Twenty Years Ago
Kentaro Washio strode purposefully into the headquarters of the International Science Organization, his brilliant white teeth flashing as he smiled at everyone he encountered. In his crisp UN Air Force uniform he cut a dashing figure, sending women into swoons and causing men to stare at him with envy.
It was the kind of attention on which Kentaro thrived.
He was only a Lieutenant, but his superior, a Brigadier General for whom he worked as an aide, had been scheduled to attend an information session with the scientists at the ISO. Such sessions happened every few months, and were designed to keep the UN Military Forces updated with respect to new technologies and their applications to defensive and offensive objectives. The General found such meetings dry and boring, and had eagerly assigned his aide to sit in for him, when something more 'important' had come up.
Kentaro did not agree at all with the General's opinion of such meetings, but knew enough to keep his views to himself. Attending this briefing would give him insight into the UN's future military effectiveness, and Sosai would be most interested in a detailed report on such matters.
After leaving school at the age of eighteen, Kentaro had used what little money his parents had left him to attend flight school, completing his internship with the UN Air Force, as Sosai had urged him to do. It seemed that Kentaro had a natural aptitude for flying, and he easily excelled in his training, quickly emerging as the top student in his class. He had purposely developed a friendship with the next two ranked student pilots in his year. While these two men were nowhere near as good as he was, Masaki and Oniishi were still clearly a few cuts above the average UN Air Force pilot with respect to their flying skills. Kentaro had cultivated their loyalty, and while they had no knowledge of the true master he served, their undying faith in Kentaro Washio had turned out to be extremely useful.
In fact, Kentaro had discovered that most people could be useful to him.
While inside he was still the boy who longed to arrogantly crush anyone who stood in his way, the man in him understood that doing so would only make his path more difficult. And so it was that Lieutenant Washio had become an incomparable manipulator of people. Everyone he met was treated as if they were of the utmost importance to him. His carelessly handsome face, his flawless manners, his dashing figure and his beaming smile were his weapons, seducing women and ingratiating himself with powerful men wherever he went.
A blushing secretary looked up at him as he approached her desk, tittering softly as he leaned down to gaze into her watery eyes and bestow a dazzling smile upon her.
"I'm looking for Mr. Kozaburo Nambu." Kentaro informed her, even as his eyes suggested that he would much prefer the company of the vapid creature in front of him.
"Oh… Mr. Nambu!" the girl replied, reluctantly tearing herself away from Kentaro's gaze. "He's scheduled for a briefing right now…"
"Yes." Kentaro agreed, nodding at her. "I'm scheduled to attend that briefing."
"And you are…?" The girl's weak attempt at professionalism failed as a cow-eyed expression blanketed her face, and her hand began to reach out toward the handsome young officer.
"First Lieutenant Kentaro Washio." he replied, dutifully accepting the secretary's proffered hand and placing a whispering kiss just past her knuckles. The foolish girl giggled, clearly overwhelmed by this degree of attention.
"Mr. Nambu is in Conference Room Three." she simpered. "He's expecting you, Lieutenant Washio. Would you like me to show you the way?"
As he followed the insipid secretary's sashaying hips down the hallway, Kentaro smiled smugly to himself. It was so easy to turn people over to your side, if only you invested a modicum of effort. Who knew what kinds of information this twit was privy to, and how such a contact might help him later?
As he strode confidently into the room, Kentaro surveyed the various people assembled within. All areas of the UN Military Forces were represented, and Kentaro found himself assigned a chair next to that of a Naval Admiral.
"Good morning, Sir." Kentaro greeted the man smartly before taking his seat. "I am First Lieutenant Kentaro Washio, United Nations Air Force."
"Nice to meet you, Son." the Admiral smiled benignly. "Admiral Jerry Daniels, UN Naval Forces. I don't think I've seen you at these briefings before."
"I'm representing General Karl Fixman." Kentaro admitted. "The General was unfortunately called away on an important matter."
"Important matter, my ass!" Daniels snorted. "Fixman always was the sly one. He's just found a good way to weasel out of this snore session."
"Snore session?" the Lieutenant asked, composing his face into an expression of polite confusion. "I don't understand, Sir."
"This Nambu kid is a real cure for insomnia." the Admiral confided. "He's Dr. Anderson's protégé, and word is that he's the youngest and brightest graduate intern the ISO's had in years. But his speeches are drier than the Sahara!"
"That bad, huh?" Kentaro grinned.
"Worse." Daniels barked a laugh. "And his talks are so airy-fairy that nothing he discusses is even on the horizon for the next decade. These briefings are a waste of time, if you ask me."
"I see…" the Lieutenant murmured.
"Not that they're all bad." the Admiral rushed to add. "But really, why can't they just send us a memo?"
