Hey, ya'll. Back again with another chapter. Can't believe I've almost finished my first year at Hamilton College. It is really cold here. We get some snow as late as April.

I got a hold of Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3. In terms of plot the game is a little weaker and doesn't seem to make as much sense. Basically the Soviets are about to lose and the a couple of them go back in time to assassinate Albert Einstein who, if you've played the previous Red Alert games, supplied the Allies with most of their high-technology weapons. So the Soviets go back to their present time and find there are about to drive the Allies off mainland Europe. Then they find themselves under attack from the Japanese Empire of the Rising Sun. For some reason without Einstein, Japan rose as a technological superpower. The campaign you can be either of these three factions: Allies, Soviets, and Japanese. Game play as put a heavy emphasis on naval warfare. You can build all your buildings on water accept for the barrack and war factory (where you build tanks and vehicles). You'll see some familiar sights from Red Alert 2 like the Conscript, the Spy, Kirov Airship, Aircraft Carriers, and a few other units, but they've changed a lot of things too. Also a number of land units in the game can be amphibious. They've also added a more few air units to encourage air combat. I'd say it's worth buying.

I watched an anime called Clannad recently. It's another one of those animes based on a date-sim game that are ever so popular in Japan. I don't know why I watched this because these kinds of anime usually suck, but Clannad surprised me by being really good. The main character is named Okazaki Tomoya who is blunt, calm, and direct, but not uncaring. He is a delinquent (not like Harima though) and rarely attends class. Rather unusual for a main character I thought. He meets a girl named Furukawa Nagisa who is repeating her final year because she had missed most of third year due to an illness, a little stereotypical for a female protagonist but cute nonetheless. Basically Tomoya is a loner with only one moronic friend (who is very fun to watch get beat up by the female characters) and has be disillusioned with human contact after the death of his mother and a fight with his father that resulted in permanent injury to the arm. He meets Nagisa who he starts to spend time with and slowly develops a friendship that turns to affection which becomes feelings of love (of course). Unlike most animes based off dating-sims this one doesn't waste our time wondering which character Tomoya ends up with because he never really shows romantic interest in them, but there are still some great scenes with the other female characters. Instead the creators have created an OVA where Nagisa doesn't exist and Tomoya is with one of the other characters Sakagami Tomoyo. There is another OVA coming much like the first one, but with a different pairing, Fujibayashi Kyou. The show is a mix of comedy, drama, and a little bit of fantasy. I would recommend it to people. There is a sequel called Clannad: The After Story which is more drama… I haven't actually watched it yet, but it is more drama filled and is supposed to have a strange ending, but it is a happy one.

I also started watching Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion. It's an alternate history anime with fighting robots (naturally). Basically what happens is that Napoleon invades England and the British are forced to relocate to their American colonies (which apparently never revolted against them so there is no United States). They are renamed the Holy Britannian Empire who ruled North and South America and New Zealand. Then there is the Chinese Federation (which is actually an imperial monarch despite the name) which rules pretty much all of Asia accept for the Middle East, Russia, and Japan. Then there is the Euro Universe, which is the only democratic nation, which includes all of Europe, Russia, and Africa. In the beginning of the series Britannia invades Japan, which is neutral, and renames it Area 11 taking away the Japanese name, rights, nation, liberties, and pride. The main character, Lelouch Lamperouge, is the son of the Britannian Emperor. His mother was murdered and he knows it was ordered by a member of his family. He was exiled to Japan before the invasion. After the invasion he swore to destroy the Empire. The show is about Lelouch gaining a mysterious power of mind control and him using it to defeat Britannia by leading the Japanese in rebellion. Be warned this show is kind of violent. Themes for this show remind me of Nazi Germany because a lot of the Japanese (called Elevens by the Britannians) are driven into ghettos in the cities that are isolated from the rest of the population much like the Jews were driven into ghettos in Warsaw and Krakow, think scenes from The Pianist or Schindler's List. The Britannians even order the liquidation of the ghettos like the Nazis Racism, classism, and radicalism are also themes in this anime. Sometimes it reminds. me of George Orwell novel… accept I think it has a happy ending, but I haven't gotten to the end yet.

I just read a graphic novel called Maus by Art Spiegelman which is a cartoon version of his father's real story of surviving the Holocaust. As a volunteer at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum I strongly encourage people to read this because it tells a very gripping story of a Polish man trying to survive the wrath of the Nazis. Maus uses animals to represent the people though: the Jews are mice, the Germans are cats, the Poles are pigs, the Americans are dogs, the French are Frogs, and the British are fish. It is a try story. Please read it.

MDela I was surprised a veteran would read this. You have to remember a couple of things, one the reason I wrote off Iraq as a failure was for my story and secondly at the time I wrote that the war didn't look so good. Nothing personal, I respect the armed forces and a lot of my friends are signing up for Army, Navy, Marine Corps, and Air Force. Some are foreigners volunteering for their own nation's military.

Yasuke Hiro, thanks for the review on my other story. If you like this story you'd love Tom Clancy, an author who wrote books like the Hunt for Red October and Sum of All Fears.

Dark-Infinities, thanks for your review. Always glad to hear from our friends Down-Under and fellow former colonists of the British Empire.

I don't own any trademarked or copywritten product. Please review and/or tell a friend.


Chapter 11: March of Chaos

"Once you start a war

You are likely to lose control."

Former British Prime Minister Winston S. Churchill

????; Location Unknown

'Am I dead?' was his first thought.

He did not open his eyes for fear of finding he was truly gone from the world. Slowly he moved his figures. They were still there and moved. He could feel with his hands that he was on a cold surface… maybe wood.

A sharp cry from a bird made him open his eyes in panic. He was greeted by a grey sky.

'Is this death?' he wondered. He was lying on his back on this cold surface staring at the sky. He turned his head to the left and then tried not to scream. There was a man. He was dead and it appeared he'd been that way for a couple of hours. There were crows peaking at his flesh. He tried to sit up and chase away the scavengers, but couldn't move. Then the awful truth hit him.

He was in the remains of a home. The roof had collapsed and everything below his chest was under rumble. By some miracle he was alive and he could still move his toes which told him that he wasn't paralyzed.

He wanted to cry for help, but he was scared that he was no longer in friendly territory. He was quite sure that his fellow soldiers had been overrun by the enemy. How long again could that have been? Hours? A day? It couldn't be more than a day. Several buzzards, crows, and other scavenging birds circled overhead. The way they silently drifted across the sky without move their wings looked horrifyingly like a group of bombers.

He heard the sound of a tank engine and he thought he was saved. He almost cried out when he heard the voices of the soldiers speaking an unfamiliar language. He wasn't sure but the young knew it wasn't the one spoken in his country.

He played dead. He could hear the voices get louder. There was a pause in footsteps and he was sure they were looking around at dead bodies surrounding him.

"Are they dead?" asked one.

"Everything seems fine. Let's keep moving, comrades."

The sounds faded. He let out a sigh of relief and said, "That was close."

"Very," agreed a second voice.

The young man screamed, but a gloved hand was placed over his mouth.

"Quiet, my friend. The enemy is gone only for now," said a man camouflage-painted face and a ghillie suit.

'A sniper,' thought the young man.

"Su quheni (What is your name)?" asked the sniper.

"Private Jak Meksi, 10th Infantry Battalion," said the young man.

"Sergeant 1st Class Ermir Ruli, Army Sniper Corps," said the older man lifting up the section of roof that had Meksi trapped. Meksi quickly slipped out from under. "Don't stand too quickly."

Meksi slowly stood. He was quite satisfied that his legs worked.

"Faleminderit (Thanks you)."

"S'ka përse (You're welcome)."

"Uh… what is today?" asked Meksi.

"The 24th. You're unit was overrun a few hours ago," said Ruli.

"Why are you still here?"

"I'm to locate and eliminate targets of opportunity," said Sergeant Ruli. "You are going to make yourself useful and help me."

"Po (yes), sir," said Meksi in his native Albanian tongue.

