Until the End
Chapter 5
Training for War
Ranma hoisted his duffel bag to his shoulder and stepped off of the bus that had carried him and twenty other Japanese to Miyakojima Base, Okinawa. Following the directions that were posted on barracks and fences, Ranma found himself walking into a very poorly heated office with a fat Japanese man that looked to be freezing his ass off.
"You the new recruits?" the fat man asked as he glanced up at Ranma and the others that could fit into the small building.
"Yes, we just got in," Ranma said.
The fat man looked annoyed and got to his feet.
"You better add 'sir' to the rest of your replies private!" the fat man bellowed in Ranma's face, so loud that spittle flung from his lips.
Ranma's first thought was to toss the small fat man over the desk and out the door but fought that urge down. He glanced down at the fat man's chest and saw the bar representing the insignia of a second lieutenant.
"Sorry sir," Private Ranma Saotome said and saluted the fat lieutenant. The others followed suit.
The fat lieutenant let Ranma stew for awhile before returning the salute. He reached down to his desk and grabbed a stack of papers and tossed them at Ranma.
Ranma deftly caught them and glanced at the top page.
"They're papers that will let you get your uniforms from the tailor shop once you get your stuff put away in the barracks, just hand one paper out to everybody and once you all get into uniforms, report back here and we'll get your training underway."
"Yes sir," the collective group replied and quickly remembered to salute.
On their way to the barracks that the recruits had been assigned, the worries began to spill out.
"Oh god, I hope we aren't going to be sent off to war."
"Almost every man in my entire community got one of those letters, I'm sure that means something."
"I heard that what were doing has something to do with North Korea thinking about invading America."
And of course, there were the false hopes.
"If every man in your entire city got one of those letters, than I'm sure the JSDF has more than enough troops to do whatever their doing. We'll just have to wait here until they decide to let us go."
Ranma didn't bother speaking to any of the men. And he certainly didn't want to tell any of the men about what Phillip told him the last time he had called.
"The Prime Minister isn't answering the President's calls Ranma, looks like he's damn serious about this. The best thing for now is for you to just head out to Okinawa and report, if things are going to continue down this path, than my guess is you'll be headed into China and then Russia."
"All American civilians have been ordered home by the President, and the ambassador and everyone else in the embassy has been called back to the States for 'consulting'. My guess is that the President doesn't want anyone in the line of fire if we have to invade Japan when this war gets blown out of proportion."
"I'll call every day and check on Akari and Akane. I'm going to try and keep them posted on any type of developments I get concerning Ryoga, and I'm sure that they'll write you a letter containing that information."
"This war is going to happen Ranma, whether we like it or not, and I'm afraid to say that you just might get hurt in it. If anything untoward should happen in Japan, your family and Akane's will be out of there as fast as possible. Akari and Ryoga Jr. will be out as well, even if it means I get in deep shit from everybody back here."
That conversation had been very hard for Ranma, mainly because he had a very hard time keeping himself from crying. His fears about going off to war all by himself were very frightening. Phil may have been the only person that could have understood what Ranma was going through, but Ranma had not spoken a word of his fears to him.
He was very much alone here, but in more ways than one. Because of what happened when he and Ryoga went to China with Phil and the 82nd Heavy Tank Battalion, Ranma knew exactly what it was like to get fired on and to take a life with a weapon. But Ranma knew he wasn't going into an armor unit, he was going into infantry, and he was bound to be put into the front lines.
===============
On the morning of December 23, the U.S. military bases stationed in Japan received a message from the Japanese Prime Minister. Kadena Base, Iwakuni Air Station, Marine Corps bases, Sasebo Naval Base, and Yokota Air Base, and the other, smaller U.S. stations received messages. They read:
Dear American Capitalists:
I, the Prime Minister of Japan, must ask that all American military bases vacate their personnel and return to America. For too long America has dictated to Japan about what they have to do and what rules they must follow. We will now shake the shackles of your oppression and allow ourselves the opportunity to produce our own destiny.
Japan is a land for the honorable, and we must ask that you remove yourselves from our home. We will be moving on to our fate, and I ask that you step aside and allow us to meet that fate without any interference. If you feel that you must attempt to interfere, than you will leave me no choice but to remove you from my country forcefully.
The decision is yours.
===============
"Has that goddamned fool got a hair up his ass!?" the President of the United States bellowed after reading the message that was delivered to him less than five minutes ago.
The President did not speak using obscene words often, and when he did, all conversations stopped.
The Secretary of State, Brian Murray, was the first to speak.
"I believe this is Shizuko's attempt to get the message across Mr. President," Murray said. "He wants America out of Japan and he wants them out yesterday."
