Nomad, Shin's Story

by Dark Ryuu

Growing up, Shin (Toy) always wanted to do the right thing for everyone that he could, especially those in need. But can he keep from losing sight of himself, his family, and his friends, especially his elusive best friend, Lyla, and new partner in life, Komari? A prequel to Step Toward the Future and Legacy, an alternate universe crossover between all games.

12. Day Zero

Chapter 12: Day Zero

Author's Notes: Oki doki, ya'll, next chapter! There's some violence, lots of language, at times sexist and racist if not both, and some minor sexual stuff. There's a light 9/11 mention in there too. Also, I am being VERY loose with army terminology here. I tried to keep it consistent but meh. That being said, most ranking and titles are correct (sometimes, the characters are intentionally demoting).

I think I'll be able to do get two more updates before I have to take a brief updating break. If there were a queue system, I could set it up but, well, here we are, I guess.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Yagami Shin was going to disintegrate.

He covered his eyes as the bus carried him back toward the base where he'd been previously. It was so damn hot he was seeing things. Again, dozens of others hurled but he wasn't in much of a better place.

Yep, he was back. And, it was already starting off badly.

Colonel Teramoto was at another base right now. He was not going to be coming by quite that often. Sugo was injured badly enough in the shooting that he was forced into retirement, poor guy. That, unfortunately, put wartime promoted Lieutenant Colonel Sato in charge.

Joro and Saki, the other two soldiers Shin worked well with, got transferred to another base. Per what he'd heard, Komari was still there, however…

When they pulled up to base, he saw Yamada Komari out of the corner of his eye. As she had called to tell him prior to their arrival, Itoh Kasumi was right beside her.

She had dark green eyes and black hair pulled back into a firm ponytail that reached her waist. She and Komari were the same height, currently standing in line awaiting orders.

Shin groaned in his head when Sato appeared, appearing…contented with his new position. This…was not going to go well. He barked orders before handing out the assigned rooms. When the bastard got to Shin, he smiled. Oh, great. "Well, aren't we lucky, Yagami? You'll be in a room by yourself."

…Okay. "Yes, sir."

"I hope we don't have any trouble this year, Yagami."

"Yes, sir."

Sato shoved the bedding into his hands as he walked away and Shin had to almost meditate not to roll his eyes. Maybe if he just…asked, he could go home.

Naturally, Komari and Kasumi were placed in the same room, much to all the men around them delight. Komari looked unbothered but Kasumi seemed…disgusted. Yea, it was pretty gross…Sato ordered them to all 'get a good night's rest because hell came tomorrow'. Yep…it was all pretty disgusting right now.

Trekking to his abode alone, a questionable thing, really, Shin found that not only was he alone, he was almost the only one in this corridor. Plenty of people should have had rooms to themselves then.

While he tried to think on that, he paused to find someone sitting in the room he was supposed to be assigned to, reclined on his bed. He was a squared up fake dirty blond with dark eyes, his legs crossed and his arms behind his head. Was there some confusion…? He looked up…and smirked, "Oh hey, Yagami, right?"

"Yes…I haven't had the pleasure, I don't believe."

"Kitamura Daisuke. I'm your unit leader."

…Kitamura. "Well, nice to meet you, Kitamura-san. I look forward to working with you."

Shin wasn't stupid, he knew this guy was about to harass him. He simply wasn't in the mood though, heading into the room and going to his closet since Kitamura was occupying his bed. Kitamura sat up, all smiles, "I heard about your last deployment, Yagami. You accomplished some impressive stuff."

"Thank you."

"Just, y'know, that was under a different regime…" Kitamura drawled, "Things are a little different this time."

Here we go. "I will always act at the behest of my commanding officer, if that's your concern, Kitamura-san."

"Oh, well, see to it then, Yagami" Kitamura replied, standing, "…You know, a year is a little different from six months."

No, really? "I imagine so, sir."

"Little…hard to be alone during these times, y'know? Sato got rid of all that communal shit Teramoto had. No pool, no sitting around and watching television. Got computers and stuff but he's expecting a lot of…self-reflection, y'know?"

Huh. "…Well, that should be fine."

"Hmm, we'll see. Later, Yagami."