There was a pause. "You are going to pick up a rifle, right Pvt. Meksi?"

"Eh? Më falni (excuse me), sir!" apologized Meksi.

"Take your time," said Ruli rolling his eyes. Meksi grabbed the first weapon he could find, which was a Colt M4A1 carbine. "Follow me and keep quiet."

Ruli moved quietly and stayed close to the shadows. Meksi, who wore an old patchwork-style camouflage tried to keep as low as possible. Every now and then Ruli would look to make sure that the young private was following. Meksi was the first survivor the Kovosar Army Sergeant had found in hours since the JNA plowed across the border and lay waste to this once proud crossroads town.

They crawled through destroyed homes and businesses. They passed numerous corpses of Kosovar civilians and soldiers. Since it had only been a few hours and the bodies hadn't started to decay, which was little comfort to the two Kosovar soldiers that they wouldn't have to deal with the overwhelming stench of death. The only company they had were black crows circling in and swarming over the dead.

"There were too many of them," said Meksi.

"I figured as much," said Ruli passively. He was mostly thinking about his orders and looking for signs of targets he was to eliminate.

"The Air Force came and bombed the Yukes a little, but ran when they started losing too many planes. Artillery, rockets, and mortars did most of this damage. The rest was done by an armored company… we just didn't have a chance," said Meksi sadly.

"Quiet, my friend," said Ruli. "We are not alone."

Meksi dropped to his stomach and held his breath.

"I see a BVP…. hmmm, a command version. A UAZ escort and dozen armed guards with M70s," reported Ruli mostly to himself. A couple of them were smoking and one was standing by a tree relieving himself. The BVP was a Yugoslavian clone of the Soviet BMP. It was the BVP M80A KC… or the KB, they were hard to tell apart. The KC version was for company commanders and the KB was for battalion commanders. It had a 20 mm auto-cannon which told him it wasn't the division commander version… too bad for Sgt. Ruli who was hunting officers.

"Do you have binoculars?" asked Ruli.

"Po," said Meksi reaching for his belt.

"Do you know how to distinguish between Yuke ranks?"

"Jo (no), sir," said Meksi. "I see red markings on their shoulders."

"Those are enlisted soldiers. Ignore them."

"I see three stars."

Ruli looked through his scope. "See that arch with the stars? That means he is a sergeant senior."

"What about the man with the four stars next to him?" asked Meksi.

"Hmm, that's a captain 1st class (1). Let's what them for a little bit."

"Are you going to shoot him?" asked Meksi.

"I need to determine if he is worth exposing our presence and risking our lives over. That is one of the most important things for us snipers."

"Po, sir."

"He looks like he is inspecting the damage. Probably a general's aide. He's of too little value. Let us relocate," said Ruli.

"Sir, I see more vehicles coming from the northwest."

'Three UAZs. Two with machine guns. One in the middle with several radio antenna. Looks promising,' thought Ruli.

"Sergeant, I see some kind of crescent shape… like a reef, and two stars."

"It is our lucky day my friend. That is a lieutenant colonel-general (2). Now let me think if there is a way to shoot him without being killed, ourselves," said Sergeant Ruli. Such a perfect target and there didn't appear to be a way of shooting without being shot. There were no dogs, which was good. Trained dogs could be one of the greatest threats to any unconventional soldier like commandos and snipers. There was no sign of other shooters. There were only officers, NCOs, a few MGs, and a bunch of riflemen. There was also a man with a shoulder-launch SAM off to one side, but he wouldn't be a major threat to the two Kosovars.

Ruli gently pulled back the bolt on his rifle, a British-built Accuracy International with sound-suppressor attached, to make sure there was a round in the chamber. Sure enough he saw the brass-colored cartridge with a silver-grey steel head, which was the actually projectile. One steel-jacketed 7.62x51 mm round ready to go. It was standard powder grade though. High-powered cartridges would wear out the silencer. More importantly even a really good silencer could only do so good against high-power ammo.

"When I fire we will escape the way we came. Clear?"

"P-po, sir," said Meksi shaking from nerves.

Ruli took a deep breath and slowly exhaled. The human body is most relaxed on the exhale and snipers always shoot during this moment for greatest accuracy. His figure tensed on the trigger. He settled the crosshairs a little above to the right of the target to adjust for wind. He was 258 m away from the target and had to account for distance, light refraction, wind, speed of the bullet, rate at which the bullet would descend, and what movements the target may make. Most importantly, Ruli had to have an escape plan. Whether he missed or not would irrelevant. There would still be several soldiers that would immediately start looking for him the moment the trigger was pulled.

'Mirupafshim (good-bye),' thought Ruli. There was a sharp noise, but nothing compared to what it would have sounded like if there hadn't been a suppressor.

The general had been turning his head when one side. He felt something hit him, but nothing more. He did not feel the other side of his head practically explode as the steel-jacketed round exited his head.

It was not apparent to the Yugoslavians on what had just taken place. By the time they did it was too late. Ruli was quietly moving away from them back into the town with Meksi following as stealthily was he could.

They crept through buildings. Occasionally they would deviate from their original course. Ruli would pause to make sure they weren't being pursued.

"Stop," ordered Ruli. "Don't move."

Meksi dropped to his stomach. He could hear an engine from a small vehicle, probably not a truck or APC. He could hear men shouting and guessed there were probably men on foot.

"Play dead," said Ruli. Ruli knew his camouflaged ghilley suit would hide him, but not Meksi's woodland camouflage. But Meksi had blood on his uniform and his clothes were battered from when the building collapsed on him. If he could lie still he would be mistaken easily for just one more dead Kosovar soldier.

A Yugoslavian soldier entered the building they were in through a large hole in the wall. He was young with dark hair, round head, pale face, and straggly hair. To a Western, like Germans and British, these Serbians would look the same as the ethnic-Albanian Kosovars. But Ruli could see subtle differences that made this man a Serb, if not a Serbian. He look at Ruli for a moment, but not able to tell what he was actually looking at. He looked at a middle-age man on the floor lying on his back and Pvt. Meksi lying on his stomach. He soldier nudged the man and Meksi with his boot. Deciding nothing was amiss he walked through the front door that had hanging on its hinges.

They waited and an hour later the same patrol came back on their way to the vehicles. This time three soldiers passed through. Meksi had gone rigid when he heard them approach, but the Yugoslav soldiers seemed too frustrated with their failure to locate the sniper to notice the two Kosovars hiding almost in plain sight.

"Wait a little longer incase more come," said Ruli. Meksi moved his left hand into a thumbs-up position to show he understood and left it go limp again. After 15 minutes Ruli decided it was time to go. He would've liked to have wait longer, but was worried the Yugoslavians may call in a chopper to hunt them from the sky, and a chopper would have thermal sensors.

They crawled through the dead. It worried Ruli that some of the pools of blood hadn't dried yet and that meant he and Meksi were leaving very visible footprints. Also they passed crowds peaking away at the dead indiscriminate of whether they were man, woman, or child. This was both horrifying and disgusting, but more dangerous was the fact they would take flight once they caught sight of the two Kosovars. If someone was watching they could track Sgt. Ruli and Pvt. Meksi's progress.

He checked the sky. He hoped it might rain, then their tracks would be covered.

Meksi looked at the birds as their cawed sharply and looked at him with their empty black eyes. He felt like he was going to throw up when he saw one of the birds had pulled out the eye of a woman and the scavengers started fighting over it. These things didn't care that that was once a living breathing person. To them it was a meal. The coldness and indifference to the life that once was made Meksi's blood boil with rage. He associated the with the Serbians, cold, evil, indifferent, and self-absorbed… or that was his point of view at the least, and one many of his countrymen would share. 'Is this what we are to this fucking Yuke bastards?! Food for the scavenging animals?!'

"Did you kill him?" asked Meksi.

"Jo (yes), Private," said Ruli taking a sip of water.

"Now what? When can I go back to my unit?"

