a very early retirement and just like that Parliament's recommendation would be null and void. Akito had no power to stop it. That power rested in Irwin's hands.

Akito had believed time was still on his side, but minutes started to become hours as he waited for his request to be granted. General Irwin was a general, after all. He made other people wait for him.

He collapsed onto his bed, feeling his exhaustion starting to gnaw at his bones and muscles. However, even with his eyes fastened shut, any kind of rest eluded Akito. His mind wanted to reassess all his life decisions and judge them unsatisfactory.

Blinded by resentment for his father for sending him to Europe, Akito had refused to talk to his family, saying that he would only say a word when he once again set foot in Japan. He never returned to Japan and his family had all been killed in the war. He still dreamed about saying goodbye.

Becoming a soldier had seemed like a smart decision. He went straight into the military after high school. He had scoffed at the idea of a university education, believing that his only destiny was that of a soldier, because only a soldier could rebuild the name of his family, only as a soldier could he surpass his father. However, in his few years of soldiering, he had only achieved notoriety, far from the honor he had dreamed of, left only with the reality that his fellow soldiers hated him as much as his enemies.

However, there was something that he could not doubt. Right now he was doing what needed to be done.

The connection finally linked. Before Akito could ready himself, the General's voice came through.

"Private Hyuga, please speak."

"General Irwin, Parliament has recommended that I be promoted to Colonel so that I may command a brigade made up of exclusively Japanese soldiers. Soon you will receive an official letter from Parliament about this matter, though I ask now what your response will be."

"It is too early to say," said the General. "I am afraid that the General Core has decided to take the whole matter into their own hands. General Ashwood is currently overseeing the conscription of the Japanese and I believe he intends to overlook some of the specifics of the law."

"General, I do not presume to know your mind, but does not such illegal action by the military trouble you?"

Irwin knew where Akito was trying to lead him, but even so he went along. "It does." He paused. "I suspect that you will request my intervention, suggesting that only I can speak reason to the General Core. However, I have chosen not to intervene at this time."

"I do not believe that is wise," was the response of Akito trying to control his frustration and desperation.

"My decision was based on my mistrust of you, Akito. I have little doubt that you desire to command an independent army and have plans in place for what you would do with that army. I cannot speak on what these plans are, but I can say with absolute certainty that they will lead to nothing good."

Akito fumbled for the right words.

However, the General's time was short and he knew exactly what he wanted to say. "If your intentions are indeed pure, I apologize. But nothing you can say will change my mind on this matter."

The line went dead.

Even as despair started to sink its teeth into him, Akito knew where he needed to go if he stood any chance of salvaging everything.

Akito arrived at one of the refugee camps and entered still with the permission Katherine had attained for him. This time there was no eager crowd at the gates, no cries that carried his name. The grounds were silent and almost wholly abandoned. It had only been a few hours since the bill had passed. He wondered if they had heard the news, but then he remembered that their only entertainment was the radio; of course, they had heard.

They wouldn't know when the soldiers would come to collect them or to exile them, but they would know that time to wait was not a luxury they had. At this very moment, they would be with their families, saying their farewells, with no notion of when—or if—they would see each other again. However, if he hesitated, Ashwood would win. It needed to be now.

"It is Hyuga Akito," he roared at the top of his lungs. He knew how to make himself heard across a battlefield. An eerily silent campsite was no challenge. "I request your audience."

A crowd slowly began to form, as silent as death. No one met his eyes. No one came near. When he could bare the silence no longer and the crowd had grown sufficiently large, Akito spoke: "Only a few days ago, I came here to speak with you. I did so to remind you all of our country. A land with a culture and history whose likeness cannot be found anywhere else; a land that has been denied to us for too many years. We all wish to return, but if we did, only Britannia's dominion—Area 11—would await us. I spoke of such things, because I needed to remind you for what we must sacrifice. The road before us is one of hardship, but it is my promise to you that at its end, there will be Japan."

He had thought, perhaps it had only been a hope, that his words would stir something inside of them, but it was very different from last time. This time words would not be enough.

"Why did you not tell us about your true intentions before?" called someone, unseen in the crowd.

Akito opened his mouth, but he faltered. He had known that telling them what he planned to do would have enabled any one of them to sabotage him; a journalist would have happily outed Akito as hungry for power and someone powerful would have happily stopped him, just as they were trying to do now. However, as his silence lingered, he felt the mood of the crowd turning sharply against him.

