Arc Ten The Excavation
Chapter Twenty Nine Different Priorities
Kallen drove up the hill while ignoring the frequent complaints from the viceroy. She seemed to enjoy distracting her or did it on purpose to increase the chances of a rescue attempt.
Kallen was betting on the latter, because the princess increased her volume whenever someone took too long to report back.
Though she did have something to complain about, Munakata wasn't exactly gentle with her cockpit. Cornelia had been jostled continuously and Kallen wouldn't be surprised if they needed a doctor to check for a concussion.
But petty concerns like that weren't even worth contemplating about, instead she focused her thoughts to why Zero hadn't caught up yet.
Was he grabbing some intelligence from the JLF or was he escaping through another route? Perhaps he wanted to link up with the JLF in the east or did he want to negotiate a merger with them now that they had proven their worth?
She didn't want to join the JLF because they were too lazy and complacent. But perhaps Zero could convince the blowhards to join the Black Knights instead.
The infusion of new blood would be nice, it would give her the chance to build her own faction before the old guard corrupted the new ones.
She was just about to call Q2 when she heard it.
BOOM!
She barely registered it at first, it was just another explosion after so many. She had grown almost deaf to the sound. She didn't turn her head towards the sound. She just glanced down at her tactical display to see if the JLF had done something.
What she saw though was enough to grab her attention. Scratch that, it was enough to make her world come crashing down.
She stared at the screen that showed a 3D rendering of a mountain collapsing and taking dozens of knightmares with it. But the spread of the red flood on her screen didn't interest her.
ZERO!
She frantically turned her frame around and raced back from whence she came. She ignored calls over her radio.
They were trying to get her to come back, to stop her from saving Zero.
Thus they were inconsequential. She could deal with them later, but right now she needed to act before it was too late.
She reached the opening of the tunnel and charged in at full speed. The darkness of the tunnel overtook her and she turned on her external lights to see anything. She called out to Zero, hoping the echo would travel down the tunnel to wherever he was.
She however realized it was a foolish hope when she collided with debris strewn across the corridor floor. She didn't manage to dodge it and tripped. She fell and face planted hard enough to actually lose her knightmare's head. But she didn't care, it was ornamental anyways.
She did care that the rocks completely blocked her path up ahead. She ignored her bruises and crawled towards them. She tried shifting them one by one and her knightmare's strength made it easy enough. But she saw dust falling from the ceiling.
She immediately worried that she was destabilizing things further and a second collapse was bound to happen if she continued. She didn't care though, she kept going, she had to save Zero. She absentmindedly noticed someone was behind her and was yelling at her through his external speakers. But she ignored him.
She regretted it when he shot her knigthmare to pieces. She immediately feared some Britannian bastard had gotten the drop on her.
But her eyes widened even more when she saw Yoshida standing there with his assault rifle raised. She wanted to scream in outrage and rip him limb from limb!
However her knightmare couldn't move anymore and was a hair's width away from auto ejecting.
"What are you doing Yoshida!" She demanded.
"Saving your sorry ass that's what." Yoshida answered immediately "Think would you, that collapse killed Zero and there's nothing we can do for him now."
Kallen could only stare at the easy betrayal of the Black Knights. She had accepted that they would abandon her. But she believed they would go back for Zero.
After all he had created the Black Knights, lead it and was the sole reason for its success. There wouldn't even be a point to remaining a member, if he wasn't leading it.
Yoshida continued explaining despite her disbelief "That bitch Q2 is blabbing about a plan that might retrieve his corpse. But we're not going to waste our time with that. Luckily however, The JLF contacted us too, and they offered to let us join up and join their elite ranks, so things work out in the end."
Kallen felt like killing Yoshida and anyone who would agree with him. But she needed answers "What did Q2 say?"
Yoshida scoffed "Some stupid plan to infiltrate the Britannian camp during the rescue effort. She apparently put out a unencrypted radio message that claimed Cornelia was buried down here as well. With their precious princess buried here they'll ignore us and excavate this entire mountain trying to find her."
Her own etiquette training crammed down her throat by her step-mother confirmed this instinctively.
"She proposed using the confusion by passing herself off as a Britannian civilian contracted to help dig her out. "
Kallen's eyes widened and desperately grabbed the lifeline that was thrown to her. Zero was alive and was just biding his time until she found him. And she was going to do so with Q2's plan.
Yes his queens were going to rescue the king.