"…" Ruli did not answer. Truthfully he knew that Meksi didn't have a unit to return to. He had no idea if the Army had managed to make a line of defense to stop the JNA from storming the capital, Pristina.

"We'll head south to the capital, but first I must report in."

Jak Meksi nodded as he took off his helmet and whipped off sweat. He ran a hand through his dark brown hair and wondered if the rest of his country was being lost as fast he they'd been overrun.

And… when it was over, would he have a home to return to? A family still alive? Would there even be a country for him? Was this the end of the short-lived Republic?


2159 Hours; March 24th, 2012; Natsuyami Inn, Kyoto; Kyoto Prefecture, Federation of Japan

Haruki was sitting in the hot springs trying to unwind. Kenji was sitting next to him sitting up at the stars.

In the distance they heard the deep toll of a bell at one of the many Buddhist monasteries around Kyoto. In the Nara Period, Nara had been the capital of Japan… or at least home to the Imperial Family at the time. Buddhism had been at its most influential moments on the Japanese court. In fact they had immense influence over who succeeded to the throne as Emperor and had more influence over the people in Nara, which the courtiers and the Imperial Family did not like. The decision was made to relocate the capital away from the Buddhist monks' power hold to Western Japan. They named the new capital Heian-kyo and marked the beginning of the Heian Period. After the Heian Period, in the Kamakura Period, Heian-kyo was renamed Kyoto. Buddhist monasteries surrounded the outskirts of the old capital, but because of old Imperial doctrines the temples weren't allowed to be built inside of the city… or at least that was what Tenma said.

There was a monastery not too far away. There was also a Shinto shrine nearby where the ceremony would take place in roughly 12 hours. Kenji had his kimono ready in his room.

"You ready?" asked Kenji.

"… so deshoo (I wonder)," said Haruki thoughtfully.

"kowaii ne (scary, ain't it)?"

"Ee, ma (maybe). No turning back though."

"Mm," grunted Kenji in agreement. "Ii daroo to omou (I think it will probably be okay)."

"So ne (probably) (3)," agreed Haruki sinking a little into the hot water feeling his body being cleanse by the waters being forced to the surface by the volcanic activity.

"So… have you asked Yakumo yet?" asked Haruki.

"No, not yet," sighed Kenji. "Things keep coming up."

"It was hard to ask Mikoto. Part of me was so sure she would laugh in my face," said Haruki. It seemed so stupid now. He'd known Mikoto for most 15 years now. He should have known the answer. Hell he should have gone out with her years ago. Why hadn't he? Maybe there was truth in the common female belief that all men are idiots.

"It doesn't feel like it is a hard decision to me. Pretty sure this was the easiest one I've ever made. It's just things keep getting in my way," said Kenji leaning against a rock. He loved Yakumo. She loved him. He wanted to provide for her and protect her from the dangers of the world. She accepted his many short-comings and his past and could still love him. It would be impossible to ever find another.

"I wonder where she is," said Kenji after a long silence. "She didn't join us for dinner."

Haruki didn't answer. He had his suspicions about why but wondered what to say.

There was a rustling sound as someone passed through the cloth draped over the entryway.

"Konban (evening)," said the young Army officer Urashima Keitaro.

"Konbanwa (good evening)," said Kenji and Haruki, taking care to use polite speech to their superior. Lt. Urashima sat on a wood stool in front of a series of faucets. He filled a plastic basin and proceeded to scrub himself.

"You two ready for tomorrow?" asked Urashima.

"I guess," said Haruki.

"I think I prepared everything," said Kenji.

Urashima smiled. "You two make quite the little duo."

Asou Hiroyoshi entered the baths next followed by Kurosaki Ichigo. Ichigo was muttering something about his father.

"How are you boys doing?" asked Urashima. They made grunts and murmured answers. Kenji and Haruki spent the whole day doing final preparations. Hiroyoshi and Ichigo had long drives from the middle of the Kanagawa Prefecture.

"Is that radio working?" asked Hiroyoshi seeing the radio left out for the guests enjoyment.

"Probably," said Haruki.

"Turn it on… onegai," said Hiroyoshi wanting some relaxing sounds.

Haruki nodded and turned on the radio to an NHK broadcast (4). It consisted of some pop music and some rock.

"This is NHK Kansai Region broadcast and now for a news update before we listen to the nation's top ten list. In regional news there was a mud slide near Otsu as mountain snows continue to melt in the spring thaw. The Kansai Regional Government has issued an advisory to those traveling along roads in the mountains between the Shiga and Kyoto Prefectures where additional mud slides are feared.

"Mitsubishi's factory in the Mie Prefecture reports they are expanding and now looking for able bodied workers and college educated technicians and engineers.

"In national news, the Diet announced plans for new mutual economic trade agreement with the Republic of China (Taiwan) and Republic of (South) Korea. The Republic of Vietnam has expressed interest in joining.

"The Ministry of Education has reported that numbers of high school graduates this year will be an all-time in decades. The experts optimistically say that the balance between the youth and elderly in Japan's population has been restored.

"In international news the European Union demands the immediate withdraw of all Yugoslavian forces from the Republic of Kosovo. This invasion has been condemned by the United States President and Congress as well as our Diet, Prime Minister, and his Excellency Emperor Akihito. Little information is available at this time, but indications suggest that Yugoslavian soldiers may be deliberately attacking Kosovar civilians.

"And now back to our normal broadcast…"

There was dead silence, save for the radio, after the report on the invasion going on in Eastern Europe.

Deliberately attacking Kosovar civilians.

The word murder slowly drifted to everyone's mind. Urashima, who had been to the Balkans, knew about the ethnic conflicts between the Yugoslav republics. This was a war that was very complex and beyond most of the present people's current understanding.

"The Navy is prepping for sortie," said Urashima. He remembered his girlfriend, Narusegawa Naru, saying that she would have to report to Yokosuka Naval Yard by 1st of May. Some of his younger tenants at the Hinata Dormitory were getting letters from the Ministry of Defense soliciting them to join the Army, Navy, Air Force, or Home Guard.

"They haven't told us anything," said Hiroyoshi.

"Army is already ready," said Urashima. "We went through our training cycles and replacements were integrated in. Mostly we're waiting on new equipment and the Navy to be able to transport us to Europe."

'We'll be the first to go,' thought the Second Lieutenant. 'Us, the 10th Infantry and the 2nd Armored. Probably the 5th Armored Division too. The Airborne will probably be airlifted and sent into battle before we even arrive. Poor bastards.'

"Everyone know the drill for tomorrow?" asked Kenji. There were nods and grunts again. Kenji, the immediate family of Haruki and Mikoto, and a select few people would be at the actually wedding ceremony. Shinto weddings were quiet and private affairs. Most of the guests were here for the party after the ceremony in which they would congratulate the newlyweds. "I'm going to go to bed."

Kenji rose from the water, wrapped a towel around waist, and headed into the changing room. He felt weary. It wasn't unlike the weariness the war left him with between battles. He was very alert, almost jumpy, but emotionally drained and left with a strong urge to sleep and be lost to this world, it only for a moment. These moments would hit him every now and then. Flashes of a North Korean impaled on his bayonet would appear before him. Images of mangled civilians in a bank in Pusan haunted him.

Kenji put on his white T-shirt. He reached inside the cubbyhole for his room key and the velvet box. He opened it. Inside on the pearly-white interior was a small ring. It was gold and had a single diamond. It wasn't the best but he was able to afford it. Inside the ring was written: Aijin. Ai, meaning love, and Jin, meaning person. It roughly translated into English as 'Beloved', loved person was probably a more literal translation.

Kenji gently examined it as he'd done hundreds of times since he bought it. It was funny that such as small item represented all his feelings and he'd done. It almost seemed so insignificant compared to everything else.

Yakumo sat in the female baths. She had heard their discussion and the radio which was in the middle of a song by bang called Tokio. Mai, Tenma, Eri, and several other members of the Yagami High School's Class of 2010 and 2011 sat listening. For some of these girls it meant losing the men near and dear to them, for many others it meant being shipped off to a far away land into another fray.