Kentaro laughed at the remark, as it was clear that he was expected to do so. But he didn't agree with the Admiral's assessment at all. A memo was easily ignored. An in-person meeting demanded attention to the subject matter at hand.
But when Kozaburo Nambu walked to the podium and began to speak, Kentaro understood the problem. The mustached, bespectacled graduate student was obviously a highly intelligent man, but he had no talent whatsoever when it came to public speaking. The man didn't even preface his remarks with a joke, but simply dove straight on into his subject matter: The Reconstitution of Energy Matter Particles in an Anti-Matter Transmolecular Field. He gave not the slightest consideration to the fact that his audience likely had no understanding whatsoever of the terminology being used, nor the physics background to comprehend even the basics of what the graduate student was attempting to describe.
Kentaro did his best to pay attention, but it was a losing battle. Every time he attempted to grasp at the knowledge Nambu was offering, the monotonous drone of the man's voice would send the Lieutenant's brain into a near-comatose state.
"Damn college nerd!" Kentaro muttered under his breath. He was certain that no one else had heard his comment, as the violent snores coming from those sitting closest to him attested. The noise drowned out any minor sound that the Lieutenant might have made. Kozaburo Nambu was the kind of person Kentaro hated most: a highly educated, intelligent man who had had his entire life handed to him on a silver platter.
A man who made Kentaro Washio feel like an ignorant peasant scrabbling in the dirt.
But in that moment of anger, when the Lieutenant's disdain for the graduate student was reaching new heights, a few of Kozaburo Nambu's words broke through the red haze in his brain and impacted Kentaro's consciousness.
"Wait a minute!" the young Lieutenant blurted out, before he could think about what he was doing. "Are you saying that you have discovered a way to transform matter?" He stared at the graduate student, who blinked rapidly from behind his thick glasses in surprise. It was clear that Mr. Nambu was not used to questions of any kind, much less unexpected interruptions such as this one.
"Well…" Nambu gulped, nervously adjusting his tie, "That's not exactly what I was saying. In the future, yes, perhaps this is possible, but for now, the theoretical and empirical research suggest that…"
As Kozaburo Nambu droned on, Kentaro Washio leaned back in his chair and smiled. Theoretical or not, this was information that Sosai would be very interested in. And if the Lieutenant could deliver it to him… The implications would be clear to Sosai.
Kentaro Washio was useful.
88888
After the lecture had concluded, Lieutenant Washio made his polite goodbyes to the Admiral and then walked over to the young presenter. Kozaburo Nambu was gathering his notes and presentation slide discs together, filing them neatly in his briefcase.
"Kozaburo Nambu?" Kentaro asked, smiling brightly. "I truly enjoyed your lecture. Thank you so much for taking time out of your busy day to enlighten us."
Of course, Kentaro hadn't derived any enjoyment whatsoever from the graduate student's monotonous speech, but something inside of the young Lieutenant told him that in the future it might prove very useful to have a connection with this clueless scientist. Kentaro's smile widened as he directed his considerable charm at Kozaburo Nambu.
"You did?" Nambu replied, startled. He looked up from his briefcase, pushing his thick glasses up the bridge of his nose. Kentaro immediately comprehended that no one had ever said such a thing to this awkward scientist before. Not that this discovery truly surprised the young Lieutenant.
"Yes, the idea that metal can be transformed to meet the current needs of the user is incredible." Kentaro said, smiling engagingly. "I can see a number of practical applications to military vehicles and weapons, even body armor…"
"We are years away from that kind of application." Nambu pointed out. "But yes, that's essentially where we are headed with this line of research." The graduate student straightened his shoulders, pulling himself up to his full height. He was nearly as tall as the Lieutenant.
Kentaro smirked to himself. Clearly a little attention was all it took to reel in this intern scientist. But despite his lack of social graces and presentation skills, the man did appear to be intelligent and capable in his work, and the fact that he was regularly assigned to give these briefings to high-level personnel suggested to Kentaro that Kozaburo Nambu was going places within the International Science Organization.
This would be a most useful contact.
The Lieutenant engaged the graduate student in deep conversation for some minutes, laying the groundwork for a 'friendship' of sorts. Nambu was about his age after all, and there was no other basis (or an excuse) for Kentaro to maintain future contact otherwise.
But as it turned out, the Lieutenant was wrong on that count.
Just as Kozaburo Nambu was warming up to his subject matter again, a young woman approached the pair. Kentaro supposed that most men would consider her to be attractive, in a quiet sort of way, but she wasn't the kind of female who appealed to him at all. Rather than being lush, blonde, and oozing sensuality, this woman was the very picture of prim and proper, from her high-necked blouse, down her slim form, all the way to her modest, sensible shoes. In fact, the only thing that made her stand out in any way was her large blue eyes… eyes that blinked rapidly in confusion as she approached.