Shin's eyes narrowed as the guy left the room, shutting the door. Oh, so for a year, they weren't going to do anything except self-reflect, huh? And he mysteriously was the only person in a room by himself. It'd take a lot more than this to make him crazy, he fucking saw a room full of detached eyes. Idiot.

Exhausted already, he dressed for bed after he carefully set up a photo album. He'd like to put the pictures on the wall but the way that asshole just walked in here, he didn't trust it. He did put up a copy of Shaun's potato picture. He had brought plenty of those to make himself chuckle.

He frowned when there was another knock at the door. Great, more unit leaders to come harass him. Walking over to answer, he was startled to find Komari on the other side. He yelped when she quickly shoved him in and shut the door. "Dude."

"Long time no see, Yamada" he greeted.

She sighed as they bumped fists, looking at him with aggravation. "She knows."

"What now?"

"She knows about you because of that damn Naomi."

Shin's eyes widened as Komari grunted, sitting on his bed. "I…I mean, I was kind of hoping I'd at least be allowed to say 'hi' to you anyway, Komari."

"Yea, you'll get more than a 'hi'."

Absolutely not. "Komari, I am saying it right here, right now: I am not having kinky ass sex with you in front of your girlfriend to satisfy whatever psychological issues she has. And I'm sorry if that makes me the asshole but it is not going to happen."

"Sit with me, please."

"Komari."

"Get your ass over here and sit with me, please" she hissed.

Shin leered as he sat on the bed. Komari looked him square in the eye, "Sato wants you gone, Shin."

"Yea, I'm picking that up quick."

Komari glared, "Shin. He wants you gone more than he wants me and Kasumi gone. I know we're next but it's insane that you're top of the list. And you know who else wants you gone? Kasumi."

… "…What are you telling me, Komari?"

She buried her face in her hands, groaning, as Shin tried to keep his temper down. He was not liking this. "Komari, what are you telling me?"

"Sato…wants Kasumi to come up with something in order to frame you."

Just swell. Shin gripped the sheets, trying not to…explode. "So…what? What happens?"

"I asked her—pleaded, that she not, okay? Believe it or not, Shin, you are my friend and I don't want to see you go out over some petty bullshit—I'm just blown away that he's targeting you before us right now, it seems…wrong not to be the marginalized one here."

That honestly almost made Shin cry. Why were either of them marginalized here? "So I guess you didn't convince her."

"Well, that's where the…kinky ass sex as you put it comes in."

"…So if we screw, she says I didn't do anything. But, mind, if it goes a direction she doesn't like, she can still say something."

"Look, she's…not on her rocker but she's very loyal to her word. And I know that doesn't mean anything to you so I'd have her sign and endorse a letter indicating that all allegations made against you are falsified in nature or whatever. Just…"

Shin felt…ill. Like, physically ill. "…Komari. Komari, I…I do not want to have sex with you…no offense?"

"Hey, none taken, bud, I would prefer we stay friendly" Komari assured, holding her hands up.

"How? How can we stay friendly after I-I tap you? How would that happen?!" he demanded, standing to pace.

Komari shrugged, her face gesturing a 'eh'… "Well, you heard, right? We're not in the same unit anymore."

…What? Feeling the blood leech from his skin, he turned to look at her, "You're…you're not in my unit?"

Biting her lip, she slowly shook her head. "I'm under a different captain this time…"

That…that was more alarming than the prospect of them having sex! "K—Yamada, you had my back last time—I need you. I need you out there. I-I don't have a Kasumi. I have a captain that is against me and a fucking lieutenant that's trying to frame me for assault—Komari."

He knew he shouldn't have come back. Slamming down in a chair, he buried his face in his hands and tried not to hyperventilate. Komari came and rubbed his back. "Hey, look, I…I don't know, okay? It's our first day back, we'd have to see first. But I want you, if you feel like you're in any danger, to request a transfer, you hear me? I'll have your back if we cross paths and there's a problem but the other 99 percent of the time?"

Right…right…he needed to lie down. Dropping his hands, he took a deep breath. "…When?"

"T-Tomorrow night?"

"…Okay."

"…I'm so sorry, Shin."

…Welcome back.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

It…was as he suspected.