Yakumo silently got up and headed to the changing area. She retrieved her underwear, pulled on the robe provided by the inn. She felt depressed.

"Harima-kun," she hears a voice, which Yakumo had come to hate, called out ahead.

"Ah, Tsukino-san, konbanwa," greeted Kenji sounding weary. Yakumo knew that tone. It was one he adopted when we was tired and reflected old memories. Kenji talked very little about what he thought about in these moments and he didn't like to talk in these moments.

"So, what are you up to?" she asked. Yakumo slumped against the wall where she stood and listened to the conversation happening just around the corner from her.

"Going to bed," said Kenji.

"Oh… I was hoping we could toast completely the wedding preparations being finished," she said seductively, which once again was lost upon Harima Kenji. She placed a finger on Kenji's well toned chest and traced circles on it. Too deeply lost in his own thoughts of past memories and the impending threats of another war Kenji did not notice her actions. Peeking around the corner Yakumo saw with horror what was happening. She couldn't see Kenji's eyes. She could only see that his shoulders were slumped and he was totally unresponsive.

Taking encouragement from Kenji's inaction Tsukino said, "Your best friend is getting married. It must be so lonely for you."

"Huh, ee (yeah), whatever," Kenji said vaguely. Not for the first time in the life Kenji was totally oblivious to the signals he was sending.

Tsukino leaned in and gently kissed Kenji on the lips and slowly slipped in her tongue. For one second Kenji did nothing, the next second he realized something was happening, the third second he realized what was happening, and on the forth his mind went into overdrive. Tsukino was nearly through across the hall into the opposite wall. Hers and Yakumo's ears were ringing with the sudden yell of shock and horror from the young man. Tsukino looked at him with a mix of surprise and hurt. Kenji was against the opposite wall pressed so hard against it that it seemed like he was trying to go through it. Yakumo was breathing hard and she didn't know what she was feeling.

In one move Kenji was gone. Yakumo saw something fall to the floor from his pocket as he turned a corner down the hall. Tsukino slowly walked away. Yakumo hid from her.

Kenji barricade himself in the room. He was tempted to push the furniture against the door and even the sleeping Kazu. Kenji's whole body was shaking violently. He felt sick, confused, horrified, and self-loathing. It just like the first time he'd killed a man. Kenji even wanted to throw up.

This was his fault. It had to be. Everything was his fault. He was such an idiot after all. Kenji collapsed on the floor and felt tears well up in his eyes. He wondered how he could have thought his life was finally coming together. Depression washed over him and he drifted off into sleep.

Yakumo approached the small item that Kenji had dropped. A small royal-blue velvet box. She picked it up and opened it. A gasp escaped her and mouth hung open. The ring sat snugly secure upright. She would see the inscription in the inside of the ring. On the outside was a pattern of clouds etched into the gold (5). She closed it with a snap and with both hands she held it to her heart. Relief washed over Yakumo.

The door to Kenji's room creaked open and Yakumo peeked in. By this time Haruki had returned, found Kenji lying in front of the door, and had dragged him to his futon before going to bed himself. Yakumo was a little surprised the door wasn't locked, but entered anyways. All the fear, shock, uncertainty, pain, and sorrow he felt were reflected on his face. Yakumo pulled out from the pocket of the haori and placed it into Kenji's hand, then she pushed his fingers together around the box.

"Oyasuminasai (good night)," she whispered into his ear before placing a soft kiss on his right temple. Harima Kenji looked like his body relaxed a little.


???? Hours; December 15th, 1947; Somewhere, Unterschleissheim, Bavarian State, Federal Republic of Germany

I'm cold.

That was his first thought.

Something hit him in the face. It was cold, loose, and seemed to spread out upon impact. He heard the distinct sound of a shovel slicing into the ground. He was being buried. He moved and groaned. There was a gasp and a clatter.

He opened his eyes. It was night. He was in a hole… a grave… his grave.

There was a silhouette in front of him. It had dropped a shovel with a square blade. He could not see who it was or what uniform it was. The overcoat was long and looked… Russian.

He figure stepped into the grave and slowly approached him. He scooted back, but his body's response was slow. A small hand was placed on his arm to stop him. He struggled.

A hand was gently placed on his cheek. It shifted to his under his chin and applied a little pressure, not to force him to look up but to merely encourage him to.

"Kate?"

"Willkommen (welcome) back," said the young German sniper. Mauhauser ducked under his arm and helped Lt. Elijah Pryce stand up. Pryce was mildly surprised by her strength, but was too out of it to truly appreciate it. He looked back at the grave.

"What happened to my tank?" asked Pryce.

"… it's gone," she said. "You were blown clear of the tank, but your crew were incinerated with it."

"Did anyone in mein kommpandie (my company) survive?"

"Two Shermans and two panzerjager (6) managed to escape with most of the infantrie. The Kommunists tried to keep up with the retreat, but couldn't keep up. Some of your soldiers are still fighting the Kommunists," said Mauhauser.

As Pryce became more aware of his surroundings he could hear the echo of rifle fire and chatter of automatic weapons.

"Can you stand?"

"Ja," he said quietly. He wobbled a little, but steadied. He had no helmet. Only a few personal belongings stuffed into a shirt pocket and a Colt M1917 double-action revolver at his thigh. It had been his grandfather's in the First World War. It was a six-shooter made by Colt, but also made by Remington and Smith & Wesson, that fired standard .45 ACPs. It was similar to the British standard issue Webley revolvers.

He drew it from the holster and followed Mauhauser.

"Why'd you stay?" he asked.

"My position was surrounded by Kommunist soldiers. I could not escape so I observed. It appears there is a division pushing south for Munich with another coming. The Red Army is throwing too many soldiers to fight a broken regiment of NATO truppen (troops)," she remarked. She began to walk and headed down various alleys and backyards and avoided the main roads.

"Then this force will probably reorganize and launch an attack on Munich pretty soon," he said. 'So Ivan is finally going lay siege to Munich. The jewel of Suden Deutsche (southern Germany).'

If Munich fell then NATO would lose the anchor on their defense in the south. It would also open major road and railways to Soviet and Yugoslavian forces. Additionally, Munich's lose would be a huge blow to everyone's morale.

Mauhauser paused and Pryce almost walked into her. There was dead Estonian, not that Mauhauser or Pryce could tell the difference between Russians and Estonians, or others that were part of the Soviet Union. Mauhauser picked up the overcoat and handed it to Pryce.

"Take it, Herr Pryce. Your uniform doesn't blend in with the snow," said Mauhauser. He pulled on the Soviet coat. It was poorly made, itchy, rough… but it was warm. It was also whitish-grey and blended in with the surrounding snow much better.

'Why the hell don't we have white winter clothing?' he wondered. It didn't occur to Pryce that neither the British nor the Americans had done major winter fighting during World War II. When the British first engaged the Germans in 1940 they were forced to retreat across the English Channel before summer had started. Most of the land battles had been in North Africa even when the US troops arrived in November 1942. In September 1943 the Allies had invaded Italy and fought there until the end of the war, but Italy wasn't famous for harsh winters… though blizzards had halted their advances. No, the first really tough winter the Allies faced was December 1944 in Belgium, the Battle of the Bugle. The Germans from the experience they were gaining against the Russians had proper winter gear of the appropriate color as oppose to the Allies who were dark brown.

"Someone already took his gun," noted Pryce. 'Great, I only have a hand gun against a division of riflemen and tanks.'

Meanwhile, Mauhauser was looking at the tracks in the snow. There were boot prints, but not Russian or German. 'An Amerikaner scharfschütze (American sharpshooter)? … nein, the Amis don't have many scharfschütze.'

She picked up a single shell casing. 'This is a 45 ACP (Automatic Colt Pistol). The type used in American handguns and machine-pistols.'

"Amis have been here."

"So has Ivan. In the street. Those are tracks from a T-34," said Pryce pointed to the road.

There was a crack from a rifle not too far away. Maybe four blocks away. It was followed by a volley of automatic fire.