Kaguya pov
Kaguya was furious, if she could bodily rip general Katase into tiny little pieces than she would do so. Her petite little figure sadly lacked the strength to do it. But using surgical instruments sounded like a decent alternative. Even if it took the better part of a week to slice him into said pieces.
"Kirihara I think you're underestimating the value of Zero" She countered angrily.
"I know you had a lot of faith in this newcomer Kaguya and I admit he was showing a lot of potential. But the fact remains that he is dead and there is nothing we can do about that. We need to play the hands we are dealt and if that means continuing to sponsor the JLF then so be it." he replied with a faint hint of exasperation and the air of a parent who was losing his patience with a misbehaving child.
That struck a nerve but she valiantly kept calm. "He took out a army of over two hundred knightmares with barely a platoon! If he had a real army at his command. He could have liberated our country!" Kaguya railed at him. Okay maybe she failed at keeping calm. She quickly schooled her features again after her little outburst that took some pressure of the need to hit her lifelong mentor.
Kirihara remained unfazed and shushed her "He used half a dozen tricks to do so though and they won't work another time. How can you be so sure he wasn't a one trick pony?"
Kaguya felt annoyed that she had to abide social etiquette while discussing events that would shape her country's future. She wanted to stand up and start pacing but they were still confined to seiza. Sometimes she herself didn't see the point in stubbornly keeping all their traditions. Independence and freedom from practical slavery were much higher on her list. A list she'd never accomplish without her double edged sword.
"This wasn't his first operation and you know it. I told you Zero is Lelouch and you haven't forgotten his work from when he was a mere child, have you? If anything he was merely preparing like he did before." She chopped her hand upwards in frustration "And now after his death," She laced that word with enough scorn that Kirihara averted his eyes for a moment."Will we see his full plan unfold, again?"She finished in a mocking tone
Kirihara frowned at that thought "I'll admit that boy's ability to plan ahead was remarkable, but he's still dead" He paused for a second and then added "For real this time. "
Kaguya was about to complain some more when he continued "I would have wholeheartedly supported him as well lady Sumeragi. I measured that boy's worth and I know he was sincere in trying to bring down Britannia and had the skill to pull it off eventually."
"Not eventually, he was ready right now! His entire organization was built to run the country after the Britannians retreated. He hardly even needed our help. He could have done it by himself and we let the bloody JLF kill him and now pat them on the back by giving them the Guren mark two!"
Kirihara shrugged "You may not like them personally Kaguya but they are still the best hope for Japan. You need to keep personal feelings out of business decisions" He said with practiced resigned acceptance. he wasn't happy but he'd dealt with enough set backs in his long life to not get upset over minor ones.
Kaguya seethed at her mentor. It wasn't a minor one, it was the one that historians would speculate about as the one chance her nation had. She wiped off all traces of anger of her face though and adopted a politely smiling mask. "I apologize I have allowed my feelings to cloud my judgement."
But just before Kirahara was about to forgive her and say something patronizing about how she was still young and needed to learn. She added " I foolishly let myself be pressured into continuing my support for the JLF when I knew they were a bad investment. From now on I will cut off all support for them and focus on more worthwhile avenues to pursue a independent Japan."
With that said she got up and left without glancing back. She knew she was being rude but she didn't care. She could hear Kirahara chuckling behind her, no doubt thinking it some youthful exuberance or something. But she was dead serious, Lelouch had been the best or even only chance for Japan to be freed. And if he somehow lived than he was certainly blaming the JLF for his injuries, and possibly the Japanese by extension.
She knew Lelouch despised racism but things like that seep in undetected and she didn't doubt he was actually a racist. He was just a racist against Britannian nobles.
She shuddered at the thought of Japan joining that list. No, she couldn't allow that to happen. So if he lived, she had to charm his pants off to save her country.
Blood of the Samurai
Suzaku
'Where did it go?' wondered suzaku as he checked underneath the table again. He had to find It before his superior came to check on him.
If his superior found out he lost a vital piece during disassembly making the gun practically worthless then he was going to get kicked of the gun cleaning detail.
Suzaku groaned as he eyeballed the room again, not understanding where it had gone. The room itself was pretty bare to prevent situations like this from happening in the first place.
He idly fingered the piece of paper with all the serial numbers he had gathered for the day in his pocket while scratching his head in confusion. That little slip of paper would ease his worries about having to pay his electric and gas bill for another three months, in the hands of his other superior
The police would run them down and arrest whomever sold them in the first place, stopping the violence at its source.