"If he thinks he can just intimidate me with words than that jackass has another thing coming," the President snapped.
"Well sir, maybe if we-"
The Secretary of State was interrupted when the President's secretary buzzed through the phone.
"The Japanese Prime Minister is on line one Mr. President."
All eyes in the room turned to the small telephone that sat atop the President's oak desk, and to the light that was lit up signifying that someone was waiting on the other end.
President Winnfield picked up the phone and punched the light and said, "President Winnfield."
*It has been far too long since we last talked George,* the voice of the Japanese Prime Minister said.
Anger overwhelmed the President.
"What the hell are you thinking Shizuko!? You cannot simply break off all ties with us and make the statements that you have!"
The President was about to say something else when he saw his aide signaling him to keep his temper in check. Hoping that it would keep him under control, the President hit a button on the phone so that the conversation could be heard by everyone in the entire room.
*I am sorry you feel that way George,* Prime Minister Shizuko said, sounding contrite.
"I will not order the removal of all American forces from Japan and that is final," the President said his voice firm and cold.
*I didn't want to have to do this George but you have pushed me to my limit. If the American bases are not empty by this time next month, than I will be forced to use weapons of mass destruction.*
A shiver ran down the spines of everyone in the room after the Prime Minister's words passed through the speakers on the phone.
"He is mad," the Secretary of State said so quietly that the others barely heard him.
The President, visibly shaken, turned back to the phone.
"You are very much the fool Shizuko, Japan has no nuclear weapons."
*Ah, sadly for you that is not correct. You have heard what I have said, now remove your troops or have all their deaths on your head.*
The line clicked, and it was obvious the Prime Minister had hung up.
The President raised his head from the phone and looked into the eyes of everyone in the room.
"What do we do?"
===============
Ranma gazed at himself in the mirror. He was dressed in an impeccable uniform. It was stiffly starched, as if it had just come back from the dry cleaners.
While the other men were getting dressed (they were not all in very good physical condition), Ranma walked out of the tailors barrack and took a walk around the compound. A bunch of Privates were doing quick time marches up and down the fields and Ranma was soon absorbed with watching them. They moved in perfect sync, almost as if there were strings tied to everyone's ankles.
Finally he moved off and walked back into the building that had housed the fat lieutenant.
"Private Ranma Saotome, reporting as ordered sir," Ranma said, stopping six inches from the lieutenant's desk and saluting. The fat lieutenant looked at him for a moment before returning the salute.
"Don't you look splendid," the fat lieutenant said, not bothering to hide the sarcasm in his voice. "Since you were the first one done I'm giving you the honor of choosing what your group of soldiers will be doing."
"I beg your pardon sir?" Ranma said, confused.
"What would you like to do first, Private Saotome? Rifle training? Quick-time marching? You get to choose."
"I would have to say rifle training sir," Ranma said, hoping that he had chosen right.
"Things are a little fucked up at the moment so I'm not too sure if there will be enough weapons for the entire group so whatever men are left over just send them back here and I'll see that they keep busy."
"Yes sir," Ranma said.
"Get going Private," the fat lieutenant said.
He was forced to ask directions from a couple of sergeants before he could find the range officer.
A tall lithe second lieutenant was in charge of the firing lines and of training new recruits in the way of cleaning and firing weapons.
Lieutenant Kono was his name and he had very sharp features. On first seeing the man, Ranma instantly thought of his friend, Ishii Inafune.
"You guys the new recruits?" Lieutenant Kono asked when Ranma and the other soldiers approached. A few mumbled replies of 'yes sir' sounded and Kono nodded. "Well, come on inside, it's a little chilly out and we need to get down to business."
He led them into the barrack housing nearby and led them to a large row of benches that would serve as their seats for the next few hours.
"Were a little pressed for time, so it has been passed down from the higher ups that soldiers will need to be trained in firing and operating their firearms, as well as cleaning them. But as for the other stuff, like field training, you're going to have to learn as you go."
Seated next to each soldier was the Famas, an assault rifle already popular throughout the modern world as a good standard weapon for infantrymen. Some of the soldiers were surprised to not see the Japan Type 89, the new standard weapon of the Japanese Defense Agency. Kono explained.
"The 89 was a weapon for a peacetime army, not one about to go up against a real live enemy. The Famas is a good weapon, though I would have much preferred an M16A2 to use."
Seeing that the other soldiers were looking at him oddly, Kono continued.
"You men are being designated as the 106th Infantry Division. The first Japanese soldiers that will join China in entering Siberia. Did you not know that?" Kono asked, slightly startled.
An eerie silence filled the room as the soldiers stared at Kono in shock. Ranma was the first to speak up.
