Sorry for the wait. Here's the next chapter.
Chapter 6- New Orders
~Three Months Later~
Yugi sat in office, rifling through some papers.
There was a knock on the door.
"Come in." Yugi called, not looking up.
"Colonel, the mail just got here." O'Connell said.
Yugi looked up and saw that O'Connell was in a white evening gown. "Is that something new, O'Connell?" Yugi asked.
"Well, it's something that I've had for a while, but I've never had the guts to actually wear them out in public. I just recently got the courage to do just that." O'Connell said.
"I see. What did you need?" Yugi asked.
"Oh. Mail's here." O'Connell said, handing Yugi his mail.
"Thank you. Leave Major Mutou, Major Bakura, Captain Ishtar, and Captain Jonouchi mail here. They're coming here for a meeting soon enough and they can get it then." Yugi said.
"Sure thing, sir." O'Connell said, leaving the other four stacks of mail on Yugi's desk.
"O'Connell." Yugi said as he started to leave.
"Yes, sir." O'Connell said, turning back to Yugi.
"Before you continue with your duties, please put on a slip. I'm sure that with the sun, you can see through to your shorts." Yugi said.
"Of course, sir. How stupid of me to forget." O'Connell said.
"Just go and do that first is all I ask." Yugi said.
"Yes, sir." O'Connell said before he saluted and left the office.
Yugi shook his head and started to look through his mail. He came across an official envelope. 'Hmm. Wonder what this is.' Yugi thought. He was about to open the folder when Heba, Jou, Malik, and Ryou came in.
"Hey, Yugi. Mail came yet?" Jou asked.
"Yes. All of yours is on the table." Yugi answered.
All four got their mail and started to look through it.
Yugi opened the envelope and took out the contents and read through them.
Jou noticed the official envelope and said, "Are we going to be going on another mission?"
"No. Actually, we're heading home ahead of schedule." Yugi said.
"What do you mean?" Heba asked.
"Well, according to this, we're set to leave here on April 12 at 1100 hours to head to the airport in Sicon where we will be heading back to Japan." Yugi said.
"Really?" all four asked.
"Yes. Apparently, because of the dangerous missions that our unit had undergone in order to achieve our efforts, the 3058th Airborne Battalion is being given a special commendation and are going home early." Yugi replied.
"All right!" Jou shouted.
"Is this official?" Heba asked.
"Yes, but we have orders not to say a word until I receive a call from General Mahinko confirming them. I should be called by March 30." Yugi said.
"Today's March 25. That's five days." Malik said.
"Yes, it is which means that we go on like we always do. None of the troops can find about this. I don't want to get their hopes up just for them to be dashed again." Yugi said.
"Good thinking. It's going to be better that we don't let them know about any of this." Heba said.
"Hey. I got a letter from Seto." Jou said.
"What's it say?" Ryou asked.
"Not much. Just telling me about some things that have been going on. He says that he likes Mokuba being home. Gives him someone to talk to. Yeah. Right. Like he needs someone to talk to when he's got his work." Jou said.
"Yeah. That guy is not going to be bored as long as he has that company to run." Malik agreed.
"You know, it'll be nice if we do get early departure. I kind of miss the mundane life." Ryou said.
"Yeah. There's not a chance of getting killed at every turn." Malik agreed.
"Come on, guys. We've got work to do, so let's do it." Yugi said.
"Right, sir." Heba said.
The four left.
Yugi sighed. He would like a chance to go home early, but this had been said before in a different deployment and ended up not happening, which was why he was going to wait to tell the men.
Yugi, Heba, Jou, Malik, and Ryou were all eating lunch in the mess tent along with other soldiers.
"Have any of you read the paper?" Ryou asked.
"No. We count on you to keep us informed on the outside world, Ryou." Jou said.
"What's going on?" Heba asked.
"Looks like KaibaCorp just released their latest gaming technology. It's the interactive virtual reality simulator. You can play anything you want and it's like you're really there in the middle of it. It debuted a few days ago." Ryou said.
"Yeah. Seto had just started working on that before he left. He told me that he hoped to get it out before we got back home." Jou said.
"Trying to beat the competition?" Malik asked.
"No. He said that he wanted it done by then so that he wouldn't have that distracting him from me." Jou replied.
"Seto can deny it all that he wants, but he is a romantic at heart." Yugi said.
