Talk and Memories

First, I wish to apologize for the long time between updates; between a silent muse and some things going on in the real world, this story had to be put on hold for a while. Second, I would like to note that this chapter introduces an OC who has come to life in my mind over the last couple of years. General Hodak is loosely based on Tomak from the BotP comic universe by way of personality, but with a few twists. Lastly, I want to thank GoldAngel2 and Summer39 for their support and encouragement, and also my onisan, who delved into the mind of, and I quote, 'A pissed off four-star' to assist me with some of the dialog later in the chapter. Said dialog is also the reason the rating for this story has gone up. Enjoy.

Disclaimer: As always I do not own Gatchaman, they belong to Tatsunoko and now ADV.

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Once they'd reached the house Ken unlocked the rear door and allowed Jinpei to precede him inside. In a voice far calmer than his thoughts, he ordered, "Hand over the shirt Jin."

The younger boy scowled at him, "What for? You said we'd talk aniki."

Ken managed a smile for the boy as he observed, "We will, but your sister is going to have both our heads if I take you home looking like that. Hand it over and I'll wash it for you."

Grumbling under his breath, Jinpei yanked the shirt over his head and handed it to Ken, "Didn't realize you even knew how to do laundry aniki."

He watched as Ken tossed both of their shirts into the machine and set it to run with a short chuckle, "Don't be a smart aleck Jinpei. Joe's the one who only washes his uniform once a month."

"Ewwww aniki! Gross!" Jinpei laughed for a moment before remembering that he was trying to interrogate Ken. Putting what he considered a stern scowl on his face, he crossed his arms and glared at him once more, "You're stalling aniki."

Ken sighed, "Let's talk in the living room." Scooping up a couple more sodas as they passed through the kitchen, he handed one to Jinpei before settling on the floor in front of his chair. Once Jinpei had made himself comfortable leaning back against the couch, Ken sighed once more and said, "Alright Jinpei. Shoot."

Now that he had Ken cornered, Jinpei suddenly felt tongue-tied. He popped the top on his soda, took a short sip, then set it aside to begin playing with his fingers, a sure sign of nervousness. Glancing quickly up at Ken's patient expression, he took a deep breath and launched into things, "I don't get it aniki. Why haven't you and oneechan gotten together yet? I can tell you like her, and I know for a fact that she likes you a lot. It's been obvious for ages now."

"What makes you say that?"

Jinpei scowled at him, "Don't play dumb aniki. She puts up with your bill at the J, which is getting sky high again by the way, she's always helping you out around here and she takes your side on just about everything...even against Hakase! And you're always hanging around our place and worrying about her on missions and stuff. Plus I've seen the look on your face when she's around. I may be a kid, but I'm not blind. So what's the deal?"

Ken raised an eyebrow at the flood of words from the younger boy, then set his drink aside with a sigh, "You're right Jinpei. I do care about your sister a great deal. But it's not that simple."

"Why not? What's the big deal if you guys get together? Joe has girlfriends all the time, so why can't you? I don't get it."

"There's one big difference between Joe and I, Jinpei. I'm the commander of the team, and that brings a lot more responsibility with it. And Jun is under my command. The military would call it fraternization if we got together."

Jinpei's scowl remained firmly in place, "Yeah, but we don't really fall under the military's rules aniki. So what's your point?"

Ken tipped his head back against the chair as he continued, "You probably don't remember all the trouble that started when you and Jun joined the team...you were just a little kid back then. But Hakase had to go head to head with a lot of people in order to keep you both with us. There were a lot of people who didn't think that a girl should be on the Science Ninja Team, that her presence would cause way too many problems. There are still people who think that way."

Jinpei snorted, "That bastard Hodak you mean. He's always on her back."

"Language Jinpei."

"Sorry aniki."

"But yes, General Hodak was one of the ones who objected to her being on the team. He made a lot of insinuations that I'm not going to repeat...suffice to say that they were cruel. It upset your sister a lot, and I don't want to subject her to any more of that. That's part of the reason I haven't spoken to her yet. Do you understand?"

Jinpei thought for a second, trying to figure out what could be so bad that Ken wouldn't tell him. It was about his sister after all. He blurted out, "Did Joe or Ryu hear what he said?" It was only after the question left him that he wondered if maybe he'd blown a future opportunity to get the details and have an excuse to kick the jerk's butt. However, the very thought was squashed a moment later.

"No Jin, they weren't there, only Jun and I. And I absolutely forbid you to even mention it to your sister. Understood?" Ken's expression was one not normally seen outside the mission field, stern and unyielding about the matter. Jinpei nodded, knowing better than to even think about defying the order, and sank back into thought. It must have been something really nasty.