"Kozaburo, I thought we were meeting at one o'clock." she said meekly. "But I see that you are busy. I apologize for the interruption."
The Lieutenant was amused to see the young scientist's cheeks flushing behind his glasses. Perhaps Mr. Nambu had interests outside the world of science after all. This discovery immediately increased the young woman's potential in the pilot's eyes.
"First Lieutenant Kentaro Washio." he said, bowing in a dashing manner and placing a teasing kiss on the back of the woman's hand. "It is a genuine pleasure to meet you, Miss…"
"Sayuri." The woman covered her mouth with slim fingers, giggling lightly as she reluctantly pulled her hand away from Kentaro's gentle grasp. "Sayuri Yammoto." Her eyes flickered up to examine the young Lieutenant more closely. Kentaro could see that he had piqued her interest. And why not? He was likely the most exciting man she had ever met.
Most amusing of all, Kentaro had managed to capture Sayuri's attention without Kozaburo Nambu even being aware of it. The graduate student was still blushing and staring at his shoes. Kentaro smiled gleefully, a plan forming in his mind. He would both cultivate this promising young scientist's friendship, and at the same time cuckold him, as a way to make this a more enjoyable task. After all, there had to be some rewards for performing such distasteful work. Certainly Sayuri wasn't the kind of girl he would normally pursue in such a manner, but then all cats looked the same in the dark.
Besides, there was nothing Kentaro enjoyed more than making a fool of someone… especially when they didn't even realize it.
"Are you too busy for lunch then, Kozaburo?" Sayuri asked quietly, her eyes darting back to the floor. "I was looking forward to it."
"So was I." sighed Nambu, looking regretfully at Sayuri. "But I've been called up to give another presentation this afternoon, and I really must prepare…"
"That's all right, I understand." Sayuri murmured, backing away as she inclined her head respectfully.
Kentaro grinned widely. This was practically falling into his lap! It was a perfect way to insinuate himself into both of their lives, and create excuses to see both of them again.
"I would be delighted to escort you to lunch, Miss Yammoto." he said, inclining his head respectfully, but tempering the formality of the gesture with a wink sent in the young woman's direction. When he saw Sayuri blush, Kentaro knew he had won.
"If it is all right with you, of course, Mr. Nambu." the Lieutenant added politely.
"Yes." Kozaburo responded, actually sounding relieved to be free of his burden of guilt. Kentaro mentally rolled his eyes. How could this guy be so clueless? It just went to show that these stuck up college types didn't know squat.
Kentaro was better than they were. And he was certainly better than this sorry, bespectacled excuse for a man.
"I…" Sayuri looked from Kozaburo to Kentaro for a moment, hesitating.
"I would love to, Lieutenant Washio." she said finally, her eyes sparkling as she made her decision. They really were her best feature, Kentaro decided.
"Excellent." Kozaburo nodded, gathering up the rest of his notes and discs, putting the last of them into his briefcase. "I'm glad this worked out for everyone."
It had certainly worked out for Kentaro.
He escorted Sayuri to a nearby café, listening with only half an ear as he encouraged her to shyly tell him about herself. A meek and mild girl of this nature was hardly a challenge for the dashing young Lieutenant, and it was easy to string her along with flattering words and the semblance of his rapt attention. At the end of the meal, over coffee, Kentaro placed his hand over Sayuri's, and her resulting blush and soft giggles told him that he had been successful in his endeavor.
Sayuri was his, if he wanted her.
88888
As it turned out, Sayuri was surprisingly useful. Kentaro did want her… albeit not in the way the inexperienced young woman desired him. Still, with her chaste background and meek exterior, Kentaro wasn't technically in a position to take many liberties, and so he didn't have to put himself out much to continue stringing Sayuri along.
No, the reason Kentaro wanted this young woman was for her connections. It seemed that Sayuri came from a socially prominent family, and was therefore familiar with many of the International Science Organization's high-level administrators. In the guise of escorting Sayuri to various ISO social events, Kentaro was able to make connections with some of the most important scientific minds in the world.
Sosai was definitely pleased. Kentaro's master praised his servant, greedily devouring any information that the young Lieutenant was able to procure.
"Surely this Berg Katse of yours cannot assist you as I can." Kentaro pleaded. "Whatever you ask of me, Sosai, I will deliver it!"
"You know that Katse has not fully matured." the alien entity replied in an irritated tone. "He is but fourteen years of age, and is not yet fully capable of serving me as I require."
"And in the meantime, I will serve you." Kentaro smiled smugly. "I can obtain all of the information you require."