"No, sir, we were not aware that we were the invading force. All that we have been told so far is that we are to be joining the Japanese army against our will."
Lieutenant Kono turned to Ranma and looked angry for a moment. He opened his mouth but closed it and shook his head.
"Moving along, I will now demonstrate how you disassemble your weapon and how you will go about cleaning it."
The afternoon passed quickly, with each soldier learning how to use his weapon. Ranma caught on quickly, and was able to assemble and disassemble his gun faster than any man in the division. Kono allowed Ranma to head out to the firing range and to fire a few rounds.
The weather this year was unseasonably cold, and Ranma found himself trying to keep himself warm.
He explained to the range master what lieutenant Kono told him and Ranma was soon out on the range, loading a magazine into the Famas.
Taking aim in the target that rested almost seventy yards away, Ranma fired. The gun bucked, and the three round burst headed down the field and impacted the target, unfortunately, he had missed the target he was aiming at and had hit the target for the firing position next to him.
"Shit," Ranma cursed and went about adjusting the sights. Thinking them to be exact, Ranma moved back into position. He fired again and this time the shot hit the arm of the target. He quickly finished adjusting the sights and fired the rest of the magazine.
By the time the rest of the division caught up to him, Ranma had already fired seven magazines, rendering his target into an unrecognizable mound of paper and wood.
Lieutenant Kono was quite surprised, and delighted. After setting up the rest of the division with the range master, Kono went about setting up some more targets. He moved Ranma to the end of the firing range and walked almost two hundred yards from him and tied a glass bottle to a string and hung it on a tree branch. It was a windy day, and the bottle swung with the motion of the wind.
At two hundred yards, the bottle was invisible to the naked eye, but, most soldiers would be able to explain that it would not be an impossible shot, even if they could never make the shot themselves.
Taking aim, and allowing his mind to do the work, Ranma fired once. Kono and Ranma ran down the field and saw the bottle. The neck of the bottle had been hit and it had exploded, sending the bottle to the ground.
After seeing this, Kono came to the conclusion that Private Saotome was what is referred to in the military as 'a natural shot'. At two hundred yards, the bottle that Ranma had hit was invisible to the human eye, but Ranma's mind was able to work the problem through. This meant that Ranma was able to compute through his mind the time the bottle would take to swing back and forth with the wind, and also how long the bullet would take getting to the target. Kono himself was not a natural shot, he had to use his sights and get the gun lined up perfectly before he could be sure if he would actually hit the target.
Lieutenant Kono grinned; he might have just found his candidate to be promoted to second lieutenant.
===============
A large problem soon arose for the men assigned the task of assembling a military force, large enough to invade Siberia along with China. Japan, after having a half a century without any military conflicts, and the delegation put before them that disallowed the country to form any kind of invading force; Japan did not have sufficient officers to lead the vast number of men that had been conscripted to fight. Senior officers were readily available, and they were quickly assigned duties. But there were a lot of empty slots for the role of lieutenants and captains.
Before the conscription of the Japanese people, Japan had previously had a military force of only 147,000 personnel in their entire military. This was hardly the right number of soldiers to invade the largest country in the world. Added to the fact that of the 147,000 personnel in the army, at least one third of them were mechanics and clerks, men and women that would not be able to be sent off to war with the intended purpose to fight.
Major General Jiro Ohata did not see this as a very difficult problem to solve. As one of the few men in Japan that actually had combat experience, he knew that men quickly learnt their jobs during war, because if they didn't they would wind up dead. He thus decided to do direct commissions, meaning that the enlisted men that went through basic training and showed a high degree of military intelligence would be promoted to second lieutenant, a rank that would allow them to lead men in battle.
His order was quickly signed by the Prime Minister, who was willing to do anything that would ensure that Japan would not be embarrassed in their hour in the spotlight.
The orders arrived at the bases that had been designated to train the conscripted men, much to the disgust of the regular army officers. Lieutenants needed to have at least some understanding of how to lead men in battle. Just because they could shoot a little straighter and run a little faster did not mean they could simply understand their roles as officers. But they did not complain, as the orders had come down from the highest position in the army.
They then passed the word down to the men that were training the conscripted recruits. If any soldier showed a higher degree of military tactfulness, they were to be sent to see the post commander, where they would be given a short test and if they proved to be what the trainers had said, than they received the promotion to second lieutenant.
The first recruit to be sent to the office of Brigadier General Hashimoto Ryutaro was Private Ranma Saotome. Private Saotome had been sent into General Ryutaro by Lieutenant Kono, the range master that had been assigned the duty of teaching the conscripted recruits how to use their weapons.