It looked like a majority of the former group were sent elsewhere, he only recognized maybe a handful of people from his previous deployment. This group was more…raucous and reckless. When they went to patrol the town, one of his unit members actually was hitting on and harassing a Terran woman. Luckily Kitamura told him to 'stop' but it went on for an uncomfortable amount of minutes before that point. Shin felt…pathetic after that because he didn't say anything. No, he…he wasn't going to be able to cover his own ass, the next time he saw that he was stopping it and making another enemy.

They were going to get reported at this rate. Aside from that harassment, two soldiers were trying to pick fights with the Terrans, two stopped to take pictures, and another two were carrying their guns like they would blow anyone away, friend or foe. Shin was terrified.

After hours of watching the operation be mishandled, they finally came back to base…for him to get called into Sato's office for a 'write up'. Shin stared as Sato informed him that Kitamura wrote in his report that Shin had been 'insufficient' in his duties. Shin had literally been the only one that had done what he was supposed to. Sato advised it would go in his 'permanent record' and eventually lead to a punishment if it continued.

…He had to wait at least three months before he tried to transfer. They didn't look well upon people looking to get out in literally a day. Shin simply said, 'yes, sir' and exited.

He…did not sign up for petty shit. Like the petty shit of him walking to Kasumi and Komari's room to apparently fuck the latter to keep the other from smearing his name.

Knocking on the door, he thought about how Naomi must've thought this would be good payback for what happened to her brother. He wasn't sure what was going on with younger siblings nowadays but he really needed them to start thinking things through.

Komari flung the door open and instantly pulled him inside. He yelped, startled, as she pushed a cup in his hands, "Drink this quick."

"What?"

"Just drink it!"

Shin sulked, drinking… it had a twang but he couldn't exactly put his finger on it. It was clear like water but…

Oh fuck. "Komari…is this liquor?" Shin asked as calmly as he could manage.

"Yea, it's from Tsuyukasa. It'll help calm you down" Komari explained.

"Yea-a-a. I need you to get naked really fast so we can do this because liquor and I don't combine for the purposes we need for sex, okay?"

"What?"

Someone cleared their throat. Oh yea. Shin glanced to the side where Itoh Kasumi was sitting on her bed, her arms crossed. Wow. He…was about to have an audience. Her green eyes narrowed as she held up a letter. "…Komari told me the agreement. Since you've agreed to do this, I prepared a document to clear you of any wrongdoing…when it comes to Komari and myself. She watched me prepare the letter."

Komari rushed over, taking the letter from her and handing it to Shin. He scanned it and found it…looked pretty solid and was signed. Just…ugh. "…Itoh-san, I…I really wish you'd reconsider. I am simply Komari's friend and I have no desire for anything else."

Kasumi was just…flat faced, no expression. "You slept with her."

"What?! No, I didn't!"

"In the same room with her for half a year, you slept with her. You saw her undress, you saw her naked, you ate food with her, you killed with her—you called her during our tenure. You call her by her name. You are not merely a friend, Yagami."

Woah now. Was…was that killing part some sort of goal or something? "A…A good friend then. I have no sexual interest in Komari and I-I don't want this sort of awkwardness between us because she is my good friend."

"…Come on, Kasumi, can't you just give him the letter and give him a pass?" Komari pleaded, "Just can't you trust me this once? Nothing happened between Yagami and I."

…At least she said something.

"Your adamance is just as suspicious" Kasumi scoffed.

"My adamance that you don't trust me?" Komari snapped, "Or if in fact Shin rightfully said 'fuck you', you'd smear his name but use my name to do so and then make me look weak in the eyes of the army because we're surrounded by sexist pigs?"

Oh…shit. Shin looked to Kasumi, hoping this struck a chord. Like…yes, it was despicable, but having an assault story made Komari seem like a victim and a flight risk. They…they might even look to demote her back to the position she was trying to get out of! Come on!

Kasumi looked unbothered. "Stop having male friends then."

…Wow. And in that second, he felt nauseous because, in comparison, he fell apart with Lyla over nothing. Komari stared at Kasumi hard before slowly shaking her head, "…You know, what would it feel like if I just found a new girlfriend, huh? Because that's the direction I'm leaning right now."

Oh hell. Kasumi glowered, "I'm your girlfriend."

"After this? I really just…played along because you mean the world to me above everything. But now? You've really pushed it, Kasumi."