"Because you didn't trust us," shouted another, though this one was very visible, pushing his way to the front of the crowd. He tried to conceal it, but the metal pipe in his grip wasn't going to slip past Akito's eyes. "Why should we trust you?"

An old woman hobbled closer. Akito had to turn to face her. "Even if your love for our country and our people is true, we all still fear your lust for war, Hyuga Akito. Such lust promises many things, but only brings tragedy."

"I do what must be done." Akito glimpsed the man as he dashed forward, but he did not turn. The pipe was lifted high, but Akito still pretended to be oblivious. Only in the final moment did Akito shift slightly, just so that the metal did not strike his head, but rather his neck. He had prepared himself for the pain, but pain was not the kind of thing that one prepared for. He didn't need to fake crumpling onto his knees.

"This is the path of violence," spoke the old woman, with cold detached words.

Akito looked at her and saw his death in her eyes. He waited for the second blow, holding back every instinct in his body that compelled him to reach for his pistol and shoot the man dead. He had to wait.

The blow never came.

A woman stood between them. She was tall and her long black hair flowed behind her. She had wrestled the pipe from the man's grip and now tossed it harmlessly aside. The man knew he was no match for her strength and began to shrink back into the crowd. It was only then that she turned to Akito and in that moment he was confronted by her wild beauty, carved into her narrow angular face, set in her glowing ebony skin, and running down her tight muscular frame. She offered him a hand. He took it. However, in the next moment, it was not Akito to whom she spoke, but to the uncertain crowd.

"We have all whispered that Hyuga Akito is too proud. That he only does these things to make a name for himself, unable to escape the long shadow of his father. But I stand here, with no great family name, with no honor that I must restore. I stand here beside Akito because I can no longer stand idle. I have spent almost 3 years in this camp and I have suffered as all of us have, but nothing has come from our pain. What Akito offers us is not an end to our suffering, but an end to its meaninglessness. I know that it felt as though Akito had betrayed us when we heard the announcement, but I am not too proud to refuse his offer, when the alternative is to do nothing and wait for another opportunity that will never come."

With each one of her words, Akito's eyes had moved over each member of the crowd, trying to read their worn and tired faces to know whether her words touched their embittered hearts. But in the next instant, all their attention was dragged away by the sound of the camp's gates opening. There stood General Ashwood, unmistakably large at the front of a battalion of his men. He marched forward. He was Akito's doom.

"Akito Hyuga," boomed Ashwood, carving a path through the crowd.

Akito rose to meet him. The two men stood like opposing kings. The General had his soldiers behind him, and on Akito's side, stood the Japanese. Even though Ashwood was two heads taller and twice Akito's bodyweight, Akito still tried to stand as proud and as dignified as him.

"General Ashwood," said Akito, without lowering his gaze.

"You know why I am here," grumbled Ashwood.

"I do," said Akito, simply, making the General speak for himself.

"It has been decided that these Japanese will be incorporated into the 5th Army."

"That would be a violation of the law. It clearly states that they will fall under my command, and I am part of the 3rd Army."

"A private has no right to command." His angry eyes bore down into Akito, but Akito did not flinch.

"That is why the law recommends that I be promoted to Colonel."

"It will never happen."

"That is not for you to decide."

"I have been sent here to represent the General Core. I can decide a lot of things."

"But not this. It should be in the hands of General Irwin, for the 3rd Army is his prerogative. I am sure you know that he has great respect for the institution of Parliament and its decisions."

"Irwin is occupied on the battlefront. He has no time for trifling matters such as this."

"Then I will wait."

Akito's words struck the General and they tipped him beyond the point of outrage. He looked at Akito, as he would an insect, and he wondered why he had spent so long arguing with an insect. General Ashwood turned back to his soldiers.

"Seize all Japanese between the ages of 18 and 26. They carry IDs if they do not give themselves up willingly."

Akito felt despair as it seized him in its crushing embrace and he allowed it this time. He had tried, he told himself. But what comfort would that bring him in the years to come, knowing the fate to which he had condemned his people. He knew, in that moment, that there would be no returning to his duties. He had always thought that death could not catch him; it was a strange thought to think that it would come at his own hand.