When Private Saotome walked into General Ryutaro's office, the general had the moments thought that he looked to be about sixteen years of age.
"I am going to excuse just this one time Private, because I understand that you have not received the proper training in military educate. But when you enter the office of a superior officer you are supposed to stop in front of his desk and salute, and say, 'Lieutenant Saotome, reporting as ordered sir,' and stay that way until the officer returns the salute and tells you to stand at ease," General Ryutaro said softly.
"Sorry sir," Private Saotome said, sincerely embarrassed.
"It is quite all right son, now, before we get to the reason you were asked to come here, may I enquire about your age?"
"I'm twenty-one sir," Private Saotome said, still standing in the room.
"You look like your sixteen," General Ryutaro said, but spoke again before Ranma answered. "Take a seat."
Ranma complied and sat down in the chair facing the desk.
For Ranma, the situation was extremely nerve racking. He was inside the office of a general, and it was only his first day in the army. Lieutenant Kono had simply taken him from the firing range and brought him to the commanding officer's office, refusing to tell Ranma what it was about.
Ranma seemed to recall something from earlier.
"Sir, did you call me lieutenant before?"
General Ryutaro smiled. "Yes, and that name will only be able to stick if your able to do what I'm about to ask you." He looked at Ranma and saw that he was very confused. Taking pity on the young man, the general handed him the orders that had been issued by Major General Ohata. "After you read that, I'm sure you'll be able to understand everything."
Ranma quickly read the document. Once he was finished, he handed it back to the general, his face like stone.
"Sir, I'm not sure that I want to be a lieutenant," Ranma said uneasily.
"At this point it doesn't matter what you want Lieutenant Saotome," General Ryutaro said, sternly, "The army has decided that they need more field grade officers and they are going to get them." Then his voice softened. "But don't worry, you seem like a great kid, and I'm sure you'll grow into the role."
"What platoon am I getting?" Ranma asked, still trying to work out what was going on.
"Do you remember the men that have been with you for most of today?" Ranma nodded. "That and a few others are going to be your platoon."
Ranma spoke before he could stop himself. "Half of those men are in their thirties!"
General Ryutaro smiled. "Yes, and I think even a few more are also in their forties."
"But how can I expect them to listen to me, I'm young," Ranma protested.
"A lieutenant us supposed to be young, Saotome," General Ryutaro said. "And the men will obey you, or they will face a court martial and be sent to the stockade."
Ranma's mind was swirling. He was going to be a lieutenant! But he was going to have to go to combat, and also have the lives of other men resting on his shoulders.
"Is it moot to point out at this point that I have no combat experience other than my own personal experiences?" Ranma asked lightly.
The general smiled. "There are only a handful of officers in this army that have actually been in combat lieutenant, and they are far too old for combat. So yes, it is moot to point that out. Now, before I sign these papers and send you off to see your new platoon, I have to ask you, what did you mean by, 'your own personal experiences'?"
It was Ranma's turn to smile. His mouth ran away from him again.
"Did you ever hear the story about when the American 82nd Heavy Tank Battalion landed in China; they arrived with three Japanese civilians?"
The general's mouth hung open and he stared at Ranma, flabbergasted.
"You were there?" the general asked quietly.
"Me and two others, we went over to try and get back the body of Seiji Inafune, who had been killed a month prior to the starting of the Pacific War."
"Inafune, I thought the story was that he was killed by some Chinese militant rebels during a visit." The General said.
"That was what the Chinese told everyone but it wasn't true. Seiji was killed by PLA soldiers when we were over there, collecting some information on the Japanese Yakuza's involvement in the Chinese black market. China kept his body until a few years ago, when Ishii, Seiji's son, won a court battle and got his body back."
"Well, that's quite a tale my friend," General Ryutaro said, getting up from his desk. "If half of what you tell me is true, than you should do fine."
Ranma nodded his head and got up; he saluted General Ryutaro and marched out of the office. He was stopped by the Sergeant Major at the secretary's desk outside and was handed the silver bars of a second lieutenant.
"Congratulations sir," the Sergeant Major said.
Ranma smiled at the man, truly beaming.
===============
Author's Notes: Sorry for the late update, but I received the most wonderful Christmas present. Without any word beforehand, I opened the door to my house on Christmas Eve and found myself staring face to face with my husband. He had pulled some strings and gotten out of the Middle East for a week and a half. During that time I didn't let him out of my sight for a second.
I hope you all understand, and for those that are a little angry about receiving an update just before they have to go back to work or school, I'm sorry, but my husband is far too bug a present for me to ignore.
Reviews have been lacking, and I'm sure after a great Christmas and New Years, everyone will be in the spirit to review this new chapter, it's one of the best that I have written.