Shin yelped when Komari tugged him to lie down on apparently her bunk. Was this real life? Was this happening? This seemed like some sitcom drama movie shit, this couldn't be life. She sat by his feet, muttering, "J-Just close your eyes and pretend I'm someone else, Shin."

How…does that even begin to occur? He did shut his eyes as Komari unzipped his pants. Deep breath, Shin. Actually, was…was this a form of…rape? Like, what do you call it when someone is blackmailing you into having sex with someone else that didn't want to have sex? Had this ever happened before?

All he could do was fluster as he still managed to get aroused, alarmed. Damn him being a damn ho. Yes, yes, he knew he had no real choice since he was stimulated and he'd told Komari the same exact thing but…he hadn't wanted to be!

After a bit, Komari pulled away and drawled, "Um…Yagami…"

"Y-Yea?"

"…Do you not…like head enough or something or…?"

Oh, right. Right! Kasumi, their audience, suddenly snorted, "Don't try to get him off easy, Komari."

Damn it, that was easy! He could have managed to stroke himself and make himself come to end it right there! Fuck. Awkwardly sitting up, he watched as Komari glared angrily at Kasumi as she took off her shirt and pants. Oh no…he had to do things to Komari. Groaning into his hands, he wasn't sure how to pretend on his end…

"Just stick it in, Yagami" muttered Komari, taking off her sports bra before reaching down and removing her underwear.

But it'd hurt! Getting a little…loopy headed, he glowered, "N-No, I-I will not hurt you."

"Shin."

What kind of fucking monster made someone do this? Was…was this the trauma? Had…had this happened to her and now she projected it back on other people? Shin swallowed, glancing to Kasumi briefly, he figured the only way he could pretend he wasn't doing this to his good friend Komari…

She panicked as he was able to get her…excited enough to avoid his concerns but she nervously insisted he just kind of…get the ball rolling. It…felt okay in so much as the perfunctory feeling of sex but it was still hella awkward that he was literally shafting his friend right now.

While that should have made him sad or angry or…something, he slowly felt himself become…sleepy. Woah. Quick, had…had to…

Started to…doze off…falling on his elbows beside her face, she whispered sharply, "You know, asshole, it wouldn't kill you to not be good at everything and not have nearly made me fucking come."

"Fuck…maybe…maybe I dun'…dunno how to be bad at…at sex, ya' jerk…" he slurred, his eyes shutting as he basically dozed off on top of her.

He wasn't a hundred percent knocked out though he was pretty close. He heard her actually snicker after his remark before Kasumi demanded 'what did you give him?'. Oh…oh, that was a good idea. If he was asleep, neither of them could have sex or then it would be rape…or maybe it was…was still…

"You're really going hard to protect this one, Komari! I knew when he was calling you and the way Naomi talked about him that it was more than just friends! This probably isn't even the first time you fucked him!"

"You are so paranoid. Until your crazy psychopathic ass blackmailed us into it, Shin and I have done not one sexual thing. Not one romantic thing. If you had had any other friends, you could understand but you never did and now you can't stand that I might want friends that have a penis! And you have no right to manipulate me just because I do happen to be attracted to men too!"

Kasumi growled, maybe. Maybe it was Komari. However, Kasumi sneered, "Well, he won't be here much longer either when Kitamura shows up and finds this."

Oh really…? Before Komari could respond, before Kasumi could react, Shin zipped up in a fluid motion and darted right at the crazy woman. Kasumi swung at him but he didn't have four brothers for nothing, he ducked…and grabbed the letter.

"Fuck!" Kasumi yelled.

Bolting for the door, he raced down the luckily empty hallways, barreling toward his room. He didn't stop until he was behind his own door, locking it and panting, out of breath. Fwoo…that…didn't go like he would have preferred but it worked out, huh? No blackmailing and no framing, just had…semi-unfinished sex with Komari. Win…lose…win…

Teetering toward his bed, he stuffed the letter in his pillowcase before falling right to sleep.

…Great. Day 1 down.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

When Yagami Shin woke up the next morning, he had a murderous migraine. He washed his face in the small basin in the room and brushed his teeth before putting on the tan fatigues. Yawning, he recalled sitting down on the bed to tie his boots when his pillow seemed to be aglow like an important item was there.

…Hmm.