"He really is, but I didn't tell you that." Jou said.
"We know, Jou." Heba said.
There was a sudden ruckus.
The group looked to see that two soldiers were on the ground, fighting.
All five jumped up and ran over.
"Break it up!" Yugi ordered.
Jou grabbed one of the guys, and Malik grabbed the other, forcing them apart to stop the fight.
Yugi stepped between them and said, "What's this about?"
"This guy needs to keep his mouth shut." the one Joy had said.
"You should keep your ears closed." the other spat.
"Griffin! McRoy! In my office now!" Yugi said. His voice held on room for argument.
"Yes, sir." both said.
"Everyone else, back to what you were doing." Yugi said.
The rest of the soldiers went back to their eating and talking.
"Come on." Yugi said to the two soldiers that were fight.
Griffin and McRoy followed Yugi out of the mess tent and toward his office.
"Yugi was in no way happy. I believe that they are in for some serious trouble." Malik said.
"Well, you know that Yugi doesn't like it when the troops fight among themselves. You'd think that they would learn not to do something as foolish as fighting. At least not when Yugi isn't that far away." Ryou said.
"Sometime, people don't think. Yugi's going to handle it." Heba said as they went back to eating.
"What about Yugi's lunch?" Ryou asked.
"I'll take him something later." Heba replied.
"I know one thing. I wouldn't want to be the ones in that office right now." Jou said.
Yugi looked at the two privates that were standing in front of him.
"Fighting. You know that the army has a low tolerance for fighting among the troops, and you know that I have an even lower tolerance for it, yet you two choose to do it. What do you have to say for yourselves?" Yugi asked.
The two privates stayed quiet.
"Do you have nothing to say?" Yugi asked.
Again, they were silent.
"Why were you fighting?" Yugi asked.
"He was mocking my family's heritage." Griffin said, pointing to McRoy.
"Well, maybe if you didn't come from a family of criminals, I wouldn't do that." McRoy retorted.
"Why you-" Griffin started.
"Enough!" Yugi ordered.
The men went silent, knowing that it would be dangerous to cross Yugi right now.
"McRoy, we do not mock a fellow soldier's family regardless of what had transpired in the family. Griffin is a damn good soldier, and I am proud to have him in my unit. Griffin, you shouldn't take to heart everything that a person says about your family. You know you have a few members who have broken the law." Yugi said.
"Yes, sir." Griffin said.
"Sorry, sir." McRoy added.
"McRoy, I do not want you saying anything about anyone's family any more. Is that clear?" Yugi asked.
"Yes, Colonel." McRoy said.
"Griffin, I do not want you to take offense about what a person says anymore, and if you do, find a way to deal with it without fight. Understood?" Yugi asked.
"Yes, sir." Griffin replied.
"You are both on KP duty for the next two weeks. I don't want to hear about anymore fight between you two, or you will both go on latrine duty. Is that clear?" Yugi asked.
"Yes, sir." both said.
"Good. Dismissed." Yugi said.
McRoy and Griffin both left the office.
Yugi sat down in his chair and let out a sigh.
There was a knock on the door.
"Come in." Yugi called.
Heba walked in. "Hey. How did it go?" Heba asked.
"Fine. They're both on KP duty for the next few weeks, and they're going on latrine duty if they fight anymore." Yugi said.
"I see. Here. I got the cook to make you a roast beef and cheese sandwich since you were barely able to eat your lunch before the fight broke out." Heba said, holding out a wrapped sandwich for Yugi.
"Thanks, Heba. I appreciate this." Yugi said.
"No problem. What are brothers for?" Heba asked.
Yugi smiled. "I don't think that most brothers get along as well as you and I do." Yugi said.
Heba smiled back. "Most brothers haven't gone through everything that we have, either." Heba replied.
"Point taken." Yugi said.
"Any word from General Mahinko?" Heba asked.
"No. I don't know if we're leaving early or not. We'll know in the next few days." Yugi said.
"Do you want to go home early?" Heba asked, sitting down.
"It would be nice, but I'll do what the army tells me. If it's go home, I will, and if it's stay our time, I will." Yugi said.
"Well, being in the military makes it to where those are the only choices we have." Heba said.
"True. Trust me. You, Ryou, Malik, and Jou will be the first ones to know when I get the call." Yugi said.