His friend/source Tanaka walked into the room "Hey Suzaku, a bunch of the guys are going out tonight wanna join?"
Suzaku wanted to say yes, not just because he genuinely liked hanging out with Tanaka but also because he could be really loose lipped after ten beers.
However he also had that list of serial numbers burning a hole in his pocket. He needed to get that somewhere safe first.
"Yeah I'd love to, but I need to go home first and grab some extra money or I'd just be drinking on your tab all night."
Tanaka laughed "No worries mate, tonight we're drinking on the JLF's dime. I guess you haven't heard with you being stuck cleaning guns all day, but yesterday the JLF scored a victory against the britannians."
That piqued Suzaku's interest, if he hadn't heard about it, then it was either too minor to bother with or it was so big it was humiliating.
"What happened did they steal a shipment of knightmares?"
"Nah something far better than that, Tohdoh finally got out of retirement and did another Itsukushima. Though I suppose a new nick name is in order. From the gossip I heard so far he moved mountains and made fire rain down from the skies, pretty apocalyptic stuff. I'm guessing the JLF boys are beefing the story up a bit, but they did defeat over two hundred knightmares and captured Cornelia. So they have a right to."
Suzaku's eyes widened in shock. They couldn't have, could they?
There was no way they could have defeated that many knightmares and even if they did. What was going to be Britannia's response? They certainly weren't going to take the humiliation lying down. His mind immediately thought of the unfair repression methods that were going to be introduced as a result.
Why couldn't people realize terrorism only created more problems than it solved. "I can't believe it!" He choked out.
Tanaka however took it the other way, "Yeah I can barely believe it myself, but that's what tonight is for. They're gonna show some pictures of their victory and princess Cornelia in a prison cell to rally some support and prove those who doubted them wrong."
Suzaku stiffened at that, he suddenly realized a solution to this mess. If he was the one to deliver the critical information that got princess Cornelia rescued. Then it could permanently change how the higher ups looked at numbers. It might even get him promoted.
If he could convince one of the JLF to let him keep a photo he could bring it back to his superiors and have them figure out from the background where she was.
Or alternatively get a JLF member drunk enough that he'll let the location slip unintentionally and mount a rescue himself.
Britannian broadcast
"This is Robert Davies reporting,
We are just five minutes away from the Emperor making a worldwide announcement in response to the heinous acts of eleven terrorists.
For those who have missed it, I'll give a brief overview. One week ago princess Cornelia challenged the so called liberation army of area eleven to a fight. But rather than fighting honorably they used every trick in the book and invented several new ones to deceive our illustrious leader.
They managed to cut her off from her loyal soldiers and overwhelmed her with superior local force. They kidnapped her highness and used her as bait to lure her brave soldiers into a trap inside their very base itself.
They used explosives to collapse the base in on itself to kill our rescuers and then gave out a false broadcast that princess Cornelia was within as well. This deception caused general Darlton to abandon the chase to focus solely on rescuing her highness.
This decision was later proven to be a mistake when the terrorists announced they still had princess Cornelia hostage and demanded the cessation of Japan in return for her release.
Prince Schneizel has already announced his intentions in the media to do whatever it took to rescue princess Cornelia, even if it took another temporary release of area eleven from the fold.
Which prompted his detractors to claim he would ruin the empire itself to preserve his political alliance with princess Cornelia. The very alliance that has allowed him to rule Britannia virtually unopposed.
Now no one can deny off course that the prince has had a strong influence in…hold on...
I just received word that the Emperor is ready to make his address." Davies gathered his notes on the table and prepared to sign off.
The Emperor appeared on the screen behind a lectern with a Britannian flag as a backdrop.
"All men are not created equal, some are born swifter of foot, some with greater beauty, some are born into poverty and others are born sick and feeble.
Both in birth and in upbringing, in sheer scope of ability, every human is inherently different.
Yes that is why people discriminate against one another, which is why there is struggle, competition and the unfaltering march of progress.
Inequality, is not wrong, equality is!
What of the EU who made equality a right, rabble politics by a popularity contest.
The Chinese federation with it equal distribution of wealth, a nation of lazy dullards.
But not our beloved Britannia, we fight, we compete, evolution is continuous.
Britannia alone moves forward, advancing steadily into the future.
