Red String: His Story

by wingkia

At last, my run at Akagi and her Commander, this is a story that is told from two viewpoints, covering the same material. It is mean to be read with Red String: Her Story to see Akagi's point of view.

3. Chapter 3

Part Three; His Story - Dreams or memories?

I hear the engines of fighter bombers overhead as I duck into a building, looking around I see the rest of my squad. We all nod in unison, our target must be close if it's controlling these planes, it also likely knows we're here too. I grab the drag bag off the back of one of the guys and start to take out our AMR, I marvel at the thing; full-sized 20mm cannon that is using shells designed to puncture the hides of kansen and blow up inside of them.

As I get the rifle set up and dialed in, I start searching from cover for our target, using the onboard HUD in my helmet to bring up a picture of the target, fox format with brown hair and red eyes. On the display, I can see my squad spreading out moving towards the target. Switching to thermals I spot fox ears behind a wall. I take in a slow breath, letting it out slowly as I start to slowly press the trigger. I feel the hellish recoil from the gun, I'm thankful for the gene-editing that had been done to me, knowing that I'm only going to have a bruise there in the morning.

The round is going downrange, I hit the wall, the round exploding on the other side of it, but now the fox was out in the open. Before I can line up a second shot I hear a whistling noise, followed up by heat and a concussive force that knocks me out.

XXXX

I sit bolt upright in my bed, looking around, my chest is heaving in and out, I'm sweating. I remember that mission; it was the one that left me with the scars on my body. My brow knits together as I try to recall the dream, forcing my mind to remember the target for that mission. The image that forms in my mind, I'm not sure if I can trust it because I see Akagi. I wonder if I'm seeing her in that spot because she was my target that night or if it is due to her being in my orbit lately.

With no answer, I lean back in my bed, before I roll to my side and check my phone to see that it's the middle of the night. Running both hands down my face I kick the sheets off and get into my PT kit, a run should help me clear my head.

XXXX

I ran around most of the base and came to a stop on the north side beach, bending at my hips to catch my breath. After a moment I pull my shirt up and over my head to dip it in the seawater and wipe my face with the warm yet cool water. After I wipe it while I squat beside the water I feel something cool touch my back. Out of instinct I spin and grab whatever it is, pulling with the turn as I bring up my elbow and begin to strike. I bring it to a stop before I connect when I can see that it's one of these kansen that is under my care. Her lips press together as she says to me in that knowing tone, "Some habits die hard, do they not, Major White?"

I let go of her as I try to recall the name, her fox-like ears flatten off to the side for a moment as she reminds me, "Amagi." I look down to her hands and see a water bottle in one hand as she adds, "I knew you'd be out here tonight, I brought you some water."

I close my eyes for a moment before I take the water and say to her, "Thanks."

As I drink down some water she asks me, "What has you up at this hour, if you don't mind me asking?"

"I couldn't sleep." I say to her as I bring down the bottle.

Her head tilts to the side and her eyes wander down my frame, locking onto the scars as she asks, "Did I cause those, that night?"

I shake my head, sipping more water as I say to her, "No, from you I got a concussion, broken ribs, and a bruised ego."

She laughs, I guess she figured out part of what I said was a joke. She folds her arms behind her and turns to the water and asks, "Then why couldn't you sleep?"

I shrug, if anything she is the one I can be honest with, in this place, she knows the things I did. After a moment I sit on the sand, drawing up my knees as I say to her while I gesture to the scars on me, "I was dreaming or remembering the night I got these."

Amagi sits beside me, resting on her knees with her legs folded under her as she asks, "I am sure there is a story there, how did they happen?"

I sip more water as I look out at the ocean and admit, "I was on an operation in Sanctuary, we were closing in on our target and I was on the AMR that mission." I pause to drink more water, "I had the target in my sights, but my shot went wide, causing them to sprint in the open, a moment later the building I was in came down on me. I woke up on base a week later with these."

I hear it in her voice, the touch of panic as she asks, "You operated in Sanctuary?"

I nod as I say to her, "Yeah, we bagged a few targets there, but it was always hard getting in or out of that place."

I look to my right and see her brush her hair for a moment before asking, "Do you know who your target was that night?"

I shrug as I say, "That's the problem: I don't have a great memory of it. And because Akagi has been in my orbit lately, I don't know if I really remember my target or if my brain is just filling in the target with who I know."

Amagi is quiet for a few moments before she says, "I can see why you're questioning your own mind right now if you are filling in the gaps with known faces and are not sure."

I shake my head as I say to her, "Rather if it is true, I need to know so that I can be ready to make amends if it ever comes to light."

Amagi looks down at her hands as she turns them palm up before she said to me, "Akagi is curious about you, Major." She paused to look over at me as she said pointedly, "I don't want to see her hurt."

I finish the water before handing her the bottle back as I say, "As I said before, that was the past. I'm willing to be professional here."

She gives me this sideways look and sighs before standing up and starting to walk away as she says over her shoulder, "I understand that, but does Akagi?"

My head tilts sideways as I watch her tails and I yell over, "I got a question for you!" She stops and turns slightly to look at me, her head off to the side as I follow it up with, "Are your tails and ears sensitive too?"