"Sounds like a Tommy Gun," said Pryce walking towards the noise.

Mauhauser grabbed his arm and pulled him back into the shadows. She trained her Kar 98 K up the street looking through her Zeiss-made scope (8). "Alles ist klar (all is clear). You have to more care full, Herr Pryce. If there been someone watching this street..."

She did not have to finish her sentence and she didn't for effect.

They crossed the street and into anther alley. They ducked through backyards, aware they were leaving a trail in the snow. It had stopped snowing and stars were even visible, but more clouds were blowing in from the northeast and would be upon them before sunrise and before US and British planes could take off.

They crept through the alleys. Pryce was starting to wonder where everyone was. There weren't even stray dogs or cats wandering about. Maybe the civilians decided to flee into West Germany fearing this very counter-attack from the Soviets. Then he saw someone down a side alley. Judging by his stance it was a man urinating onto a fence. He was just finish when Pryce saw him. The man zipped up his pants and then picked something up.

It was a gun.

Pryce's eyes widened. He saw the thick cylindrical barrel, rifle grip, and drum magazine unique to the PPSh-41.

"Shit," he said hoarsely. Although Mauhauser didn't understand the curse it did get her attention to the side alley.

"Ilya, Olga? Is that you?" called out the man in Russian. He saw a male and female ahead of him. It did strike the Russian as odd that the man, he thought was Ilya, was not carrying his rifle. Or that the woman, Olga, was not wearing the Soviet overcoat… in fact the helmet she was wearing looked… German?

"Kto eto (who are you)? Chto vy skazali (What are you doing)?" demanded the Russian raising his sub-machine gun at the German and American. "Otkuda vy (Where are you from)?"

Mauhauser froze in fear. She could shoot, but it would attract more Russians. The shootout wasn't too far away, but it had stopped. Were there friendly soldiers nearby… or were they all dead. Either way Russians were close. They would hear the shot.

Mauhauser saw a sudden movement from the corner of her eye and brief scream from the Russian. There was a knife in his neck. It had severed his artery. He was on his back and rolling around as blood squirted from his neck and mouth.

"Damn, I never thought I'd use that," said Pryce. He approached the Russian soldier. The Russian gave one last gag and then his head tilted to the side. He was dead.

"Was?" asked Mauhauser weakly.

"We use to throw knifes at a wood block when I was a kid. It killed time in the evenings during the summer. Never thought I'd use that to kill someone instead," said Pryce. His hands were shaking slightly. He attempted to retrieve the US Army version Ka-Bar, which looked the same as the Marine Corps Ka-Bar except it had USA (United States Army) engraved above the hilt instead of USMC, but just bring himself to approach the gory scene. Mauhauser pulled out the combat knife and wiped it off on the sleeve of the Russians coat. She handed it and the sub-machine gun to Pryce.

"Never killed a man this close have you?" asked Mauhauser gently.

"Nein (no), I have. Just never gets easier," said Pryce sadly taking back the knife and accepting the Burp Gun (9), the common American nickname for the Soviet PPSh-41. He also accepted the belt with pouches containing additional magazines. "He was a German. Climbed on my tank and tried to drop a grenade in."

The shooting had stopped, but they could hear more firing. A mixture of German, British, American, and Russian guns making a bizarre and orchestra of bangs and explosions. The stars were fading from the sky as clouds rolled overhead with the fresh wave of snow, fog, and ice. White flashes from flares and distant artillery lit up the night coupled with red and green flashes from tracers.

Pryce and Mauhauser were eerily alone, but far from out of danger in a city still raked with fighting. They could only hope to fight a friendly patrol before their allies had completed the withdrawal back to Munich.


0600 Hours; March 25th, 2012; Natsuyami Inn, Kyoto; Kyoto Prefecture, Federation of Japan

Kenji was a little disoriented… and sore, when he awoke. Haruki's alarm was beeping and he could hear his engaged friend sitting up. In another part of the room he could hear Kazu stirring, however it sound very much against his will. Kenji remembered last night's events and then wanted to died in a corner and be forgotten.

He didn't know how to explain this to Yakumo. He had to tell her… besides, he was a terrible liar and it was like she could read minds. Kenji was upset and angry and clenched his hands into fists only to find there was an object in one of them. He turned his head and saw the box. Another memory of last night was triggered by this. Hadn't he dropped this?

"Oi, Haruki. Did you return this?"

"Nani sore?" asked Haruki as he grabbed his toiletries. "You lost it?"

"Uh, never mind. Did you Kazu?"

"Ie, came in and it was already in your hand," said Kazu.

'But who then? Ichigo? Lt. Urashima? Renji? Fiona? Mai-chan? An employee here?' Kenji wondered. He opened it was greeted by the ring that seemed to shine despite the fact the sun hadn't actually risen yet.

"Oh well, better clean up," sighed Kenji rising to his feet and exiting the room.

After bathing, brushing his teeth, shaving, and combing his hair, Kenji began to dress in a black kimono with white symbols below the shoulder and on the back. He slipped on zōri, a sandal, and then headed to the shrine. As he walked he saw Mai waiting for him dressed in the same kimono that Hiroyoshi and Sarah had bought her for her 11th birthday. It was called a furisode, a type of kimono that were colorful, had wide sleeves, and worn by unmarried women. Traditionally Japanese women would wear the furisode at coming-out or coming-of-age celebrations, or weddings of friends or relatives.

Mai was talking with Natsuyami Tsumugi, his now married classmate. She was wearing her usually round glasses, but instead of her usually braids she wore her hair in a bun instead. Tsumugi wore a kimono called a homongi. The colors were more pastel than the furisode. The homongi was worn by both married and unmarried women and in weddings usually by close friends at the reception.

"Ohayo gozaimasu (good morning)," greeted Tsumugi.

"Ohayo, Onii-chan."

"Ohayo, Mai-chan, Tsumugi-san," greeted Kenji.

"Kenji-kun, are you leaving now? It seems a little early," said Tsumugi.

"Ee, I thought I might do some final checks. Mai-chan, you stay with Tsumugi-san for a little while longer," said Kenji.

"Ie, I'll go with you. Shitsurē-shimasu (excuse me), Natsuyami-san," said Mai bowing to her elder.

They walked out into the early morning air of the mountains that surrounded the former imperial capital, Kyoto, which literally meant capital city, Tokyo meaning east capital. It was a city that had resisted change and yet was the engine of change that caused the Meiji Restoration. In these mountains Buddhist monks had walked, banned from building monasteries in Kyoto, and watched as Emperors and Shoguns alike ruled a nation despite it not being one for so long. It had also nearly become one of the targets of the atomic bombs in 1945 until the then Secretary of War Henry Lewis Stimson ordered it on Hiroshima instead. Kenji however was blissfully unaware of this fact that this beautiful city that represented centuries of Japanese history, culture, and greatness from the Heian Period to today.

The woven bamboo sandals Kenji wore were quite comfortable as he clomped up a paved mountain path to the nearby jingu (Shinto shrine). When they reached the shrine their saw an old man dressed in priestly garb kneeling on the porch of the shrine with scrolls before him.

"Ohayo gozaimasu," greeted Kenji to the priest.

"Ohayo gozaimasu," said the old Shinto priest in a raspy tone and a small Kansai accent.

Over to the side there was a basin full of water which flowed from a bamboo pipe. Mai and Kenji both took a wooden ladle each and rinsed out their mouths (10). Then they washed their hands from the basin so they could approach the shrine with clean hands and mouths. Any other way would be considered improper or sinful by the Shintos.

Kenji walked over to the collection bin. He tossed in a 50-en cupronickel (copper-nickel composite) coin with chrysanthemums on one side, a large number 50 on the opposite side, and a round hole in the middle of the coin. Mai offered a 10-en coin, which was copper colored, had the image of the Hōōdō Buddhist Temple, and had no hole unlike the 50-en and 5-en coins. Kenji pulled at the rope which jingled the bells hanging above their heads. Together they clapped their hands three times together and prayed for their soon to be wedded friends and their future happiness.

