"Ugh, it feels so good to get out of those cramped simulation rooms. I'm getting sick and tired of sitting in there." Kurz stretched, breathing deeply in the morning air. The light breeze gently rocked the upper branches of the trees in the compound. Kurz fell to his knees and shook his hair free of the sweat that matted it to his forehead. "I swear, those rooms are getting more and more stuffy every time we go in."

"Don't you ever stop complaining?" Mao answered. She was sitting against the support posts for the tent the Urzu team occupied. "You know why they do this, to make sure we can synchronize properly with the AS so that nothing unexpected should occur."

"Plus, they also use the data gathered when designing new AS models." Sousuke chimed. He had a hand towel thrown across his shoulders and his face glistened with sweat. He looked up at the cloudless sky and sighed. "Just one more day and we are done with the tests and drills."

"And then you can go send a 'hi' to your girl, Chidori." Kurz grinned. He closed his eyes and dropped his head down letting it rest on his arms. "Why is it that whenever we get stationed at one of these test sites, there are never any cute girls around? It's always these guy lab techs, and the same ones at that. Why doesn't fortune ever smile on me?"

"I would suppose," Mao yawned, "that the entire camp knows in advance of our arrival, of Urzu team. Knowing that, all the female techs take off, avoiding you."

"And just what is that supposed to mean?"

Sousuke lay back in the grass and enjoyed the damp dew of the grass cooling off his back. He stared up at the sky, ignoring the conversation his teammates engaged in. 'It's a nice day today. It's been so long since I've been able to notice.'

"What do you think it means?" Mao sneered back.

'The last time was back at the school? No, later, at the beach, when we were fishing. And before that? Was there ever a day like this that I spent as a child? Afghanistan, Iraq, Lebanon, all I did was fight. Fight, for the good of humanity, as I was told. It is a soldier's duty to do as he is told, for the sake of his superior, for the sake of himself. It is at those times, when a soldier fights that he is most alive, that is what is meant to be a soldier, isn't it?

'No, battle isn't the place to enjoy, it's days like this that we should fight for. Days like the ones I spent with Chidori, days where everything was alright. I'm getting tired of it. Tired of the fighting, I know. It's all I've known for all my life, but the time I spent in Japan were the ones where I felt most alive. Yes, I'm getting tired of it. No, not getting tired. I am tired of it.'

Sousuke pushed himself up and brushed the grass off the back of his head.

"Well, whatever. I still say that no woman in their own self-respecting mind would ever want to go out with you. You are one of the most perverted, egoistic-"

"I'm tired."

"Huh? Tired, Sousuke? It's only nine-thirty in the morning." Kurz said looking up from Mao.

"Go on then, take a break Sousuke.," Mao said "I know they've been working you harder than the rest of us, what with the Lambda drive on the AS model you've been using. We'll call you when-"

"No, I'm tired of all this fighting. I feel like I'm missing something important in my life. Something that I am yearning for, but can't quite understand." Sousuke looked up at the sky. "The time that I spend fishing, the time that I spent out in Japan at the highschool, the times I spent with the ones who called me their friend. Sometimes I feel like I'm living the wrong life."

"Sousuke," Kurz sighed. "I understand what you mean. After all, you've been living the life of a mercenary since you were what, eight?"

"Yes, that is affirmative."

"And before that your life before was just riddled with war and battle, right?"

"Affirmative."

"It's no wonder you feel this way, after experiencing a couple days of the 'normal' life, everything feels out of whack. I feel the same way sometimes."

"You should speak with Tessa once the training is complete. I think you should try to get some R&R time." Mao said. She looked over Sousuke, his expression never faltering. "Who knows, maybe some time off will do you good. I know that when you had days out before, you would spend them at the shooting range or with your AS. You didn't really seem to know how to relax."

"Thank you, Melissa. I think I shall. For now though, it's almost ten hundred hours. We need to be headed back for the tests."

"Man, you are too tense. You need to learn how to relax and enjoy life." Kurz said clapping his hand onto Sousuke's shoulder as they walked down the dirt path towards the AS field. "Spend some time with Chidori for a while. Maybe then you'll loosen up. I know some great ways to get her to smile if you wanna know."

"Kurz, can the crap. You're nothing but a perverted lech and you know it. Anything you try to teach Sousuke will probably rot his brain." Mao called from behind the two.

Fatigue

"So, Kana. How do you think you did on that test?" Kyoko asked cheerfully.