He was lined up and prepared just as they were called. When Kitamura called roll for the unit, he gave Shin a grating stare. Oh, did things not go to plan last night, dickwad? Shin kept a neutral face as Kitamura huffed that he go get his ammunition. Okay.

Like yesterday, the unit was…questionable at best, completely negligent at worse. Shin could have completely forgotten what he was here for, he was so dismayed. Alas, like an angel, the same little girl from his last deployment shyly approached him with a flower and he remembered. Patting her head, he slipped her an Airhead candy he had in his pocket. She giggled and scurried off. Yes, this…this was just a little stumbling block in the road. He was here for a purpose.

After a long harrowing day with the vice captain who was lazy as all get out but luckily still no Kitamura, they rode back to base. He shook his head as he listened to guys go on about a particular Terran woman's 'melons' and how 'hot' they were. At this rate, the Zechs and their unit would be these people's enemies…

Shin stared into his room, torn asunder as multiple soldiers basically threw his things around violently. Well…apparently, they were his too. Kitamura stood there, his face livid when he looked up to Shin. Literally…just transfer him. If he was that much of a blight, let him LEAVE. This? This was pathetic. "Can I help you gentleman with something?"

The other soldiers stood up quickly, shocked, while Kitamura glared at him darkly. "…A soldier reported that you had…paraphernalia in here."

"Oh?" Shin blinked languidly, "…Some cigarettes but that's not against protocol."

Paraphernalia. Right. Like that letter that proved they were trying to frame him. The soldiers awkwardly filed out after nothing was found, just leaving his photo album torn to pieces in an effort to find the hidden landmine along with his potato picture. Kitamura was almost stomping as he came past. "You got off this time, Yagami. I'll just go beat off to a picture of your sister."

Shin smiled. "Is that so? I guess that's an option. It must be a shame you won't ever get the attention from anyone nearly as beautiful as her."

Kitamura froze as some of the soldiers coughed, apparently trying not to laugh. Gritting his teeth, Kitamura muttered, "…Yagami."

"Kitamura."

Fucking bastard. Shin absently started to clean, throwing the album and torn pictures away, pleased and relieved that he had duplicates that he carried in his cargo pants today along with that damn letter. A pat down was probably next so he'd have to get clever…

Changing into the leisure uniform, he wandered out to the yard to smoke a cigarette. He had really wanted to quit but, well, that seemed unlikely now. He lit up the white cancer stick as he stood in the dry humidity of the waning night, alone in the space. A few minutes later, one of the sergeants peeked out and informed him that Sato demanded to see him. Probably write up number two.

After a minute, he found himself chuckling.

He really should have gotten another charm.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Day 3.

"Gimme one of those damn things."

Yagami Shin looked up drearily as Yamada Komari approached him. It was eight in the evening and he was so exhausted, he hadn't even wanted dinner. Well, that was for multiple reasons though. He thought the previous deployment's food was abysmal, they literally had apple sauce and a piece of mystery meat tonight. His head was going to explode at how badly this was going when he had 362 days left. And he was going to get something if he kept smoking like this. Didn't seem like he was the only one though.

Holding out the packet so Komari could withdraw one, he flicked the lighter so she could dip into it. "Didn't think we'd be talking again so soon."

"Man, fuck them" Komari snarled, inhaling and exhaling a billow of smoke, "Kasumi can make up some fake assault story but I'm ready to tell them to go shove a stick up their ass if they try to pin the story to me and you."

Huh. Shin raised a brow at her, crossing his arms, "…Yea, how does that work? Why didn't Itoh just make something up and leave you out of it?"

"Because she's crazy, Yagami."

With a sigh, Shin drawled, "…If I'm allowed to speculate, I would figure she wants you out of the army or at least back amongst primarily women."

"Must have a lot of crazy around you too, Yagami, because you're catching on quick."

Jeez. Komari rested her elbow in her hand, blinking at him, "…You really never made good with your girl while you were back home?"

"No. I was too busy sleeping with a sexy blonde that made my brain goo."

Komari smirked, "And your relationship status with this bombshell is…?"

"DOA" rasped Shin, letting the smoke hover out of his mouth, "She moved to Utah to pursue her education and she doesn't plan to come back to Japan."