But then his hand felt warm, nothing like the cold touch of death. It was not his warmth though. She was standing beside him. So close to him now that her warmth touched his whole body. It gave him hope when he knew none should exist.

She wrapped her fingers between his and raised their arms high in the air. She looped a cable tie around their wrists and drew it tight. Akito did not understand but he didn't mind. He would accept any fate that she decided for him. She turned him around; before them, others of the conscription age were binding themselves to family members, both young and old. Even as Akito told himself the protest was futile, the sight dispelled the despair inside of him.

General Ashwood placed his giant hand on Akito's head, forcing him to look over his shoulder. "What is the meaning of this, Akito?"

But she was already pulling them away, putting distance between them and the General. "This is not Akito's doing." However, she wasn't speaking to the General.

She turned and in front of them were two reporters, but Akito saw others, even one daring to question Ashwood.

"Akito did not plan this," she said in her best English. "We do this because of our own freewill."

"Why?" a reported asked, eagerly.

She summoned the words that she had practiced a hundred times over. "We will not serve, unless under the command of Hyuga Akito."

(new scene)

After her conversation with Akito, coming here had been the only thing on Katherine's mind. The camp was even quieter than usual. Instantly she realized that they must have heard the news. It had been less than a hour since the bill had become law. In that moment, she felt like an intruder, coming in uninvited to a family farewell, for that surely was where each of them were, with their family; for all they knew, it was their last moments together.

Katherine felt guilt as though it was an electric shock. Before this moment she had told herself that it was Akito's doing, but who was to say that the scene before her now would look any different if it had been her bill to have passed instead of his. While voluntary on paper, young Japanese would have still felt duty-bound to their families to leave on their service, not knowing if they would return.

It was a long time before she had the courage to pass through the gate into the camp. The camp had become strangely a part of the city, nestled among apartment blocks, overshadowed by a nearby bridge. She didn't want to imagine what this place would look like when it was gone. And it would be gone. Very soon not a single one of these refugees would be left in Britain, either sent to Area 11 or to a battlefront in Europe.

As she began to wander through the winding alleyways of the camp, she realized that not all had gone inside; maybe they didn't have families to return to.

One of them saw her and did not need to consider whether she was from the outside or not. "Are you...?"

She was young—Katherine worried that she might have just turned 18—and very pretty, with round eyes that glimmered like moon-touched water, and with short hair, dyed blonde with red streaks, only adding to her air of independence.

"I am a politician," Katherine said in Japanese. "I am to blame for..." She trailed off, not even sure how anyone could express this situation in words. "I am to blame for all of this."

The girl's thin lips curled into a smile, both sympathetic and teasing at the same time. "You give yourself too much credit," she said in English.

She was right. Katherine almost laughed, and then she cried. "I am so sorry."

The girl was closer now, very close, but she didn't reach out a comforting hand, only stood beside Katherine who had her face in her hands.

"I blame Akito," she said, with a ferocity that did not become her.

She went on, allowing a playfulness to soften her words. "You know, I should be the one crying. You don't have to spend the next 10 years of your life in a soldier's uniform."

There was no thought to it, but in the next moment, Katherine had her arms wrapped around this stranger, tears flowing down her cheeks. "I am so sorry."

The girl wrapped her arms around Katherine. "I don't blame you. No one blames you."

A small laugh escaped Katherine's mouth. "Probably because no one knows who am I."

The girl joined her; her laugh was sweet and innocent. "But that's not true. I know who you are, Katherine, and I am sure I am not alone."

Katherine pulled back and looked into her eyes. She was looking back at her, with such tenderness, that Katherine understood this girl had seen many people break down into tears in front of her.

Katherine wiped her tears away. "What is your name?"

"Izumi," Izumi said, simply.

Katherine didn't ask for her family name. "You speak English very well, Izumi."

She was quick. "Not according to Akito."

For some reason, probably neither of them knew why, they laughed.

"He will be your commander." The thought frightened Katherine for Izumi's sake.

"That is what it said on the radio," said Izumi, all the laughter drained from her voice.

After the bill had become law, Katherine had allowed herself to consider giving up, not just on this, but on being a politician, all of it. Her anger sustained her to lash out at Akito one last time, but then she thought that was it. She could not help the Japanese people, not matter how much she wished she could.

But in that moment, the words were coming to her mouth, before she had time to think what she was saying. "I won't stop fighting for you in Parliament. The very least I could do is try to reduce the years of service, or introduce alternatives to serving in the military, such as elderly care, which Akito thinks this country desperately needs."