"Ugh, don't remind me. I'm still trying to get the memory out of my head. What kind of teacher do we have that would spontaneously issue out a pop-quiz over Japanese classic lit?"

"Pop-quiz? Don't you remember him telling us there was going to be a quiz on the stuff a couple days ago? He even told us which pieces he might cover on the test?" Kyoko sighed. "Aren't you supposed to be a role model for the student body and such, being the Vice-President of the student council and all?"

The two were on their way home from school, the sun beat down overhead as if summer was still in full. The heat was bearable, but just. Fortunately, as a coastal city, theirs never quite got as hot as the inland cities did. Chidori pulled out a small water bottle and took a sip from it before slipping it back into her bag.

"Look, I'm sorry I ever volunteered for the stupid Student Council position. Have you ever met Hayashimizu, the President? He's a total nut job! And I don't remember anything about the stupid test being announced."

Chidori grumbled to herself and kicked at a lamppost; she nicked the side of the post and a hollow clang rang out. "If there was anyone else...ANYONE else...more qualified at the school to deal with the stuff that Hayashimizu throws out, I would gladly give the role up. You know, he reminds me a great deal like someone else I know..."

'Sousuke'

Chidori took a deep breath and straightened out her back, feeling some stress release in the popping of a joints. She stretched out looking up into the clear sky, a tear formed at the edge of her eye which she blinked away.

"Well, there's no school tomorrow, Kana," Kyoko chimed, oblivious to Chidori's thoughts, "do you have any plans for the day?"

"Actually, I would rather stay home. I just feel so tired, if I do decide to go out, how about I give you a call?"

"Sounds good." She turned and headed down the street to her house. She stopped suddenly and turned pulling out an envelope from her bag. "Kana, here, this is for you. Don't open it till you get home, 'k? I'll talk to you later!" She waved and turned once more and ran off down the road.

"Sure thing, Kyoko" Chidori whispered looking over the envelope before slipping it into her bag.

"I'm home," Chidori said as she opened the apartment door. It was more out of habit that she said such than anything as she lived alone. "Did you miss me, mom?" she asked picking up a picture of her mother that she had on a desk.

She sat her bag in a chair and pulled out the envelope. 'What could she have given me that she wouldn't want me to open until I'm home?' She carefully tore the edge of the envelope and a photograph fell out. It fell flat on the table face down, a timestamp on the lower left of the paper gave the date taken as three weeks before.

'Is this...why? Why would you give me this, Kyoko?' The tear that she blinked back before had returned with greater force. Unable to stop it, it dripped down her cheek and onto the table. Chidori picked up the photo and slowly flipped the image over.

It was a picture of her. A picture of her and Sousuke, sharing the glory of their fishing trip. 'Why, Kyoko? Are you trying to make me suffer even more?' A lump formed in her throat and she tossed the photo across the room. It hit the wall and fell to the floor in a corner.

Without any control over her sobs, Chidori ran into her room and threw herself onto her bed burying her head within her pillows, crying where none but herself could hear her screams.

"Wake him up." A voice boomed into the room. A man walked in with a white lab coat draped over his shoulders. The thick metallic door behind him hissed as it shut and looked itself after his entrance. On the table in the middle of the room lay a man, a man with twin scars on his face. The right scar ran straight through his right eye, which was now clouded white and sightless.

"Yes, sir," was the reply. The man in the lab coat walked to a monitor on the wall and pressed a few buttons. Several robotic arms snaking from the ceiling descended towards the one on the table. The one on the table was strapped down, there were several sensors attached to his body reading various bodily functions and displaying their performance on several monitors displayed around the room.

The arms reached down and removed the sensors from the body and lifted the table in an upright fashion. From within the various cords that descended within the room, a single arm dropped towards the man. Within the grasp of the arm, a syringe glistened with the reflective light of the room. Positioning itself to the side of his neck, the needle made an abrupt movement and instantly embedded itself within the man's neck. Slowly, the liquid inside was drained out within the body and the lights went out. The lab tech keyed in a pass code and slipped out of the heavy door as it hissed shut behind him locking the man behind.

"Who is this man and why is he so important to you, sir?" The tech asked the man in the hallway.

"This man is no man," was the reply. "This is a demon who has visited hell and returned to tell the tale. This demon will be the one to change the fate of the world."

Within the room, the sole eye of the man slowly began to open and a feral growl escaped his lips, "Kashim".