Ranma hoisted his duffel bag to his shoulder and stepped off of the bus that had carried him and twenty other Japanese to Miyakojima Base, Okinawa. Following the directions that were posted on barracks and fences, Ranma found himself walking into a very poorly heated office with a fat Japanese man that looked to be freezing his ass off.
"You the new recruits?" the fat man asked as he glanced up at Ranma and the others that could fit into the small building.
"Yes, we just got in," Ranma said.
The fat man looked annoyed and got to his feet.
"You better add 'sir' to the rest of your replies private!" the fat man bellowed in Ranma's face, so loud that spittle flung from his lips.
Ranma's first thought was to toss the small fat man over the desk and out the door but fought that urge down. He glanced down at the fat man's chest and saw the bar representing the insignia of a second lieutenant.
"Sorry sir," Private Ranma Saotome said and saluted the fat lieutenant. The others followed suit.
The fat lieutenant let Ranma stew for awhile before returning the salute. He reached down to his desk and grabbed a stack of papers and tossed them at Ranma.
Ranma deftly caught them and glanced at the top page.
"They're papers that will let you get your uniforms from the tailor shop once you get your stuff put away in the barracks, just hand one paper out to everybody and once you all get into uniforms, report back here and we'll get your training underway."
"Yes sir," the collective group replied and quickly remembered to salute.
On their way to the barracks that the recruits had been assigned, the worries began to spill out.
"Oh god, I hope we aren't going to be sent off to war."
"Almost every man in my entire community got one of those letters, I'm sure that means something."
"I heard that what were doing has something to do with North Korea thinking about invading America."
And of course, there were the false hopes.
"If every man in your entire city got one of those letters, than I'm sure the JSDF has more than enough troops to do whatever their doing. We'll just have to wait here until they decide to let us go."
Ranma didn't bother speaking to any of the men. And he certainly didn't want to tell any of the men about what Phillip told him the last time he had called.
"The Prime Minister isn't answering the President's calls Ranma, looks like he's damn serious about this. The best thing for now is for you to just head out to Okinawa and report, if things are going to continue down this path, than my guess is you'll be headed into China and then Russia."
"All American civilians have been ordered home by the President, and the ambassador and everyone else in the embassy has been called back to the States for 'consulting'. My guess is that the President doesn't want anyone in the line of fire if we have to invade Japan when this war gets blown out of proportion."
"I'll call every day and check on Akari and Akane. I'm going to try and keep them posted on any type of developments I get concerning Ryoga, and I'm sure that they'll write you a letter containing that information."
"This war is going to happen Ranma, whether we like it or not, and I'm afraid to say that you just might get hurt in it. If anything untoward should happen in Japan, your family and Akane's will be out of there as fast as possible. Akari and Ryoga Jr. will be out as well, even if it means I get in deep shit from everybody back here."
That conversation had been very hard for Ranma, mainly because he had a very hard time keeping himself from crying. His fears about going off to war all by himself were very frightening. Phil may have been the only person that could have understood what Ranma was going through, but Ranma had not spoken a word of his fears to him.
He was very much alone here, but in more ways than one. Because of what happened when he and Ryoga went to China with Phil and the 82nd Heavy Tank Battalion, Ranma knew exactly what it was like to get fired on and to take a life with a weapon. But Ranma knew he wasn't going into an armor unit, he was going into infantry, and he was bound to be put into the front lines.
===============
On the morning of December 23, the U.S. military bases stationed in Japan received a message from the Japanese Prime Minister. Kadena Base, Iwakuni Air Station, Marine Corps bases, Sasebo Naval Base, and Yokota Air Base, and the other, smaller U.S. stations received messages. They read:
Dear American Capitalists:
I, the Prime Minister of Japan, must ask that all American military bases vacate their personnel and return to America. For too long America has dictated to Japan about what they have to do and what rules they must follow. We will now shake the shackles of your oppression and allow ourselves the opportunity to produce our own destiny.
Japan is a land for the honorable, and we must ask that you remove yourselves from our home. We will be moving on to our fate, and I ask that you step aside and allow us to meet that fate without any interference. If you feel that you must attempt to interfere, than you will leave me no choice but to remove you from my country forcefully.
The decision is yours.
===============
"Has that goddamned fool got a hair up his ass!?" the President of the United States bellowed after reading the message that was delivered to him less than five minutes ago.
The President did not speak using obscene words often, and when he did, all conversations stopped.
The Secretary of State, Brian Murray, was the first to speak.
"I believe this is Shizuko's attempt to get the message across Mr. President," Murray said. "He wants America out of Japan and he wants them out yesterday."