Kenji noted that this shrine was to the deity of this mountain who apparently watched over the travelers that passed on their way into Kyoto from the north. Shintoism was not a very unified religion and had no core doctrine. There were over 8 million known Kami and most of them were obscure and very local. The closets equivalent the Shintos had to the Bible or Quran was the Kojiki, one of the oldest known text written in Japanese. It talked about the two kami that created the world and life, Mikoto no Izangai and Mikoto no Izanami (11). It also talked of the divinity of the other primary kami that were more nationally know and worshipped like Mikoto no Susanoo, the god of sea and storms, Omoikane, the goddess of wisdom, Sarutahiko Okami, god of the earth, Mikoto no Tsukuyomi, god of the moon, and the kami associated with the Japanese Imperial Family, Amaterasu-omikami, goddess of the sun. According to Shinto belief Amaterasu was born from Izanami's left eye, her brother Tsukuyomi from her right, and Amaterasu's other brother Susanoo was born from Izanami's nose.

'So after all this planning and hard work the day has finally come,' thought Kenji. This had been harder than some of the operations he had trained for in the armed forces, though that may have been because Kenji wasn't just a participant, but the man who planned them.

"I could never be an officer," groaned Kenji to himself reflecting that he'd never have the ability to do this daily. He had new respect for his bespectacled clumsy platoon leader and his vertically-challenged white hair company commander. Speaking of which Kenji saw his CO emerging from the path.

"Ohayo gozaimasu, Captain," said saluting his superior officer.

"Eh, oh, Harima. Ohayo," said Hitsugaya Tōshirō, commander of Company E of the 27th Infantry Battalion.

A young woman around the same age as Kenji was next to him and around his captain's height… which was height normal for Japanese women, but not for men. Her long shiny brown hair was wrapped into a bun and secure by an ornament. Kenji remembered her to be an officer in the Navy.

'Her name was… eto, eto… Himamori? Hitomori? … Hinamori, that was it,' thought Kenji triumphantly that he could remember the name of a person he'd hardly ever met. 'Now what was her given name? It was like some kind of fruit…'

"Ohayo gozaimasu, Harima-san," said the woman. "Watashi wa Hinamori Momo de gozaimasu (I am Momo Hinamori; formal). Dozo yoroshiku onegaishimasu (Please take care of me; very formal)."

A little too formal thought Kenji, but she seemed like the girl like Yakumo who used polite speech with everyone, accept with Tenma sometimes. He bowed as she did and said, "Harima Kenji desu. Dozo yoroshiku (Take care of me; less formal)."

There was a silence and he realized she was looking towards Mai politely. "Ah, kore wa boku no imoto desu. Mai-chan. (This is my little sister. Mai-chan)."

"Watashi wa Harima Mai de gozaimasu. Yoroshiku onegaishimasu," said Mai using more formal speech than Kenji because she was talking to someone several years older than herself.

"Ohayo," called out a friendly voice. It was Lt. Urashima Keitaro followed by a group of women, some of whom Kenji remembered from the dormitory the man ran. He recognized the little blue haired girl and the sword wielding one too. There was an older woman smoking a cigarette, despite wearing a kimono, who bore a resemblance to Keitaro, possibly a relative.

"Oha-," Kenji just started to speak when his platoon leader tripped over a rock and fell. As he did he grabbed the first thing he could which was the obi of a beautiful brunette's kimono which came loose and unraveled her homongi revealing her pink bra and matching panties. She clenched her fist and shrieked, "Chikan (pervert)!"

He was punched in the face and sent flying and crashed into a tree.

"Lieutenant!" cried Kenji running after his poor clumsy superior followed by a few other members of Kenji's squad who had arrived. Jupei Miho, Kurosaki Ichigo, and Kenji picked up their officer and laid him out.

"Well I'm impressed," said Ichigo. "No broken bones."

"I learned how to land," joked Keitaro. His soldiers smiled down at him. He inspired them and was probably the one of the most descent person they'd ever met. How could someone accuse him of being some kind of pervert?

Hiroyoshi walked arrived with Sarah in time to see his most of his squad present and glaring at someone.

"This is probably a stupid question, but did I miss something?" he asked dully. Of course he had. Hiroyoshi had always been one of the most levelheaded and most observant people in his high school class, only bested by Takano Akira. What he was really after was who was at fault and if he needed to take action.

"It's nothing Staff Sergeant," said Keitaro rising to his feet with Miho on one side and Kenji on the other. Ichigo was observing to see if anything was amiss, but nothing was wrong.

"Gomenasai, Naru," Keitaro apologized. He said to the woman who now looked thoroughly embarrassed. She said something to him and they walked off to the shrine interior. Most of the people with Keitaro however stayed outside. They weren't invited to watch the ceremony, but they would attend the after party with everyone else.

Little else happened. Ichigo entered the shrine with his friends Renji and Uryū. Yamako Ichiro along with his wife, Hiromi (12), proceeded in next. Kenji gave Ichiro a friendly smile because he'd been very helpful too in planning the wedding, and he was an old comrade.

"Ano, Kenji," said a voice from behind.

Kenji's eyes widened for a moment in surprise. Yakumo stood before him in a deep blue furisode. Her black hair which normally reached the small of her back was now tied beautifully into a knot secured by a thin ribbon with a light blue follow attached An red obi with the white outline of a cherry-blossom tree was wrapped above her waist to keep the kimono from unraveling. She wore makeup, probably applied by Eri considering the quality of the application. She looked beautiful and walked with a grace and elegance that seemed other-worldly.

Tenma was dressed in a bright red furisode secured by a yellow obi. The vibrancy of the colors seemed fitting to Kenji, they were as bright and lively as Tsukamoto Tenma. Her long her was allowed to cascade down to her waist with some kind of gold clip attached behind her neck to keep it under some control.

"Shall we?" he asked the three women… was two women and one teenage girl.

"Mm," grunted Tenma in agreement. Yakumo nodded silently, but with a smile of usual warmness. He wondered what had put her in such a good mood. Perhaps weddings just had this kind of effect on women, or so he thought.

Kenji sat on his knees in the way a good Japanese man, or woman as the case may be, sat in formal settings. He looked around. Everything was perfect. This was it. Everyone sat in silence. There was to be no talking.

Finally Suō Mikoto and Hanai Haruki entered. Mikoto was wearing a very brightly colored uchikake that was gold and had elaborate green dragons and white flowers upon it. The uchikake was a very formal kimono normally only worn by the bride at her own wedding. Unlike other kimonos, the bride did not wear an obi over it. The kimono was suppose to trail behind her and another kimono called a hiyoku, which was white, was underneath. Perched on her head was a bunkin takashimada (wedding headpiece) that was pure white to match hiyoku under the uchikake. Mikoto's blue hair was tied into a magnificent bun secured by a gold ornament. Her makeup was subtle but looked professionally done. She walked with her head slightly bowed down like a traditionally Japanese bride, but Tenma, Eri, and Akira knew it was because Mikoto was too nervous to make eye contact.

Haruki was dressed similar to Kenji in color and style. But with a more elaborate in design and with a few more things signifying him as the groom. Kenji also noticed he wasn't wearing his glasses. Kenji could tell his best friend was walking towards the alter arm in arm because Haruki couldn't see straight and probably would have crashed into some hapless person.

They sat before the priest who spoke about the two young adults before him. Haruki and Mikoto both lifted a cup of purified sake each slowly turned to each other and bowed gracefully. Next they drank from the cups which looked like a saucer to someone who wasn't familiar with the items.

