-Chapter 1: The Alpha-
November, 2024.
Kazuto coughed lightly, his eyes opening weakly for the first time in two years.
He slid out from the Nerve Gear helmet, his hair significantly longer than he remembered it being.
What? Am...am I awake? Am I in heaven?
He remembered the look of his bedroom ceiling.
No, I'm in my room. Is there an IV fluid in my arm?
Kazuto stood up slowly, gripping the metal IV holder pole to walk, his muscles weak as paper.
His voice cracked, not having been used in months, "Must...find...Asuna..."
Kazuto's muscles collapsed, the boy crumpling to the wood floor with a light thud.
The black haired boy heard the quick pattering of feet and muffled yelling, and then, his exhaustion overtook him, eyes shutting close.
...
"Onii-chan!" Suguha said running to Kazuto's unconscious body from her room.
"Mom!" She yelled, "Wake up!" She said picking up her cousin.
Her mom gasped seeing him in her daughter's arms, "Oh my goodness! Put him back on his bed!"
They carried him over to his bed, and her mother yelled, "Ring the doctor Suguha!"
"M-mom. He said he raised the price of-"
"I don't care about the fee! Call him now!"
...
Kazuto opened his eyes again weakly, seeing a weathered old face hovering him.
"Welcome back son." The doctor said, "Congratulations on not dying like all the others."
"Where-" Kazuto asked in a frail voice, "Where's Asuna?"
"Who?" The doctor asked confused.
He shook his head, "Anyway, your primary organs are still in tip-top shape. Your condition will improve slowly son, don't rush anything."
He checked his clipboard, "No strange releases or bleeding. Although, you did make a mighty mess in your underwear a few months back, your sister had to get you some new pants." He added whispering.
Kazuto blushed furiously, imagining Suguha changing his pants.
Damn, I didn't know I'd do that in the real world too. How embarrassing...
"Take it easy kid. Also, I added a training regimen to rebuild muscle mass, your mother will discuss the details with you. Sayonara." The doctor said before bowing and leaving.
Suguha and Kazuto's mother rushed in.
"Oh my son!" She said hugging him, "My god, you're alive..."
Suguha and Kazuto's mother wouldn't stop crying.
"I-I'm s-s-so- glad, you- you're awake." Suguha said hugging him in-between sniffles.
Kazuto smiled, seeing his younger sister, "Y-you grew up on me Sugu..."
Suguha nodded, "It's been two years Onii-chan."
Craaap...It's been two years?
"So." Kazuto said laying on his bed, "What did I miss in two years?"
They stopped hugging him, walking back a little.
His mother wiped a tear from under her eye and said, "The government has taken some, -ahem-, drastic measures."
Suguha stomped her foot, clutching her collar, "A man named Kinzai Yashiro took over the country! And now he's taken control of everything! They've gone crazy! I have to go to school surrounded by soldiers now!"
Kazuto gasped, "Damn!"
Her mother felt her fist tighten, "Those bastards prevented movement between districts, there's roadblocks between each junction, no one can pass."
Kazuto shook his head, "How could this happen?"
Suguha closed her eyes, "I don't know. But Tokyo is turning more dangerous by the day Onii-chan. There's even talk of a rebellion at school!"
"Rebellion?" Kazuto asked.
"I hope it won't come to that." Their mother said worriedly, "But who will protect us?"
Tokyo Cadet Training Grounds, 21:09.
In a large glass room, with rocks for cover, bright yellow flashes filled the room.
Machine guns rattled as robots shot at one rock.
A shadow jumped out, timing the perfect second to fire back.
The cadet's MG42 filled the training room with bullets, shooting each sparring robot with gunfire to their heads.
He dove behind another rock, hiding from machine gun fire.
The officers in charge stood watch as the cadet turned expensive training bots into junk metal, his machine gun rattling loudly.
A door opened to the observation dock, Yashiro himself, Supreme Commissioner of Japan walked in.
Instantly, both Officers stood up and saluted, "SIR!"
"At ease men." Yashiro said, scratching his black goatee.
Yashiro, in his black suit and glasses, sat down watching the cadet inside the training room perform at superhuman levels of accuracy.