"If he thinks he can just intimidate me with words than that jackass has another thing coming," the President snapped.
"Well sir, maybe if we-"
The Secretary of State was interrupted when the President's secretary buzzed through the phone.
"The Japanese Prime Minister is on line one Mr. President."
All eyes in the room turned to the small telephone that sat atop the President's oak desk, and to the light that was lit up signifying that someone was waiting on the other end.
President Winnfield picked up the phone and punched the light and said, "President Winnfield."
*It has been far too long since we last talked George,* the voice of the Japanese Prime Minister said.
Anger overwhelmed the President.
"What the hell are you thinking Shizuko!? You cannot simply break off all ties with us and make the statements that you have!"
The President was about to say something else when he saw his aide signaling him to keep his temper in check. Hoping that it would keep him under control, the President hit a button on the phone so that the conversation could be heard by everyone in the entire room.
*I am sorry you feel that way George,* Prime Minister Shizuko said, sounding contrite.
"I will not order the removal of all American forces from Japan and that is final," the President said his voice firm and cold.
*I didn't want to have to do this George but you have pushed me to my limit. If the American bases are not empty by this time next month, than I will be forced to use weapons of mass destruction.*
A shiver ran down the spines of everyone in the room after the Prime Minister's words passed through the speakers on the phone.
"He is mad," the Secretary of State said so quietly that the others barely heard him.
The President, visibly shaken, turned back to the phone.
"You are very much the fool Shizuko, Japan has no nuclear weapons."
*Ah, sadly for you that is not correct. You have heard what I have said, now remove your troops or have all their deaths on your head.*
The line clicked, and it was obvious the Prime Minister had hung up.
The President raised his head from the phone and looked into the eyes of everyone in the room.
"What do we do?"
===============
Ranma gazed at himself in the mirror. He was dressed in an impeccable uniform. It was stiffly starched, as if it had just come back from the dry cleaners.
While the other men were getting dressed (they were not all in very good physical condition), Ranma walked out of the tailors barrack and took a walk around the compound. A bunch of Privates were doing quick time marches up and down the fields and Ranma was soon absorbed with watching them. They moved in perfect sync, almost as if there were strings tied to everyone's ankles.
Finally he moved off and walked back into the building that had housed the fat lieutenant.
"Private Ranma Saotome, reporting as ordered sir," Ranma said, stopping six inches from the lieutenant's desk and saluting. The fat lieutenant looked at him for a moment before returning the salute.
"Don't you look splendid," the fat lieutenant said, not bothering to hide the sarcasm in his voice. "Since you were the first one done I'm giving you the honor of choosing what your group of soldiers will be doing."
"I beg your pardon sir?" Ranma said, confused.
"What would you like to do first, Private Saotome? Rifle training? Quick-time marching? You get to choose."
"I would have to say rifle training sir," Ranma said, hoping that he had chosen right.
"Things are a little fucked up at the moment so I'm not too sure if there will be enough weapons for the entire group so whatever men are left over just send them back here and I'll see that they keep busy."
"Yes sir," Ranma said.
"Get going Private," the fat lieutenant said.
He was forced to ask directions from a couple of sergeants before he could find the range officer.
A tall lithe second lieutenant was in charge of the firing lines and of training new recruits in the way of cleaning and firing weapons.
Lieutenant Kono was his name and he had very sharp features. On first seeing the man, Ranma instantly thought of his friend, Ishii Inafune.
"You guys the new recruits?" Lieutenant Kono asked when Ranma and the other soldiers approached. A few mumbled replies of 'yes sir' sounded and Kono nodded. "Well, come on inside, it's a little chilly out and we need to get down to business."
He led them into the barrack housing nearby and led them to a large row of benches that would serve as their seats for the next few hours.
"Were a little pressed for time, so it has been passed down from the higher ups that soldiers will need to be trained in firing and operating their firearms, as well as cleaning them. But as for the other stuff, like field training, you're going to have to learn as you go."
Seated next to each soldier was the Famas, an assault rifle already popular throughout the modern world as a good standard weapon for infantrymen. Some of the soldiers were surprised to not see the Japan Type 89, the new standard weapon of the Japanese Defense Agency. Kono explained.
"The 89 was a weapon for a peacetime army, not one about to go up against a real live enemy. The Famas is a good weapon, though I would have much preferred an M16A2 to use."
Seeing that the other soldiers were looking at him oddly, Kono continued.
"You men are being designated as the 106th Infantry Division. The first Japanese soldiers that will join China in entering Siberia. Did you not know that?" Kono asked, slightly startled.
An eerie silence filled the room as the soldiers stared at Kono in shock. Ranma was the first to speak up.