Izumi laughed, but the smile did not return to her face, and Katherine knew how hollow her words sounded.

Then they heard it. His violent voice.

"It is Hyuga Akito."

(new scene)

What happened next was a blur. Why did Akito allow himself to be struck down? Who was that woman? Why was someone handing out cable ties? Then General Ashwood burst into view. Katherine watched as Akito's plan unfolded in front of her.

It surprised her, and a little annoyed her, how impressed she was with him.

Akito knew all too well that he was powerless within the military, but all these years he had cultivated another kind of power. The fourth estate had no true allies, so it could not be said that he had made powerful friends, but he had certainly lured their attention, and now he was reaping the seeds he had sown.

They would love to write a story of General Ashwood and the General Core overstepping their bounds, flagrantly disregarding Parliament, and in the process having to physically cut the young Japanese from their families. What a story. And Akito would be at the center of it. He would be the sympathetic hero, doing nothing more than what both Parliament and his people desired of him. The military could never win, and Ashwood knew it, so he waited.

Ashwood ordered his soldiers back, but not out of the camp. Yet he underestimated the journalists, thinking that they would tire of the camp and seek more active stories elsewhere, but they too were happy to wait, relishing the mounting pressure on the General. Unless, of course, the General had his own plan B.

The standoff between Hyuga Akito and General Ashwood was simply irresistible for the press, and perhaps Ashwood was counting on it. There were hundreds of refugee camps across British, and yet all attention was on this single one.

Katherine broke from her chain of thought. She hadn't even realized that Izumi had bound their wrists together.

"Well, I wasn't going to take my chances with being kidnapped by those soldiers," she said, with a cheeky grin.

Katherine wasn't smiling. "I am going to go talk to Akito." She looked at him. The commotion had died down and he was clearly visible only twenty or so meters away. He had noticed her yet, she didn't think. She could not help but relish imagining the look of surprise on his face, genuine surprise when he saw her here.

"Why?" asked Izumi.

She wanted to warn him of what the General might be planning. But Izumi's question still hung there. Uncomfortably Katherine realized that she hadn't yet rid herself of the notion that Akito and her were on the same side.

She turned to Izumi. "It is up to you. Who would you rather as your commander? Akito or Ashwood?" The question revealed the absurd and cruel reality of it, but she asked it anyway.

They both moved their gaze from Akito to the hulking and fuming mass of Ashwood, shouting insults at journalists and staring down anyone, even children, who got in his way. The answer was obvious, though neither of them wanted to admit it.

"I would prefer you," Izumi joked.

Whatever Katherine was going to say died on her lips at the sound of his voice.

"Ms Igawa, I don't believe my eyes, and my luck. I mean it when I say that you are literally the very person I need right now."

Akito wove a path through the crowd, now most of them sitting, realizing that they might be waiting for a while, with that woman right at his side. Katherine started to walk towards him, hardening her face, only to then realize that she was, like Akito, taking a companion with her.

However much Katherine wanted to dramatize their reunion, she could not help see the humor in the sight of the two of them marching towards each other, both with a companion who had no choice but to go along with it. Akito spotted the laughter knotted on her lips.

"I promise you, really, this whole thing wasn't my idea."

"What was your idea?" snapped Katherine, finding her fire easier than expected.

"I must confess that I did not expect the military to come out in full force. I actually didn't expect them to come out at all."

"That is peculiar coming from a soldier," interjected Izumi, not hiding the fact that she thought he was lying from her voice.

"There were other ways to derail my efforts, none of which required a platoon of soldiers."

"Why do you need me, Akito?"

"Why are you here?" Akito looked at Katherine.

She saw no reason to lie. "I had to behold the devastation that I helped create."

She almost saw guilt on Akito's face. "I need you because Mura's media distraction is only that. A distraction. It will not be enough to stop the General Core from stopping me. I need General Irwin to intervene."

Katherine knew who General Irwin was. She had discussed with him the very bill that Akito had bastardized.

"You are a soldier of the 3rd Army, after all. I think you are in a better position than me to reach him."

"What makes you think Irwin wants to help me?"

Katherine didn't allow him to say another word. "What makes you think I want to help you?"

There was a long silence. Akito knew his words would mean nothing to her, so he allowed her to speak and she did.