Tilting her head, Komari shrugged, "Nothing wrong with playing the field, Shin."

But. Staring up at the dark night, Shin sighed softly, "…I dunno, getting here and facing this level drama right now, my perspective has started to shift on matters with her. I still feel betrayed that she didn't say anything, I just…I just…"

Komari nodded, "It felt weird going home and not seeing her, huh?"

Grimacing, he tipped his head. "…I've never gone this long without seeing her in…what, 14, 15 years? She's been there my whole life and I…I was angry the whole time I was at home but in the back of my head I kept thinking, even doing all the crazy stuff I did, that…that something's missing and I'm afraid it was her."

"We get out of this, Shin, you need to go see her. Maybe it'll click again, maybe it won't, but you won't find closure the way it ended off. I know she has painted a horrific picture that is also in flames but…Kasumi has been my friend a long time and it'd take a lot for me to stop seeing her."

"You can be mad at me, Komari, but you really deserve better" Shin droned.

Komari smirked, tapping her ashes off, "You making a pass at me now, Yagami?"

"Ha, no. I mean, no offense, I know we got a little…more hands-on than I would have cared to get but I prefer us as…this."

"As do I. And it's weird we can still talk like this after that but I am glad we can" Komari nodded, "…But I won't lie, I was a wee disappointed when the shafting was interrupted."

"You're the worst, you know that?" Shin snickered.

"And you're being smart with this letter thing. You always think in terms of stealth?"

Shaking his head, Shin sighed, "You're an only child, Komari, but when you have five other siblings and it comes to things like snacks or drinks? Your hiding game gets to some advanced levels."

Komari laughed, shaking her head, "Oh yea, they're messing with a pro, damn."

"…I don't know if I can make it this time, Yamada. My unit is…undertrained, unrestrained, immature, and…like I already assessed, they don't have my back. And then tie in Kitamura and Sato writing me up because I blink too many times. Or I can't talk to you except at random like this…and I have a year of this?"

"…This is the part where we really have to remember what we're here for, Shin: to help people. We're talking about advanced modes? Well, this is one because we're out here being some of the few meaning to do what we're supposed to."

Shin recalled his conversation with Matsushima when he was a teenager, when he thought that people in the military were…like these particular people he was now working with in the military.

"To the contrary, my boy: that's what we allow to happen in all spheres of life. We let people whose intentions are not to help or protect or provide overtake these positions. We say 'well, those cops are corrupt' or 'those men are warmongers' and then write them all off instead of fixing it. We need people in every capacity to protect, to help. We just need to make sure they're the right people."

"Well…it's hard to be one person doing the right thing."

"Does that mean we're not supposed to?"

Swallowing, Shin smiled grimly. "…Are we the right people, Yamada?"

"Well, Shin, pal…there's only one way to figure that out" Komari whispered, patting his back.

…Right.

Day 3.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Her sixteenth birthday.

Yagami Shin sat on his cot, staring out the window as a windstorm brewed. It caused the sand to whip up fiercely and block out everything. He just silently prayed that it died down tonight because it sure wouldn't keep them from sending him out tomorrow. Just really him though and a few other sad saps along with Komari and Kasumi. The ones they wanted gone.

It was day 45 and he had been written up approximately forty times. That…wasn't that like over 75%? While it struck him as stupid to even himself, he was actually a little worried that someone could be written up THAT many times and not have anything come of it. Like, he just made it to one weekday amount of days not being written up and he'd been here almost two months?

They weren't close by any stretch but one of the other captains advised that when the discrepancies were brought before whatever board they had going, Sato was just short of cussed out by not only Teramoto but all upper officials. "It was stupid shit, man, like 'you didn't complete this walk formation when you were in the village when walking under an arch'. Like, y'know, the nitpicky shit? When Sato brought it up, one of the generals asked just what fucking war was he fighting, man? Were you able to complete the task?"

"…Well, that's nice to hear. Just, I've gotten written up almost every day this month too."

"I wouldn't even worry about that shit, Yagami. Sato is like one of those stupid villains in old cartoons that is like, 'well, if I don't catch him with dynamite, I'll try a bomb'."