"No, sir, we were not aware that we were the invading force. All that we have been told so far is that we are to be joining the Japanese army against our will."
Lieutenant Kono turned to Ranma and looked angry for a moment. He opened his mouth but closed it and shook his head.
"Moving along, I will now demonstrate how you disassemble your weapon and how you will go about cleaning it."
The afternoon passed quickly, with each soldier learning how to use his weapon. Ranma caught on quickly, and was able to assemble and disassemble his gun faster than any man in the division. Kono allowed Ranma to head out to the firing range and to fire a few rounds.
The weather this year was unseasonably cold, and Ranma found himself trying to keep himself warm.
He explained to the range master what lieutenant Kono told him and Ranma was soon out on the range, loading a magazine into the Famas.
Taking aim in the target that rested almost seventy yards away, Ranma fired. The gun bucked, and the three round burst headed down the field and impacted the target, unfortunately, he had missed the target he was aiming at and had hit the target for the firing position next to him.
"Shit," Ranma cursed and went about adjusting the sights. Thinking them to be exact, Ranma moved back into position. He fired again and this time the shot hit the arm of the target. He quickly finished adjusting the sights and fired the rest of the magazine.
By the time the rest of the division caught up to him, Ranma had already fired seven magazines, rendering his target into an unrecognizable mound of paper and wood.
Lieutenant Kono was quite surprised, and delighted. After setting up the rest of the division with the range master, Kono went about setting up some more targets. He moved Ranma to the end of the firing range and walked almost two hundred yards from him and tied a glass bottle to a string and hung it on a tree branch. It was a windy day, and the bottle swung with the motion of the wind.
At two hundred yards, the bottle was invisible to the naked eye, but, most soldiers would be able to explain that it would not be an impossible shot, even if they could never make the shot themselves.
Taking aim, and allowing his mind to do the work, Ranma fired once. Kono and Ranma ran down the field and saw the bottle. The neck of the bottle had been hit and it had exploded, sending the bottle to the ground.
After seeing this, Kono came to the conclusion that Private Saotome was what is referred to in the military as 'a natural shot'. At two hundred yards, the bottle that Ranma had hit was invisible to the human eye, but Ranma's mind was able to work the problem through. This meant that Ranma was able to compute through his mind the time the bottle would take to swing back and forth with the wind, and also how long the bullet would take getting to the target. Kono himself was not a natural shot, he had to use his sights and get the gun lined up perfectly before he could be sure if he would actually hit the target.
Lieutenant Kono grinned; he might have just found his candidate to be promoted to second lieutenant.
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A large problem soon arose for the men assigned the task of assembling a military force, large enough to invade Siberia along with China. Japan, after having a half a century without any military conflicts, and the delegation put before them that disallowed the country to form any kind of invading force; Japan did not have sufficient officers to lead the vast number of men that had been conscripted to fight. Senior officers were readily available, and they were quickly assigned duties. But there were a lot of empty slots for the role of lieutenants and captains.
Before the conscription of the Japanese people, Japan had previously had a military force of only 147,000 personnel in their entire military. This was hardly the right number of soldiers to invade the largest country in the world. Added to the fact that of the 147,000 personnel in the army, at least one third of them were mechanics and clerks, men and women that would not be able to be sent off to war with the intended purpose to fight.
Major General Jiro Ohata did not see this as a very difficult problem to solve. As one of the few men in Japan that actually had combat experience, he knew that men quickly learnt their jobs during war, because if they didn't they would wind up dead. He thus decided to do direct commissions, meaning that the enlisted men that went through basic training and showed a high degree of military intelligence would be promoted to second lieutenant, a rank that would allow them to lead men in battle.
His order was quickly signed by the Prime Minister, who was willing to do anything that would ensure that Japan would not be embarrassed in their hour in the spotlight.
The orders arrived at the bases that had been designated to train the conscripted men, much to the disgust of the regular army officers. Lieutenants needed to have at least some understanding of how to lead men in battle. Just because they could shoot a little straighter and run a little faster did not mean they could simply understand their roles as officers. But they did not complain, as the orders had come down from the highest position in the army.
They then passed the word down to the men that were training the conscripted recruits. If any soldier showed a higher degree of military tactfulness, they were to be sent to see the post commander, where they would be given a short test and if they proved to be what the trainers had said, than they received the promotion to second lieutenant.
The first recruit to be sent to the office of Brigadier General Hashimoto Ryutaro was Private Ranma Saotome. Private Saotome had been sent into General Ryutaro by Lieutenant Kono, the range master that had been assigned the duty of teaching the conscripted recruits how to use their weapons.