~Two Days Later~
Yugi was working at his desk.
His door opened, and O'Connell walked in. "Colonel, here's the reports you asked for." O'Connell said.
"Thank you, corporeal." Yugi said. He looked up to see that O'Connell was dressed up on a fancy wedding gown.
"Problem, sir?" O'Connell asked, wondering why he hadn't been dismissed.
"A white wedding dress?" Yugi asked.
"I'm allowed. I'm a virgin." O'Connell said.(1)
"All right. Dismissed." Yugi said.
O'Connell saluted and left.
Yugi shook his head. "Ten years in the army, and I think I've seen everything. Then I see a man in a dress. Only in the army could I have seen a man in a wedding gown." Yugi said, looking at the reports.
The phone rang.
Yugi picked up the receiver and said, "Lieutenant Colonel Mutou. 3058th."
"Colonel, this is General Mahinko." the caller said.
"General, good to hear from you." Yugi said.
"Colonel, just calling to let you know that the orders have been confirmed. Your unit will ship home early." General Mahinko said.
"Thank you for letting us know, General. My men will be happy to hear that." Yugi said.
"Anytime. Good-bye, Colonel." General Mahinko said.
"Good-bye, General." Yugi said and hung up the phone. "Corporal!" Yugi called.
His clerk opened the door and said, "You called, sir?"
"Corporeal, tell Major Mutou, Major Bakura, Captain Ishtar, and Captain Jonouchi that I want to see them in my office." Yugi said.
"Yes, sir." the corporeal said and left.
About ten minutes later, all four were in Yugi's office.
"You called, and we're here. What's this about, Yugi?" Jou asked.
"I got a call from General Mahinko today. The orders have been confirmed. We're heading home early." Yugi said.
"That's great! We're going home!" Jou exclaimed.
"I'll announce it to the men later today. Just thought that you would like to know." Yugi said.
"Man. That's a relief. Only a few more weeks, and we're homeward bound." Heba said.
"Not even two weeks." Yugi said.
"Well, at least we're heading home. I sure could use a rest." Malik said.
"There's a lot that we'll have to between now and when we leave." Ryou said.
"Yes, and we will start that as soon as I tell the men." Yugi said.
The sound for assembly was called, and all members of the 3058th Airborne Battalion assembled themselves as quickly as possible.
Yugi stood in front of them with Heba beside him while Jou, Malik, and Ryou were at the head of assembly.
"Men, I want you to know that you have done an excellent job in defending your country and that you are all appreciated. I received orders from General Mahinko. For our efforts in this war, and the number of missions that we have completed successful, we have been granted the privilege of returning home a month sooner than expected." Yugi said.
The men started to cheer for the good news that they were receiving.
"I know that you're excited, but this does not mean that you can slack off. We are still in a war zone and must act accordingly. We will prepare to head home, but do not forget that we are still at war, and that there is the potential to be attacked. Do not get caught up in the excitement of going home that we let ourselves get attacked. Understood?" Yugi asked.
"Sir, yes, sir." the men replied in unison.
"Good. We will slowly make ready to leave. You will do what you are told when you are told to do it. You'll hear these orders from me, Major Mutou, Major, Bakura, Captain, Ishtar, or Captain Jonouchi. Good job, men. Dismissed." Yugi said.
The seemly broke as the men started to talk about the prospect of going home early.
"Well, I think that they all like the idea of going home early." Malik said.
"Of course they do. They've wanted to go home since they got here. Come on. There's still things that we need to do." Yugi said.
"Meaning that if the men can't slack off, we can't slack off." Heba said.
"Exactly." Yugi said.
The group split up.
"Well, Yami and Atemu kept us safe trough another deployment." Heba said.
"Yeah, but this one is not over yet. Let's not count our chickens before they hatch." Yugi said.
Heba laughed. "Okay. They've kept us safe so far." Heba said.
"Yeah. Just wish that they were at home waiting for us like Seto is for Jou." Yugi said.
"I know what you mean. I wish that they were, too." Heba said.
The two went off on their separate ways to do what they needed to.
That was the next chapter. Hope that you liked it.
(1)- This was a line from an episode of M*A*S*H. Not sure what the episode name is, but it's from M*A*S*H.
Next chapter is about Yami and the others finding out that they're coming home early.
R&R.