Even the loss of my daughter Cornelia, demonstrates Britannia's unswerving commitment to progress. We shall fight on, we shall struggle and we shall dominate.
I will not give even a scrap to these weaklings begging at our dinner table. If they want to disobey our rule, then they'll have to show us they have the right to, by force.
The truth Is that everything worth taking, is taken by force because no man would willingly relinquish it, without a fight.
Britannia understands that simple truth and we have become the strongest by living by it rather than twisting things to appease the morality of the weak.
And we shall not mince words now, Britannia shall prove once more it is the strongest, all hail Britannia!"
Tohdoh pov
Temporary JLF base
General Tohdoh's personal quarters
"He certainly is laying it on thick isn't he" commented Urabe at the broadcast.
Tohdoh nodded with tighted clenched lips "With this public proclamation he's made it clear that we can expect nothing in return for his daughter."
"Tch, you'd think the bastard would have at least a soft spot for his most successful general. But instead he creates a 'no negotiating with terrorists' rule specifically to tie Schneizel's hands all under his damnable ideology" said Asahina
Chiba looked out the window at the new recruits running drills "What do you think the general will make of this?"
Tohdoh followed her gaze and noticed Kururugi Suzaku running at the head of the pack. He frowned at his errant disciple, who may have returned to the right path."I'm not sure, the general fully expected this tactic to work. I'll gauge his mood later after he has had time to process the news. But right now we need to consolidate the gains we did achieve with this ploy."
Asahina laughed "Those recruits may have joined thanks to false rumors of your prowess Lt. colonel, but it won't be long before they realize that you weren't even at Narita."
Tohdoh frowned at that but Chiba answered for him "It isn't the Lt. colonel's fault that the general allowed the rumors to persist."
Urabe shrugged "But the general didn't create them either, most of the rank and file didn't even know the Black Knights showed up. As far as they know, the only possible reason they escaped and achieved a decisive victory, had to have been because Tohdoh came back with the Sutherlands from Kyoto. "
Senba nodded "If we say otherwise now, then we'll just call ourselves liars in their eyes and lose the trust of our men."
Tohdoh spoke up "It is regrettable and dishonorable but we must keep up the ruse to prevent morale from slipping. We can expect Britannia to retaliate with a vengeance. If we are undecided and hesitant, then we'll shame the sacrifice made by the Black Knights' leader."
Asahina laughed again at that "Is that what we're calling it, we both know that general Katase double-crossed him after he did the dirty work. We would have been destroyed without him and we repaid him with a dagger in his back."
Chiba retorted "The general saw a good chance to leverage the viceroy against Japan but Zero refused to comply with his orders. In fact he did as he pleased the entire battle."
She shook her hand at him "If he had just coordinated with us from the start then we wouldn't have suffered so many losses in the opening stages to begin with. He knew about the attack or he wouldn't have been here. But he neglected to tell us!"
Senba snorted" So he wasn't exactly a friend, but he wasn't our enemy either. If we could expect every resistance cell in Japan to obey our orders then retaking Japan wouldn't be such a faraway dream.
The only reason why we can instill some obedience, is our prominence in the fight against Britannia. But after Kusakabe's foolishness, our popularity has plummeted to the point that some of our sympathizers informed on us to the Britannians. If word gets out about this, then we are finished with or without Kyoto's continued support."
Tohdoh nodded "I agree, but to wipe away our disgrace we must win once again."
He let that sink in for a moment before he ordered "Urabe I'm placing you in charge of the recruits from the Blood of the Samurai. Senba your job is the Katana of Truth and the Black Knights fall to Chiba while Asahina deals with the ordinary applicants with no prior affiliation."
The four Holy Swords immediately acknowledged their orders loudly but Chiba then spoke up "If I may ask Lt. colonel, why am I placed in charge of the Black Knights?"
"I reviewed the intelligence reports we have on them, and it's clear that their second in command was a woman called Q2 while their ace pilot Q1 was also female. So I expect them to be more accepting of a woman in charge than the other groups."
Chiba grumbled under her breath about misogynistic bastards.
Tohdoh didn't comment on it, he didn't want to get dragged into a long discussion about the place of females in the army. Which may be inevitable with his next comment
"However I also need someone who Q1 can open up to. The Black Knights reported that she and Q2 went on a suicide mission to try to rescue their leader. There hasn't been any word from them since, but if they do show up. I need someone who can understand her and channel her frustration against Britannia and with us."