Kenji watched at his best friend spoke words of love and devotion to Mikoto who was fighting back tears, or risk ruin her makeup. Like a bride in any culture she would fight to the death to keep any detail from ruin the day she dreamed of. Kenji warmly smiled while listening to the story of when the two were young and Haruki was a weak four-eyed nerd that was frequently bullied by those who laughed at the son of a dojo master who had to be rescued by a girl… who was of course Suō Mikoto. How she would always be there for him. He apologized for an 'extended time of ignorance in which he failed to acknowledged her as the woman for him' to which those who knew him in high school laughed including Mikoto who placed a hand in front of her mouth like a proper bride and fighting the urge to roll around on the floor. Yakumo turned a little red and looked down at her knees. Tenma and Kenji who sat on either side of Yakumo patted her on the head and whispered, "It wasn't your fault."

The others laughed too. Even though it was an inside joke they didn't understand the laughter was contagious. The full joy of this happy occasion seemed to come alive. The old priest smiled kindly. It had been a long time since he'd seen and heard such happy young folk in him presence. When the war had ended he had conduct on funeral after another. But today was a day of hope, happiness, and new beginnings.

The ceremony drew to a close and ended with an offering to the kami that reigned over this mountain. Everyone bowed low as Mikoto and Haruki handed their offering to the priest and then placed it upon the altar to the kami.

Two miko (shrine maiden) lead the procession out of the shrine in ceremonial garb. They were followed by Haruki, Mikoto, and Haruki's mother who was dressed in a kurotomesode, a kimono worn by the mothers of the bride and groom. Next came the priest holding a Japanese umbrella holding it above the bride and groom. He was followed by Haruki's father and Mikoto's parents. Next were the Harima and Tsukamoto families, basically Tenma, Yakumo, Kenji, and Mai. The rest of the procession march in straight lines about two to four people wide. By this time several people were waiting outside to caught sight and watch the procession pass by on their way back to the inn. Many pulled out digital cameras including Fuyuki Takeichi who clicking away. Some children cleared a path while others had to be grabbed and dragged out of the way by their mothers or elder siblings.

From his position in the wedding procession Kenji saw his best friend behind to descend the stairs, carefully guided by Mikoto since he really couldn't see. He looked so happy.

Yakumo looked on with some envy at Mikoto. Like any little girl Yakumo had dreamed of this day. When she got older and shier she wondered if this day would come. She smiled to herself. The question was no longer 'if', it was a matter of when. Yakumo no longer feared being alone, rejection, or losing Kenji to someone else. She looked at the sky with was deep blue with some fluffy white clouds drifting above. She wondered when her turn would finally come and she could spend her the rest of her life with the man she loved.


2300 Hours (UTC -5); March 24th, 2012; Oval Office, White House; Washington DC, United States of America

Japanese Standard Time (UTC +9): 1200 Hours; March 25th, 2012

President Crane sat behind her desk looking over the situation in Kosovo. The one battalion that was there was now in Albania, a NATO member. She could just screw the UN and charge in like many Republicans were screaming or wait for the UN to make their decision like the Democrats demanded. Her own party suggested she try and ask Russia to apply pressure on the Belgrade. The Yugoslavians did tend to listen to the requests from Moscow more than those from Washington or London. She decided to first see what the United Nations Security Council said since they would make a ruling before tomorrow morning. In the meantime she had called Moscow, but the Soviets weren't being helpful since they didn't recognize the Republic of Kosovo. If the UN gave her the green light she would order troops to Europe. If not then she would march to New York and whack the Security Council over the heads with the cane she was told she would be using for the rest of her life.

There was a knock at her door.

"Yes?"

Her White House Intelligence Chief from the CIA stuck his head in the door. "Sorry to bother you Michelle, but a man from south of the border has arrived to give you a final brief of the situation there."

"Send him in," she said putting down her papers. A young Asian male entered the room. He was about 6 feet, had black hair, and dark brown eyes.

"This is Mr. Shinhachi," said the CIA man. His visitors badge read 'Shinhachi, James'. The young man was dressed in a black suit with a white shirt underneath, black tie, black pants, and black shoes that were designed to make no noise. He was wearing a grey fedora hat that matched a trench coat he was removing. He looked timid… even meek. He avoided any but the briefest eye contact.

"M-madam President," he said quietly with a stutter, almost awkwardly.

"Don't mind the Gunny here," said her Intelligence Chief. "He's real shy around people. Get him started on business and he'll be fine."

He left the room.

'Gunny,' thought the President. "So you were a Marine?"

"Technically, I'm still," he said meeting her eyes briefly. He stood with his body facing her by his head was tilted down and to the side. His eyes were pointed down but would zoom to meet hers for a second or two when she spoke.

"What division?"

"… F-f-force Recon," he said hesitantly, denoting the special ops branch of the United States Marine Corps. United States Marine Corps Force Reconnaissance were a couple of companies attached to Marine Expeditionary Groups advance in front of the main group and provide intelligence or fight insurgents. They were some of the deadliest people in the military and some said they were amongst the craziest. Their motto was 'Celer, Silens, Mortalis' Latin for 'Swift, Silent, Deadly'.

'Well, he is definitely silent,' thought the US President.

"Which division were you attached to?" she asked.

"… y-you don't need-d to know… or, rather y-you don't want t-to," he said.

"Ah," she said understandably. 'Black ops.' "So on to business."

He looked up at that one statement and looked her full in the eyes for a good 10 seconds. "Y-yes, ma'am."

He pulled out a file from his bag, also black.

"Were the Mexican Government cooperative?" she asked.

"Very," he said with something that sounded like confidence. Without the stutter or the meekness he spoke in a monotone devoid of emotion, but something in his eyes hinted at something darker and more sinister that was at odds with something that was… human. This was not a simple man at all and he didn't look 25.

"The Federal Government have a strong invested interest with us, the United States of America," said James Daisuke Shinhachi. He was 22-year-old. He was officially a Master Gunnery Sergeant in the USMC, but was working for various intelligence agencies. His paychecks officially came from the Marine Corps, but the money was really coming from the National Security Agency (NSA), Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), Marine Corps Intelligence Activity (MCIA), and the Office of Naval Intelligence (ONI). He'd joined the Marines about the same time his cousin had joined the Army. Jamie was sent to Afghanistan near the Pakistan border where he and a small squad hunted the insurgency. Jamie was also sent into towns and villages by himself to locate and assassinate members of the Taliban. His career had taken him to Bosnia, Croatia, Serbia, Kosovo, Albania, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Armenia, China, Russia, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Vietnam, Laos, India, Pakistan, Colombia, Panama, Nicaragua, Venezuela, and many more nations.

He'd spent most of his time in Chechnya, the Balkans, Eastern Europe, and East Asia. For the past four years he'd surrounded by violent radicals and he knew very well how they thought and how to deal with them… or eliminate them. Jamie however lacked the confidence to command. He merely carried out missions or provided advice to his superiors.

"So President Godoy made good on his promises?" asked President Crane. Jorge Antonio Godoy was the current President of the United Mexican States. He was a man with big dreams for his nation, but was plagued by lack of resources. "So, the op?"

"Nothing comes back to this nation," he said simply. "At worst the Mexican government will be blamed. I've made sure that little will go back to him. No loose ends, ma'am."

He pulled out a file and dumped several passports and driver's licenses on her desk. She noted that there was blood on a few of them. Most of the licenses were Mexican but a few were for California, two for Texas, and one for Panama. The passports were more varied.

"How many are fake?"

"The licenses are real except for one of the Texas licenses. Almost all of the passports are fake, but are proof of a mission completed," said Jamie. He did not add that she had ordered it. "These are most of heads of the Nieto Cartel and their vital lieutenants and captains. The rest are turning on each other in a power struggle to fill the void. By now the Policía Federal (Federal Police) special action squads are closing in on them."

"How many drugs will stop coming into the US?" she asked.

"About 10-percent from Mexico, but in the short term no dent and still lots of cocaine and heroin coming from Turkey, Colombia, China, and Afghanistan. In the long run this will give the Mexicans momentum they can ride," he said emotionlessly.