Even in the moon and starlight, I could tell she went bright red before she coughed and asked, "H… How do you know about that?"

I get off the sand and start to jog past her as I say, "Akagi told me that hers are."

XXXX

After a quick shower and an even quicker breakfast, I head into the office and see Akagi already sitting at her desk. As soon as I enter the office she bows her head and greets me in her own language, "Ohayōgozaimasu, Shikikan-sama."

I give her a quick nod as I respond and hurry into my office, "Good morning."

Once I'm in my office I toss my bag into a chair by the couch, hang my jacket and beret by the door, and flop onto my back on the couch. My brow still furrowed as I try to figure out something that Amagi said to me in the middle of the night as I say out loud, "Why in the nine hells would Akagi be curious about me, enough so that Amagi is worried about her getting hurt?"

After a few moments, I sit up and grab my laptop and start it up on the coffee table. Once it's up and running, I head to special operations support services to access my mission files. I need to know what happened that night. When I check my files for it, I don't see a lot of information, figures really. I mean I was knocked out for most of it. In the AAR, I see a link to my buddy's report, seeing his name reminds me that I'm the last of my unit. With a sigh, I click on it and I get to watch the video of the building coming down on me. I hear the sound of that fighter bomber, the whistling sound of the bomb, then the detonation, the fire, and the building falling down. I watch as he looks towards the plane, it doesn't look like a normal Sakura Empire plane; it looks like it's made of red energy. Then for a split second, I see it, the tips of six foxtails and a red energy flight deck rigging, sprinting around a corner. I stop the playback and sit back against the couch. I know this video is extremely classified and I can't show it to Amagi to see if she knows who it might be.

As I sit there, looking at the paused image, my mind starts to twist a way I could talk to Amagi about this, I don't have to show her the whole video, just this one frame, there isn't anything she could learn about my unit from it. It's a risk and if this ever came to light, it'd be my hide, but for peace of mind, I think it's worth the risk. Getting off the couch I open up my door and stick my head out, and I can see Akagi biting the end of her right thumb as she is looking hard at the computer screen. I clear my throat, getting her attention, once she's looking at me I tell her, "Could you locate Amagi and have her come up here? I want to discuss something with her."

Her head tilts to the side and she offers, "Akagi could help you to Shikikan-sama."

I shake my head as I say to her, "Not with this task."

She bows her head as she says with a slightly defeated tone, "Of course Shikikan-sama."

XXXX

It didn't take that long before Amagi was shown into my office by Akagi, as the door closes behind her, I gesture to the couch as I say to her, "I want you to look at an image."

Her head tilts to the side as she starts to ask, "Alright, but why did you need me to come up here-" her words stop as she sits on my couch and see a the picture I drew of the rigging of the target from that night, it was almost like her breath caught in her throat.

I rub the back of my head as I go and sit on the couch beside her and say, "The report gave me a name, but I just want to confirm if you know who it is."

She looks at the image, going pale as she says, "I do."

I nod as I confirm, "Whoever this is, they are the one that launched the airstrike that brought the building down on my head and nearly killed me."

Amagi leans back against the couch and looks at me for a moment, she almost looks sad before she says, "I understand."

"Well?" I ask her as I place my hand on the pciture.

"I am not sure if you'd really want to know." She says with a sad tone in her voice.

I pinch the bridge of my nose and sigh as I say, "That was the whole reason why I called you up here."

"I understand that," she pauses and looks down at her lap before saying to me, "but sometimes we are not meant to know the answers."

"Amagi, I need to know." I say a bit more pointedly.

She sighs and looks away before saying, "It was-"

I didn't get my answer as Akagi walked into the room with three lunch trays.

Lunch passed for me without really noticing or paying attention to either of the kansen that sat in my office, truth is I didn't even eat. My mind was too busy bound up in wondering what Amagi knew. While they enjoyed their food, I stood at my window, looking out over the port, sipping my cold coffee.

XXXX

Much later in the day, I was behind my desk, a paper on it as I sketched out that red flight deck from what I could see in the image. I started tapping the paper with my pen as I try to rack my brain for more when nothing comes I crumple up the paper and toss it across the room. Before I can get up and get it, Akagi opens my door, bows to me as she says, "It is eighteen hundred Shikikan-sama, I am going to turn in for the day."

I look up at the clock and wonder where the day went before I say to her, "Sure, that's fine."

I see her kneel to pick up the paper I just tossed as she says, "I'll dispose of this for you, Shikikan-sama."

"Thanks," I say to her as I think about that note she left for me last week. I look off to the side and say to her, "Lucas."

Her ears twitch and perk up a little as her red eyes move up to look at mine. Her head twists to the side a little as she asks, "I'm sorry Shikikan-sama, I don't understand."

I push myself out from behind my desk and walk over to put on my jacket and beret after grabbing my laptop I fill her in, "That's my name, you asked about it last week."

She brushes her hair on her right side as she tries to avoid eye contact with me before she says, "Thank you for sharing that with me, Shikikan-sama."