When Private Saotome walked into General Ryutaro's office, the general had the moments thought that he looked to be about sixteen years of age.
"I am going to excuse just this one time Private, because I understand that you have not received the proper training in military educate. But when you enter the office of a superior officer you are supposed to stop in front of his desk and salute, and say, 'Lieutenant Saotome, reporting as ordered sir,' and stay that way until the officer returns the salute and tells you to stand at ease," General Ryutaro said softly.
"Sorry sir," Private Saotome said, sincerely embarrassed.
"It is quite all right son, now, before we get to the reason you were asked to come here, may I enquire about your age?"
"I'm twenty-one sir," Private Saotome said, still standing in the room.
"You look like your sixteen," General Ryutaro said, but spoke again before Ranma answered. "Take a seat."
Ranma complied and sat down in the chair facing the desk.
For Ranma, the situation was extremely nerve racking. He was inside the office of a general, and it was only his first day in the army. Lieutenant Kono had simply taken him from the firing range and brought him to the commanding officer's office, refusing to tell Ranma what it was about.
Ranma seemed to recall something from earlier.
"Sir, did you call me lieutenant before?"
General Ryutaro smiled. "Yes, and that name will only be able to stick if your able to do what I'm about to ask you." He looked at Ranma and saw that he was very confused. Taking pity on the young man, the general handed him the orders that had been issued by Major General Ohata. "After you read that, I'm sure you'll be able to understand everything."
Ranma quickly read the document. Once he was finished, he handed it back to the general, his face like stone.
"Sir, I'm not sure that I want to be a lieutenant," Ranma said uneasily.
"At this point it doesn't matter what you want Lieutenant Saotome," General Ryutaro said, sternly, "The army has decided that they need more field grade officers and they are going to get them." Then his voice softened. "But don't worry, you seem like a great kid, and I'm sure you'll grow into the role."
"What platoon am I getting?" Ranma asked, still trying to work out what was going on.
"Do you remember the men that have been with you for most of today?" Ranma nodded. "That and a few others are going to be your platoon."
Ranma spoke before he could stop himself. "Half of those men are in their thirties!"
General Ryutaro smiled. "Yes, and I think even a few more are also in their forties."
"But how can I expect them to listen to me, I'm young," Ranma protested.
"A lieutenant us supposed to be young, Saotome," General Ryutaro said. "And the men will obey you, or they will face a court martial and be sent to the stockade."
Ranma's mind was swirling. He was going to be a lieutenant! But he was going to have to go to combat, and also have the lives of other men resting on his shoulders.
"Is it moot to point out at this point that I have no combat experience other than my own personal experiences?" Ranma asked lightly.
The general smiled. "There are only a handful of officers in this army that have actually been in combat lieutenant, and they are far too old for combat. So yes, it is moot to point that out. Now, before I sign these papers and send you off to see your new platoon, I have to ask you, what did you mean by, 'your own personal experiences'?"
It was Ranma's turn to smile. His mouth ran away from him again.
"Did you ever hear the story about when the American 82nd Heavy Tank Battalion landed in China; they arrived with three Japanese civilians?"
The general's mouth hung open and he stared at Ranma, flabbergasted.
"You were there?" the general asked quietly.
"Me and two others, we went over to try and get back the body of Seiji Inafune, who had been killed a month prior to the starting of the Pacific War."
"Inafune, I thought the story was that he was killed by some Chinese militant rebels during a visit." The General said.
"That was what the Chinese told everyone but it wasn't true. Seiji was killed by PLA soldiers when we were over there, collecting some information on the Japanese Yakuza's involvement in the Chinese black market. China kept his body until a few years ago, when Ishii, Seiji's son, won a court battle and got his body back."
"Well, that's quite a tale my friend," General Ryutaro said, getting up from his desk. "If half of what you tell me is true, than you should do fine."
Ranma nodded his head and got up; he saluted General Ryutaro and marched out of the office. He was stopped by the Sergeant Major at the secretary's desk outside and was handed the silver bars of a second lieutenant.
"Congratulations sir," the Sergeant Major said.
Ranma smiled at the man, truly beaming.
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Author's Notes: Sorry for the late update, but I received the most wonderful Christmas present. Without any word beforehand, I opened the door to my house on Christmas Eve and found myself staring face to face with my husband. He had pulled some strings and gotten out of the Middle East for a week and a half. During that time I didn't let him out of my sight for a second.
I hope you all understand, and for those that are a little angry about receiving an update just before they have to go back to work or school, I'm sorry, but my husband is far too bug a present for me to ignore.
Reviews have been lacking, and I'm sure after a great Christmas and New Years, everyone will be in the spirit to review this new chapter, it's one of the best that I have written.