The fact that Q1 was likely to murder them all in their sleep went unsaid, but he couldn't just ignore her either. She was too skilled to let Britannia eventually kill her, so they had to recruit her somehow.
Chiba chewed on her bottom lip"I doubt some shared interests and traits will endear her enough to join us, at best we can hope she joins another group that won't actively attack us."
Urabe quirked a brow in interest "You think she'll join the britannians just for a chance to kill us?"
Chiba nodded "I spoke to some guy called Sugiyama and he said she looked like a Britannian because she is a half-breed. If she wants to, she can pilot a Sutherland under Britannia's banner in under a year."
Asahina nodded "Yeah, apparently she's some noble who sympathized with us and took up the fight personally. But her comrades have been treating her like shit lately, and the leader she trusted above all else just got killed by us and none of the Black Knights seem to care."
Senba added "Her psych profile said she seemed to be driven by revenge for her brother's death first and foremost. With this betrayal she might now seek revenge on us instead, even if it means abandoning her friends and beliefs. She did it before when she joined the resistance."
Tohdoh took all this in and with the eye towards the future of Japan he said "I'll place a surveillance unit on her. If she shows any signs of defecting I'll sanction a assassination."
The word left a bitter aftertaste in his mouth, but in war one couldn't be picky about their methods.
"Well at least on the bright side you can pilot that experimental knightmare in our next clash with Britannia. I read through the manual and It reads like a science fiction novel, if even half the things in it are true then you'll be wiping the floor with those Glaston knights." said Asahina to change the subject.
Tohdoh frowned "The specs are excellent but its weapons are barbaric and crude. I would have preferred a sword or even a staff with the radiant wave surger attached to the end." though he couldn't deny he felt some excitement at piloting the high spec machine.
Chiba smiled at him encouragingly "You can just ignore it if you want, but the fact remains that you're the best pilot we have. If not you, then who else can pilot that high tech frame?"
Urabe added "For once we have the technological superiority thanks to Kyoto, even if their Sutherlands came late. With the promise of this unit we can turn the tides."
Suzaku
"Put it over there, with the others." said his superior.
Suzaku could barely see where he was pointing but he managed to carry the munitions case where it was supposed to go, or near enough.
Suzaku straightened out and wiped the sweat of his brow. He was in good shape but lugging big heavy crates around all day still tired him out.
"Here " said his superior and then threw him a bottle of water.
Suzaku caught it" Thanks" He drank a large gulp before the thought that it might be poisoned even crossed his mind.
He frowned slightly at the thought that his friends might betray him at any second when they realized he was betraying them.
"So what's in these cases anyways?" He asked to distract himself.
Koyabashi shrugged "I think it was 83 millimeter artillery rounds or something. Either way it's obsolete junk, but we cant discard it because we might still need it. You know every little bit helps."
Suzaku nodded but internally he frowned at the notoriously inaccurate weapon that caused a lot of unnecessary collateral damage.
"Well now that we're done here, you can head on over to captain Urabe. You'll be a bit early but it'll give you a chance to check out the knightmare simulators at your leisure. I've seen enough new recruits so dazzled by all the shiny buttons and displays that they got defeated before they even knew where the gas pedal was."
Suzaku didn't need to worry about that, he had gone through basic training which included knightmare simulations. He had been told beforehand that he couldn't pilot one, but it was still useful to know the full capability of every machine that could kill you on the battlefield.
"Yeah I'll think I'll do that. I don't want to make an ass out of myself in front of my new commander." agreed suzaku
Kobayashi laughed and padded him on the back "Don't worry you'll do fine, if worst comes to worst they'll just stick you in one of the artillery batteries. We need every man on deck to repel Britannia. "
Suzaku nodded and said his farewells as he made his way towards the simulators.
Was that why Kusakabe threatened those hostages?
Because recruitment standards had slackened and he had to appease a anxious and undisciplined army to prevent a revolt. Did general Katase knowingly order it to secure his power base?
No what he knew of the man, was that he held his honor close to his heart or at least the appearance of it. He had heard from the Britannian military that the JLF's version of events was spotty at best and pure propaganda at worst.
The military wasn't very willing to publicize they had lost to a newcomer rather than seasoned veterans. But they were still considering it, to destabilize the JLF at a crucial juncture.