Once I have my beret on I ask her, "So, I've been here for about two weeks now, is there anything to do here?"

Akagi shrugs a little as she stands before she tells me, "Aside from the onsen? Not that I've really explored."

It takes me a moment to remember what that word means before I ask, "Do they have spate sections?"

When she shakes her head from side to side, I feel my insides drop. On one hand, it makes total sense, most of the base population is female, so why make special space just for a male. On the other, well, I'm male, so you know biology does biology things. I hang my head and sigh before I say, "Thanks, have a good evening then."

XXXX

XXXX

Not long after I got home, I saw that I had a message on my phone with its force juustagram account; it seemed to be a direct message from Akagi. My head was tilted to the side as I read the message out loud, "There is a beach party tomorrow to celebrate the anniversary of the end of the war, would you like to attend it with me?"

I put my phone down and look out the window at the dark clouds on the horizon. Running a hand over my head I sigh as I think about the fact that Akagi has been in my orbit and I'm starting to find that I'm feeling attracted to her. To me, this is highly concerning, even more so if she was the one in that video. I turn slightly around and look back at my phone as I remember her looking rather down today. With another sight, I pick up my phone and respond to her, "Sure, what time and where?"

I was surprised how fast I got a response from her, telling me the north beach around noon, but perhaps the most puzzling part was a winking smiley face at the end. I tilt my head to the side again and I ask myself, "Did I just agree to a date?"

I knew no answer would come tonight, but now I need to see if I had anything that could pass for swim kit.

XXXX

XXXX

Just before noon the next day I had tossed on my PT kit, it was as close as I could get to swimwear, but most importantly I could use my shirt to hide my scars. As I got close, I could hear laughter, squeals of joy, and just general enjoyment. Then the smell hit my nose, grilling meat, my gut growled in response. I hurried along to the beach, when I crest the hill, my eyes are almost blinded by the color, that if I didn't know what they all were, I would think it was a girl's only beach party. I search the various groups that are playing volleyball, playing with water guns, cooking, or just lying in the sun. When my attention landed on the groups laying in the sun, I spotted a mass of fox format kansen, two brown, one white, and one grey. The grey one seemed to have an art easel and pallet with her as she worked on a painting of the horizon.

On my approach to the mass of fox format kansen, I can see the ears on all of them are relaxed and seem to be unaware of my approach. That was when it hit me, I didn't need to be so stealthy in my approach to them, but I couldn't stop what had become the way I walk. I was almost at them when I see the ears on all of them perk up and twist in my direction. One of the brown ones in rolls onto her side and I can see that she is in a red and black bikini; I'll admit it really fits her well. After a second or two taking in the sight, I moved my eyes to hers and see red, this tells me that I'm taking in Akagi. She smiles at me before getting off of her towel and brushing some errant hair with one hand as she asks me, "This is a new bikini, do you like it Shikikan-sama?"

I'd been under pressure many times before, even put my life on the line many times, but in this instant I knew was likely the most dangerous situation I'd ever been in. Doubly so since I know I'm starting to see Akagi in a different light. I lift a hand and rub the back of my head as I say to her, "It looks good on you."

She smiles at me, taking my other hand in hers as she leads me towards the water, saying, "Be sure that you stay the whole day, Shikikan-sama, Kaga, and I are going to be putting on a special show tonight with our planes."

Her hand felt so warm and soft, but I felt a chill run down my spine, was she a carrier format? She looks over her shoulder at me with a smile on her lips as she offers, "Shikikan-sama, perhaps we should put some sunscreen on you first, I would hate for you to burn."

I sigh inwardly, that is going to need me to take off my shirt. With a nod I let her pull me over to the other fox formats and I pull up my shirt, leaning forward to allow Akagi to put sunscreen on my back. As I sat there, the white one perked her head up, as she said, "It looks like you've been through a lot, Shikikan."

I sigh and shiver a little as Akagi's hands start to glide over my back before I say to her, "I have."

XXXX

Later that evening, I sat with Amagi and after I learned Tosa's name, the three of us made sure we were in a good spot as Akagi and I learned Kaga went down to the water, as they summoned their rigging, I felt my chest get tight as I saw that red energy flight deck on Akagi's side. I knew that flight deck from the image taken by my buddy on that mission. I do my best to breathe through this, I had tried to kill Akagi that night and she had almost killed me that night. Just as the two of them started their airshow, I stood up and started to walk away, I needed to getaway.

Once I had gotten up to the tree line, I bent at my hips, resting my rear against a tree, breathing, trying to push past this information. I don't know how long I was like that, but I felt a warm hand on my shoulder, I looked towards it to see red eyes looking at me, they looked worried, then the voice came, "Shikikan-sama, are you okay?"

I shake my head as I say to her, "I think I got too much sun, I'm going to turn in for the night."

Akagi nods and lets me go as she says, "I will see you Monday then, Shikikan-sama."

I put on my best smile as I nod and hurry home.

XXXX

XXXX

A/N: And there we go, Lucas White, now knows that he both tried to kill an was nearly killed by Akagi in this past, the question is, how is this going to unfold from Akagi's side of things?