The middle aged dictator nodded, "He's amazing. Who is that kid?"
"Top of his class." One of the officers said, "Kouwahaka Teizen. He surpassed all military averages. Here's his performance sir." He said passing him a sheet of paper.
As Yashiro read the performance sheet, the officers went on, "He's amazing in and out of the training rooms. The other cadets would follow him anywhere, and Teizen amazes us, he wouldn't fail to follow an order even if he knew he'd die, with zero chance of success."
Yashiro nodded, "I'm impressed. This kind of soldier comes once every century. He can't be leading cadets."
"Sir?" The officer asked.
"I'm leasing him an early graduation from the Cadet Program." The dictator said, "I'm putting him as the commanding officer of an elite group of men I'm assembling."
He smiled, seeing Teizen mow down training bots like a robot himself.
"The Wolf Brigade."
Yashiro looked at the man in charge of the console and said, "Turn it off, I'd like to speak to him."
The man nodded and powered off the training ground, all of the bots in the glass room powered down.
Yashiro opened the door connecting the observation dock with the training room below.
Teizen saluted instantly, "Sir!"
The dictator nodded, "I've got good news kid. You're officially a member of the New Japanese National Army."
"S-sir?"
Yashiro knelt, "Drop your trousers soldier."
"Yes sir."
He unbuckled his belt and let the dictator admire his legs and stature, "Hmm..."
There was nothing particularly outstanding about Teizen's appearance, aside from his sculpted muscles. He was somewhat tall, with dark brown hair and hazel eyes. His nose was a tiny bit round, and had a small bit of blemishes, common for a boy who was 16.
His legs are perfectly muscular, this kid looks beyond strong. His chin is defined, but small, he could be a good icon perhaps. Considering his performance, I thought his whole body would be ripped. And I was right.
"You may redress yourself." Yashiro said quickly as Teizen pulled his trousers up again.
Yashiro cleared his throat, "It says here you have a squeaky clean record, which goes hand in hand with your record breaking performance. But, once you sent another cadet to the infirmary. Why?"
Teizen spoke with a clear voice, "Sergeant Ayouske commanded me to beat Cadet Shinzo until he bled lemonade because of his lackluster performance. I did as my commanding officer ordered, as a soldier should."
Yashiro looked at the boy, "But Shinzo was your comrade. How could you hurt him like that?"
Teizen stood tall, "A good soldier doesn't think, he listens and obeys orders without question. The only time a soldier should think, should be to answer the following question: How do I kill my enemy before he does so to me?"
The dictator grew even more curious in the boy, "Why do you have such unwavering loyalty to your commanders?"
"My commanders serve my country, as do I. It's because my love for my country is the love no one can share with anyone else. Japan is the best country in the whole world, I want to serve her until it kills me."
"I like your determination boy." Yashiro said, "Now, you're the best soldier I've seen. And being the best soldier, I want you to lead the best soldiers my country has to offer."
"Tomorrow," The dictator said, "You'll be presented with your new officer's uniform, I'll have one sewn in your size. Then you'll be placed in command of an elite unit of soldiers in the Bunkyo district. There you'll begin awaiting the arrival of your first and only objective."
"To kill every last rebel possible." Yashiro said calmly.
"There is a strong possibility that a rebellion may come, but if and when it does, I want you Teizen, to lead the charge against it."
"I will do so with dispatch sir." Teizen said confidently.
"Good. Now, return to your quarters, you'll need a lot of rest before your big day tomorrow."
Teizen couldn't sleep, he was so excited he could barely sleep.
He had been given the greatest assignment any cadet could wish for.
The command of the best soldiers in Japan!
Teizen smiled as he slipped off to his dreams in his bunk, excited for the day to come.
...
Meanwhile Kazuto laid frailly in his bed, dreading waking up the next morning without his beloved wife next to him.
"Asuna..."
"I'll find you one day, I promise." He said closing his eyes and remembering her beautiful face.
Kazuto eventually felt his weariness overtake him, his self-assurance that he'd eventually find her again allowing him to rest properly.
...