He had half expected to have a sit-down with the man where he could pick his brain about Narita. When he joined up with the rest of the Blood of the Samurai. But so far the man had ignored him and treated him like any other recruit.
He guessed it was to instill some discipline and to crush any notion that he could have his way simply because he was the prime minister's son.
Though the fact that he killed his father and the general knew it, was more likely, though he didn't want to think about it.
Heck, he had opposed his handler's orders, when the Blood of the Samurai was absorbed into the JLF along with other groups after the battle of Narita.
He could be facing a firing squad or a promotion to the ranks of the elite at any second.
Urabe pov
Officers' break room
Urabe walked into the break room to grab some coffee after a annoying session with his recruits. As he walked through the door he spotted Chiba looking over some reports on the couch.
"Hey Chiba, how did your day go?"
Chiba didn't respond immediately but finished her paragraph first "Could have been better, they're split into several factions and the core leadership of the group is missing. It's like we got the dregs, while every skilled member followed Q2 on her suicide mission."
Urabe frowned for a second "So we still haven't tracked down the queens huh?"
He knew kallen Stadtfeldt had also dropped of the map. She hadn't shown up at school or the ghetto or any known associates.
"Yeah, which is undermining my leadership role. I have several loudmouths trying to establish themselves as the new leader of the group. It's like they want to join the JLF, but still want to be treated like Black Knights." Chiba scoffed
"I get nothing but complaints from the little prima donnas, apparently Zero had set up nearly unlimited ammo, money, food and equipment, you name it and he had it. The spoilt little brats expect everything to come falling out of the sky and every time I try to make them see sense, they complain that the JLF is just incompetent." the report crumpled slightly in her hands from squeezing too hard.
"Sheesh that's rough, well at least they have the skills to back it up right?" said Urabe thinking of the seven to one odds they had faced at Narita and came out victorious.
Chiba threw her report on the table in annoyance "I'd wish, they are average at best and barely passable at worst. I can't believe Zero actually commanded this bunch of idiots to victory. The more time I spend with them the more I think the core group was solely responsible and pulled their weight."
Urabe opened his mouth to say something uplifting but nothing came out.
He took a sip of coffee to stall for time, and then it hit him.
"Didn't the Black Knights have a expansive economic network? We at least salvaged that right?" He asked to remind Chiba of the silver lining.
Chiba just glared at him "Nope not even that, the military branch was separate from the civil one and Q1 was in charge of it along with Zero himself."
Urabe frowned "Their ace pilot headed the civil branch, why wasn't she a captain in the military one?"
"She was a captain but also the civil chief. She got promoted based on merit and her early entrance into the organization. But thanks to that, the entire civil branch is loyal to her and Zero. I've tried reaching out to some of them but most just ignore us. They don't want anything to do with the military and like their set up just fine."
"I see what you mean by dregs." commiserated Urabe
Chiba sighed and then said "Well how was your day Urabe?"
Urabe chuckled "It doesn't beat yours but it wasn't great either. I have the prime minister's son in my group so everyone naturally looks to him as a leader. Off course they don't know about him killing his own father and I couldn't tell them that. But I had to do something to knock him from his pedestal, before internal pressure forces us to promote the little bastard."
"So you challenged him to a simulated knightmare fight huh." said Chiba in amusement.
"Wow am I that predictable" said Urabe at which Chiba just gave him a blank look. "Anyways, you're right I did challenge the kid and he wiped the floor with me. Well I did put up a decent fight but he wasn't supposed to scratch me, let alone beat me. So he's now the new hero of the recruits and anything else I do to him will be seen as bullying, because I lost to him."
"So he's untouchable now" summarized Chiba
"Yep I shoot myself in my own foot, every time I try to make him look bad." They'd just develop a us versus them mentality which would be fine if he was just their drill sergeant but he needed to command them eventually so he couldn't have them disrespecting him. And worse the little shit would become the natural leader. Even if they put someone else in charge, the men would still look to him and undermine their actual leader.
"Maybe you can switch with Senba every now and then, and have him put that brat in his place."
Urabe thought about it and the seniority of Senba would command a lot of respect, only Tohdoh would be better.
"Good idea I'll bring it up the next time I see him." said Urabe before he relaxed some more on the couch "Who knew this drill sergeant business was so tough, I'm definitely thanking Tohdoh the next time I see him for straightening me out."
Chiba raised both eyebrows and smirked "Better late than never."