Ken watched Jinpei for a moment, studying the younger boy's thoughtful expression before allowing his head to rest back against the chair once more. He had to repress a heavy sigh; even the thought of the conversation they'd overheard that day was enough to make his temper rise. The last thing he wanted was for Jun to have to relive it because of an inadvertent question from Jinpei. The memory was hard enough for him to have to bear...

The two teens arrived in the waiting area outside Nambu's office, teasing each other good-naturedly about the computer programming class they'd just been dismissed from. Both had grasped the lesson easily, as was evidenced by their conversation.

"You know Jun, that was a nasty little trick you played. You almost fried my system to a crisp!"

The green eyed thirteen year old just laughed at his semi-irritated expression, "Lighten up already Ken. That was just a little revenge for the virus you planted in mine last week. Sensei almost had a fit when he saw what it put across my screen before I could get rid of it."

Ken had to grin at the reminder, "Yeah well, you can thank Joe for the Sicilian curses, he gave 'em to me."

"I'll kill him when we get home. And don't think you're off the hook yet, mister."

Whatever reply Ken might have made was cut off by the sound of a hand slamming against the desk behind the closed inner office door and the strident voice of one General Hodak attempting to lambast Nambu Hakase into agreeing with whatever nonsense he was spouting off this time. From the sound of it, he hadn't been having much luck, as he could now be heard shouting at the teens' mentor.

"She won't be a problem, my ass! I ask again Nambu, what the hell are you thinking in putting a female on this team? A team that should have never been formed in the first place! If you're so determined to waste our resources, then at least waste them on someone who can be useful once this ridiculous ninja squad is disbanded, not some girl who should be at home learning to cook and clean."

Ken glanced over at his teammate and had to suppress a chuckle at the look on her face. Jun never took kindly to anyone questioning her abilities on the team and had only last month given Joe a swift kick where it counted when he told her she would be better off doing the dishes. Ken could only hope that he wouldn't have to prevent her from doing the same thing to the general. He rolled his eyes as they could hear Hodak rant on.

"Women shouldn't be in combat in the first place, let alone doing what you claim this team will have to do. A ninja squad, ridiculous. Nambu, you should just let the military handle their job and stick to pushing paper and ass-kissing the politicians."

Jun smirked at Ken, "Does he realize just how bad Hakase could hurt him if he wanted to? Or is he just a moron?"

Ken grinned back at her, "I already asked Hakase if there was any way we could just toss him back to those samurai ancestors he so loves to brag about. He told me that time travel was next on ISO's research project list."

Jun's giggle at that statement was cut short when Hodak's voice rose even further and his hand slammed onto the desk once more, "Let me tell you just what's going to happen because you added this little cunt to your team mister. You're going to end up with four dead boys!. There's nothing worse you could have done to this already useless project then adding a set of distracting but otherwise useless tits! There's no faster way to compromise the lives of four elite, highly crafted, combat enhanced individuals! All she'll be good for is whining, cowering, and passing out the moment she sees a drop of blood, let alone someone's head split open. Have you absolutely no fucking sense of how it is in the battlefield? It isn't some nice clean little scenario that you dream up. If the war that you say is coming does happen, however improbable that may be, people are gonna die. And if you persist in this damn delusion of yours, those boys will be among the first to go!"

Ken swiftly grabbed Jun's arms to hold her back as she tried to leap towards the door, her eyes blazing, "Jun, calm down, he's not worth it!"

She tried to twist away, still intent on her goal, "Let me go Ken, I'm gonna kill him! I'll show him what a useless set of tits can do, that bastard!"

The struggle abruptly ceased as Hodak , apparently not liking whatever Nambu had said, ranted on again.

"Women serve one purpose on a battlefield and somehow I don't fucking figure you want you so-called daughter being one of those. That hot head you call a gunner already has quite the reputation, from what I've heard. Have you considered the consequences of having one woman alone with four men for days on end during a mission? She'll end up spending more time moaning with her legs in the air than with her feet on the ground doing the mission. And it'll get them all killed. Mark my words, it'll be the small boy first. He's practically holding her hand, as if she were his personal after sex trophy. Sluts and hookers are a dime a dozen on the streets Nambu, no need in wasting even more valuable resources by trying to make one into a 'ninja' so your boys can have one on hand all the time."

Jun seemed as if she'd been punched in the stomach, her head dropping and her body going limp as her struggles to get free ceased. Ken tried to push aside his own temper for the moment as he gently turned her around to face him, "Jun, don't listen to that bunch of bullshit. You know that none of us would ever try to treat you like that." The blank look in her eyes caused his anger to rise to previously unknown heights towards the man ranting behind the closed door. He squeezed her shoulders gently in an attempt to get a response, "Jun? Come on Jun, say something. You're scaring me."