President Crane was disappointed. She had hoped this approach on the rapidly rising cartels in Mexico could be crushed. On the surface she seemed like a liberal president who wanted to avoid confrontation. Actually, Michelle Crane followed after the example of her idol, 34th US President Dwight David Eisenhower. Eisenhower who had commanded Allied forces to victory over Nazi Germany. When he was in office from 1953-1961 he'd poured funding into CIA and Strategic Command. He'd been the man who basically created Mutually Annihilation to keep peace with the Soviet Union and used intelligence to know what the Soviets were doing. He'd tried to lessen tension with his Soviet counterpart General-Secretary Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev by allowing Soviet and American spy planes to monitor each other's missile silos but the paranoid Russian rejected it. Eisenhower acted like a bubble head, but was probably one of the smartest presidents in US history. His 'Hidden Hand' presidency was an example she followed.

He seemed to deflate and was no longer making eye contact. He looked harmless. He looked like someone who had been an outcast in high school and picked on a lot. She looked at her desk and saw the dark brown spots of dried blood on a fake Swiss passport. The US President knew he must of done this but didn't ask.

"I-I, must b-be off. Good e-vening M-madan President-t," he stuttered.

"Good evening, Gunnery Sergeant."

She picked up her phone. She locked away the report Shinhachi had left in a safe on top of a file on CIA operations in Iran. Briefly President Crane pulled out the file on the situation in Kosovo. By now the capital was under siege. The American Embassy was abandoned and the single battalion stationed in the Balkans had withdrawn to Albania.

She picked up a red phone labeled 'Pentagon'.

"General?" she said the moment someone picked up.

"Yes, ma'am," answered General Peter Pace, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

"You are authorized to prepared to consolidate active duty units."

"Yes, ma'am. I'll have the 101st Airborne and the 1st Infantry to standby."

Meanwhile, Jamie Shinhachi stepped out of a government car in front of a condo in Alexandria, Virginia, right across the river from Washington. He went into the elevator and exited on the 12 floor. He opened the door to his parent's condo. Naturally no one was here. His father was in London on business with the Treasury Department and his mother was in Brussels for the State Department. He younger sister could have been anywhere.

He sat down in front of a widescreen TV and turned it on. Jamie watched NCIS, a favorite show of his. He liked Mark Harmon's character, ex-marine Leroy Jethro Gibbs. His character had been a sniper like Jamie, but the personalities couldn't have been more different.

Vaguely he wondered where Celia, his younger sister, was. He shrugged it off. She was 19 and in George Washington University. She was probably out with her friends.

He had until 0700 hours to report to Suitland, Maryland, where the MCIA had a major office with the ONI. The other main office for the MCIA was in Quantico, Virginia home to the Marine Corps Officer Academy. Jamie had worked for the MCIA based out of Washington for four years and was up for reassignment. Someone had requested his transfer. Jamie didn't know where he was going for another six and a half hours.


1900 Hours (UTC +9); March 25th, 2012; Natsuyami Inn, Kyoto; Kyoto Prefecture, Federation of Japan

United States Eastern Standard Time (UTC -5): 0800 Hours; March 25th, 2012

Kenji was coming close to total exhaustion. He given a brief somewhat clumsy speech and then sat down. He was sitting outside for a break from it all.

Yakumo was inside. She was a little overwhelmed by the crowd. She wondered where her boyfriend had gotten to.

"He's outside on the rear deck, ground floor," said Yakumo former sempai, Akira.

"Ah… domo, Takino-sempai," said Yakumo. She would never get use to Akira's ability to seemingly read people's minds.

Unsurprisingly, Akira was correct. Kenji was there with his back to her staring at the moon.

Kenji was lost in thought. The moon reminded him of Yakumo… or maybe it was because by pure coincidence there were eight clouds drifting across the sky and illuminated by the moon.

"Ano…"

Kenji knew that voice and the nervous hesitation that came with it.

"Konban Yakumo," he said looking at her. Was this a sign? Kenji wasn't sure if he believed in fate, but this may be his only chance. "Yakumo… you remember when first met?"

Kenji kicked himself. 'Was there a more cliché line I could use?'

"Hai. You came to fix the air conditioning and helped my cat," she said simply. He had been different from any other man. He was just simply not interested in her and paradoxically that had what first triggered her attraction to him.

"Ee," he said. 'Where am I going with this?' "We've been quite a team for past few years. And… um…"

Yakumo sat next to him and looked at him politely.

He reached inside his haori. A cloud drifted in front of the moon and in the sudden lack of light Yakumo couldn't see. Before her eyes adjusted the cloud had past and the moon was shining down on them again. But this time something in Kenji's had was reflect the light back.

"I would like us to stay a team… forever," he added.

Yakumo's mouth was hanging open slightly. She had expected this but not so soon.

"Will you marry me?" he asked almost pleadingly.

She was shaking a little now and tears were appearing in her eyes. Her smile was bright and wide. She couldn't speak, but nodded. She raised her hand and extended her ring finger. He slowly he placed the ring on her finger and gently he slid it as far as it would go.


Sorry it took so long to write this chapter but I had a busy summer and now I'm back at school. I'll write when I can and post as soon as possible but please be patient.

Respectfully

J. H. Kamiya

Appendix

1. Captain First Class is a rank in the Yugoslav People's Army above Captain and below Major. I'm not really sure it's specific function in the JNA, but I guess it is similar to company or battalion officer in most militaries.

2. Lieutenant Colonel-General is a rank unique to the JNA and still used in the Croatian Army. It is the equivalent of a Lieutenant General in the Red Army, which is roughly equal to a NATO Lieutenant General. I believe that it is a corps commander.

3. Remember that Japanese is largely a contextual language where the sentences don't always have subjects. Do not take my translations as literal because in different context they may have very different meanings. Also the translations aren't literal because they won't make as much sense. Fansubbers do the same thing.

4. NHK (Nippon Hōsō Kyōkai; Japan Broadcasting Corporation) is a major media company in Japan. It is similar to the British Broadcasting Company (BBC) in that it covers all areas of media including print, radio, and TV. This include newspapers, news broadcasts, anime, TV dramas, game shows, sitcoms, magazines, documentaries, educational shows, sports, children's programs, cooking shows, exercise shows, weather reports, government emergency warnings, etc. They own two terrestrial TV services, three satellite TV services, and three radio networks. There is an NHK World for international broadcasts and are available in English. You can go to their English site for broadcasts and clips.

5. In case you forgot, the name Yakumo comprises of the Kanji characters 'Ya' (Eight) and 'Kumo' (Cloud).

6. Panzerjager mean tank hunter. The Germans refer to their tank destroyers as panzejager or a jagdpanzer (hunting tank).

7. Tommy is a nickname for the British that the Germans use. Sometimes used by the Americans, but most Americans call them Brits, or limeys.

8. Zeiss is a real company in Germany that made scopes and binoculars for the Wehrmacht during World War II. They still make optical equipment for the Bundeswehr today and non-military purposes. For instance my digital camera uses a Zeiss lens.

9. The Pistolet-Pulemyot Shpagina 1941, or PPSh-41, was standard issue sub-machine gun to the Red Army during World War II. It fires 7.62x25 mm rounds from either a 35-round box magazine (similar to a banana clip used on assault rifles) or a 71-round drum magazine. It was a cheap weapon and over 6 million were made by the Spring 1945 when the war ended. Literally enough to equip entire regiments (which did happen in cases) with this gun alone. In rare cases entire divisions only had the Pah-Pah-Sha, another nickname used by Westerns. It was based off a Finnish gun, the M31 Suomi. Red Army soldiers would usually carry one or two drum mags and then a bunch of box clips since the drums were too bulky to carry in mass. The Russian nickname was the Shpagin after its designer Georgi Semyonovich Shpagin.

10. This is traditional when visiting a Shinto shrine, but do not drink with the ladle, do not swallow the water, and pleased DO NOT spit the water back into the basin. You are supposed to spit it out, but not back into the basin where people will wash their mouths out too.

11. In the really old days of Japan a family name would have 'no' which is the Japanese partical of possession like of or 's.

12. In case you don't remember Hiromi was a character briefly appears in chapter 26 of the previous story when the member of 5th squad are making calls home.