"We shall see." Sosai replied sourly.
For being such a supposedly intelligent man, it took Kozaburo Nambu a few weeks to realize that he no longer had any hope of capturing Sayuri's affections for himself. But rather than being angry, the graduate student seemed to simply accept his fate and move on. Despite Sayuri's waning interest in Nambu, Kentaro was able to maintain a 'friendship' of sorts with the up-and-coming scientist.
It made the Lieutenant feel good to know that he had pulled one over on the prissy scientist. Kentaro enjoyed rubbing salt into Kozaburo's still-open wound once in awhile, but he didn't do it as often as he would like, in order to maintain a good relationship with Nambu. He didn't want to push things too far, as Kozaburo Nambu was definitely emerging as someone who was a good person to know. Despite his lack of social graces, the stodgy young man was making an impression at the ISO. Kentaro had heard important officials discussing the young intern's work, and it was clear that Kozaburo Nambu was going to receive a significant promotion once his doctoral work was completed.
Things were shaping up nicely for the young Lieutenant. In fact, he was even up for a promotion, and Kentaro wasn't surprised one day when he found himself called into General Fixman's office one morning.
"I hear you've made quite a name for yourself among the various UN Military Forces, Kentaro." Fixman grinned. "Admiral Daniels in particular seems to have taken a shine to you."
"He is an exceptional man." Kentaro grinned, pleased that his attempts to network among the higher-ups of the Military Forces were paying off.
"You're being given a promotion to Major, effective at the first of next month." Fixman said, leaning back in his chair. "You've earned it, Washio. You're the best pilot I've seen in years, and you have the skills to interact with others. You're going to be a terrific leader for the UN Air Force. In fact, there's only one thing you're missing."
"What's that?" Kentaro asked, amused. He was fully expecting Fixman to make a jocular comment about being more like the General.
"You need a wife."
"What?"
Kentaro nearly choked as he sat straight up in his chair. A wife? What the hell was this?
"You'd better start breathing again, before you turn blue!" Fixman chuckled, his eyes twinkling as he looked upon the flabbergasted young officer. "It's not very easy to get promoted if you suffocate."
"But… a wife?" Kentaro gasped. That was the last thing he wanted. A wife would only tie him down, nag him; prevent him from doing the things he needed to do.
"Yes." Fixman nodded. "The United Nations Air Force likes family men. Men who can commit and settle down. Not to say that we discriminate against bachelors, but you're so young…"
Kentaro's face still had a somewhat greenish cast to it, and the General's expression became more serious. He spoke again, his voice taking on a tone of confidentiality.
"Look, Washio, you're an incredible pilot. You graduated first in your class, beating out men who were nearly a decade older than you are. Lieutenant General Hiratu wants to put you in charge of a new special Flight Force he is developing."
"A special Flight Force?" Kentaro asked curiously, his eyes lighting up.
"Yes." Fixman nodded. "A small team of crack fighter pilots. There are a number of terrorist cells causing the UN problems around the world, and this team's primary objective would be to eliminate that kind of enemy activity."
"I see." Kentaro murmured thoughtfully, leaning back in his chair again. The young pilot knew that Sosai was involved with many of these 'terrorist groups' the General had mentioned, and that they were in fact part of a larger Syndicate. If Kentaro could gain a position of trust within the UN Military Forces, he would have access to all kinds of confidential information that Sosai would be very interested in. This snot-nosed Berg Katse would never be able to compete with such a thing.
"This sounds right up my alley." Kentaro noted. "So why isn't General Hiratu talking to me about this himself?"
"He's not sure about you." Fixman confided. "He's been asking me a lot of questions about your background, and your record. About your stability… your level-headedness."
"Does he think I have a problem in that area?" Kentaro frowned.
"You're young." the General shrugged, holding up his hands as if to imply that this was silly, but not to be avoided. "Hiratu has already targeted your comrades, Lieutenants Masaki and Oniishi, among others, for this project. He wants you to be groomed as the leader of this elite team. But these other men are still five to ten years older than you are. Hiratu questions whether or not you have the maturity to lead them."
With a sudden flash of insight, Kentaro knew exactly where this was headed.
"And to prove my maturity, I need to get myself a wife?" he sputtered.
"Hiratu likes married men." Fixman replied. "Most of us do, when it comes to this kind of decision. We want leaders who are stable and committed. We promote bachelors of course, but they are usually older." The General stressed this last point, clearly wondering if the usually bright Lieutenant Washio was picking up on the message he was trying to get across.
"This is an incredible opportunity for you, Washio, if you're willing to do what it takes to grab it." Fixman added.
Kentaro was silent for a long moment, contemplating his options. Finally, he leaned forward, a smirk on his face.
"I know just the girl."