She finally blinked and replied, her voice flat, "I know you and the others don't think of me like that. But is that what everyone else is going to see me as? Not a real team member, just the team slut?" She suddenly seemed older than she had a few minutes ago, more weary, as if the spirit had gone from her. The very idea chilled him and he shook her gently as he tried to reassure her.

"Not anyone with any sense. And anyone who even insinuated it would end up getting his head bashed in."

That brought a small smile to her face and the light came back to her eyes, "Thanks Ken. I needed that." He smiled back at her and was about to reply when the sound of Hodak's hand hitting the desk cut through the air once more. Both teens looked towards the door, temper flashing in their eyes.

"You're going to lose this team Nambu and I for one will not sit back and watch you needlessly waste precious materials just so you can bridge another gap for the douche bag, split tail legion of feminist rats! I want her off Nambu! I want her off and gone within forty-eight hours or so help me I will be down here to drag her off myself. Do you hear me? You tell that bag of useless tit chaff that she can find a job as a street walking hooker for all I give a damn, but she will be off this team!"

Nambu's voice was now audible to the teens as his own temper apparently snapped, "Might I remind you once more General, that the decisions regarding this team are mine to make and neither they nor I answer to you in any way. I alone say who will remain and who goes. As for your insinuations about G-3, they are both unfounded and out of line. She is a valuable member of the team, both in her fighting skills and her rapidly growing technical expertise. Finally, as you yourself said, she is now my daughter and I will not condone such insults on her character, nor might I add, will the young men that now see her as a sister. She is on the team and there she shall stay. Now, I will ask you to leave my office immediately, before I give into the urge to do something completely unbefitting a gentleman."

Both teens smirked at hearing this, then Jun tensed once more and whispered frantically, "Ken, if I see that bastard right now, I really will kill him."

Ken nodded in understanding, "Go down to the ready room and wait for me. I'll give Hakase the report on our class and meet you there. Stay out of Hodak's way."

"Rodger." Jun turned and dashed from the room and Ken swiftly settled himself onto a couch, just as Hodak slammed the office door open and stalked past, not even noticing the young Commander as he passed. Ken's eyes followed him, flashing in fury as he exerted every ounce of self control he possessed to keep from leaping up and killing the man. Nambu beckoned him from the office doorway, and it was clear from the expression on the older man's face that he knew Ken had heard every word. Neither ever mentioned the conversation to each other or Jun after that day, but from that day on, she had become more reserved, allowing fewer emotions to be evident on her face in front of others...including her teammates.

Ken was abruptly yanked out of his thoughts by Jinpei's voice, "Aniki? Yo, aniki, you in there? What's got you so out in space?"

Ken clamped down on the anger the memory had brought up to smile at the boy, "Sorry Jinpei, I was thinking for a moment. What was that you said?"

Jinpei snorted and crossed his arms, trying to look as stern as Ken had earlier, "I said, I guess I can see what you mean, why you can't tell oneechan that you like her yet. I don't like it, but I guess I can see your point. But I don't want to see her hurt anymore. So what are you going to do about it."

Ken sighed, "I told you Jin, I can't say anything to her now."

"When the war is over then?"

"Hai Jinpei. I have every intention of telling Jun how I feel as soon as this war is over and our duty is done."

Jinpei scowled but nodded, "I guess I can accept that. But I don't like seeing Oneechan cry over you. Can't you at least stop ignoring her until then, you know, show that you at least know she's a girl? It hurts her when she thinks you just see her as one of the guys."

Ken sighed once more, "I can't promise I might not hurt her feelings Jinpei. I don't want to but right now there are just certain things that can't be said and done. For her own safety, as well as that of the team. But I'll try to do better. That's all I can promise."

"I suppose that's ok then. But if you hurt her, or don't tell her everything right after we kill Katse off, you'll answer to me aniki."

Ken smiled and reached out to ruffle the boy's hair, "Hai Jinpei, I know. Now we better get you home before your sister starts to worry again."

"Hai aniki."

"Get your stuff together, I'll get your shirt for you."

"Hai. And aniki?"

"Yes Jinpei?"

Jinpei smiled up at him as he started shoving his books back into his backpack, "Thanks for everything. I'm glad I came today."

Ken smiled back at him, "Me too Jin. We'll have to do this again sometime. Now, move it or lose it kid."

"Hai!" Jinpei scooped the last of his school supplies back into his pack then tugged on the still slightly damp shirt that Ken tossed him. "All set aniki."

Ken ruffled his hair once more, then reached for his keys, "Alright then,let's get you home."