"I will do it. But I will not do it for you."

(new scene)

Katherine was lead by Izumi to where she lived, which would give her privacy. When they arrived, she did not need to ask whether it was an apartment for orphans. It was written into the way the bed bunks were stacked tightly together, leaving only enough room to navigate between them. Izumi was leading her; their hands still tied by the cable ties. Katherine allowed her eyes to wander, seeing no place for anything, not cooking, not entertainment, not study. It was hard to swallow how different their lives truly were.

"You don't have to pity me," said Izumi, coming to a stop. "Back in Japan, I had a comfortable life. My parents weren't rich, but they provided for me. I have always tried to look at this as temporary."

Izumi's own bed was a little messy, unmade and with yesterday's clothes, but Katherine could plainly see the girl's resourcefulness. She had twisted metal to be used as hangers; clothes hung over her bed, for there was nowhere else. At the end of her bed, she had built a small wooden shelf, where she kept useful things. Katherine eyes lingered on the English textbook.

"If you die on the battlefield, I will blame myself," her words were intense, as she had never spoken before.

Izumi was about to repeat what she had said before, but she didn't; she could see something had changed in Katherine. Katherine opened a connection to General Irwin. She had to state who she was and her reason for wishing to speak with the General.

"Ms Igawa," came the General's firm but gentle voice through her phone. He might have sounded pleased. "Please speak."

"I am at Almont refugee camp. As you may have caught on the news, General Ashwood and Private Hyuga are also here. They are both very determined to have command of the new Japanese soldiers. I hope that we can reach an agreement that suits both the military and Parliament."

"Do you have something in mind?"

"I do, General. Firstly, the military must abide by the Parliament's recommendations. There is a reason that they agreed to the formation of an exclusively Japanese brigade under the command of a Japanese colonel. It makes the situation look less like a forcible conscription of non-nationals, which it will very much look like if Ashwood has his way. Europe will not look kindly upon us for such action."

"I can sympathize with your view, Igawa, but the military also has its reasons for not wishing to see a private become a colonel. Not only does he lack the experience of command, he is frankly not officer material, which is why he is still a private."

"On Akito's shortcomings, we are in agreement. That is why I ask that you appoint me as a special liaison to the Japanese Brigade. My role will be simple; I will ensure that the brigade fulfills only a ceremonial purpose. As a colonel, Akito would have power on the battlefield, but I could ensure that we never reach the battlefield, preoccupied with activities meant only to show Parliament and the British people that the Japanese are becoming good citizens."

"The General Core would not be pleased. They wish to throw the Japanese onto the battlefield, instead of risking European lives."

"I am not talking to the General Core. I am talking to you, General."

"I will speak with my fellow generals. I believe that I can convince them. Thank you, Ms Igawa; I am sure we will speak again."

There was silence.

The very next moment Izumi was throwing her arms around Katherine, though it was more awkward than desired due to the cable tie twisting their arms. It ended up as a half-hug, but she still squeezed her tight.

"Thank you," she whispered, though they were alone. "I just knew I would fall in love with you if I ever saw you again."

(new scene)

General Ashwood looked deflated, so Akito decided it was the perfect time to restart their conversation.

"It seems that waiting wasn't such a bad idea after all," joked Akito, as he approached.

However, when Ashwood saw him, he somehow managed an enormous grin. "We both lost, boy."

Akito regarded the General, not sure what to think. "If you lose, I am happy. It isn't much more complicated than that."

Ashwood just shrugged and turned to muster his soldiers to leave. "Enjoy your command, Colonel."

He knew he should feel good. Ashwood was confirming it; he was now Colonel Hyuga Akito. Katherine had succeed, but had he still lost something. However, seeing Mura making her way towards him, his confidence returned. Whatever Katherine had done, he had outmaneuvered her once, he could do it again.

"Can you believe that not once have I left this camp? I think our victory deserves celebration. Would you be a gentleman and escort me out?"

Akito hesitated. Even though Mura was now technically a soldier of Britain, not a confined refugee, would the guards simply allow it.

She instantly sensed Akito's hesitation and hooked her arm around his, leading him straight for the gate. "You are a colonel now. If those guards dare stop you, you will teach them their place."

Akito smiled, as he had never smiled before. "Where would you like to go first?"

"We could start with your hotel room."