Shin rubbed his temples, shaking his head. He did not come here to be the Roadrunner for Wile E. Coyote, what the fuck? Miserably, he just…started to keep to himself. Komari was preoccupied with Kasumi insomuch that she had to keep convincing her girlfriend they weren't sleeping together any time they were speaking. He'd concluded there was no way Kasumi was that paranoid or, in essence, ignorant. Komari and he weren't going to be banging in the open promenade. No, she used that to make sure Komari felt like she needed to prove otherwise and thus stay away from him. He hadn't spoken to her except in a strictly professional capacity in about four weeks now.

It…was sad. He felt like he…he had gained someone that had his back over here. The first deployment, he thought they'd created a bond, a…trust. Then comes the second deployment and he'd had brief penetrative sex with her to prove that he hadn't been banging her and now they couldn't speak. He…he guessed Nine Inch Nails was right: everyone did go away in the end.

He wrote letters to his family a lot, probably to the point that they would be concerned. One of the mailmen advised that, as far as communication went, he could probably send emails more efficiently. It was…nice, he felt way more connected to his family who he could only call once every two weeks, per Sato commandments. Others seemed to get far more leniency but, well, they were trying to make him crack. He was limited to an hour on the computer but that was more than enough. He'd told his dad they were trying to break him and Yamada responded, funnily enough that he thought it was Koji, 'advise I'll break their neck'. No, they…they wouldn't get to him this way.

But they did make his mind travel.

In 1997, when they turned sixteen, that was when she was obsessed with Parsley. He didn't get to spend her birthday with her as a result but that didn't mean he didn't want to do anything for her. So, managing to wedge a place into her schedule some time in early May, he took her, alone, to an amusement park.

He remembered she was wearing a big black bow on top of her head with a black and white striped long sleeve top and a black knee length skirt with straps like overalls. With her 'my dad is far away' military boots, he'd thought she was super cute.

She had pouted at him, "Shin, is this childish?"

"Is what childish? Amusement parks?"

Sulking, she shrugged as they stood in line for admittance, "…I guess. That's what my dad always said so he never took me."

"The world can have some whimsy, Lai. Video games, manga, and anime might get deemed 'childish' but why can't I keep doing those things until I lose interest if I lose interest, huh?"

She had mused, her arms crossed, "…You're right, of course. I guess I just don't get allowed 'whimsy'…unless I'm with you."

Pre-them being romantically involved, that Shin thought nothing of that. "Great. Just let me keep being the Keeper of Your Whimsy."

With a smile, she nodded and he had gotten them admitted. That same girl that questioned if this was 'childish' had immediately proceeded to drag him through every single centimeter of that park, getting all the unhealthy snacks and playing all the rigged games. She screamed like her life was ending on every roller coaster though insisted they get on ALL of them and giggled gleefully when they rode the carousel. He missed the sound of her laugh. For whatever reason, he'd told her then she was really cute and she told him he was silly as usual.

Listening to the whistling of a hot desert breeze, Shin realized he'd been sitting in the dark for at least an hour now. He'd eaten, he'd taken a shower, and now? Now he just…listened to the dusty wind and thought about childish days gone by.

…They weren't going to break him.

She might though.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

81 days.

Aside from being nine days from being reasonably able to request a transfer, Shin found himself standing around with the other soldiers. Some were laughing and elbowing each other, goofing off as usual and suggesting they get a game of cards going. Shin…didn't find this to exactly be an appropriate time.

They had one grainy television in the mess hall. The news showed it passively but…it looked like something out of a video game, something that you would try to avoid, not…intentionally do.

"…The Americans are going to want vengeance for this."

Shin looked up, surprised, when Komari was suddenly standing beside him with her arms crossed. It'd…been some days since she spoke to him. Kasumi wasn't in the room, deeming it 'not their problem'. Perhaps not but… "…I could imagine since they haven't been attacked like this since Pearl Harbor."

"Luckily not us this time."

"Yea…"

He swallowed as he watched it unfold again, slowly shaking his head. Having heard some soldiers indicate that it was 'well deserved', Shin…wasn't so sure about that. He was reminded of Nesha's remark that a drug dealer would shoot into a park and sleep easy. While there may have been some in that park responsible for some atrocious things, it was unlikely that…entire park was.

But, that was supposed to be the 'well deserved' point, Shin thought absently. You get what you dole out or something. Just there was…literally no end in sight if that was the response to be expected. He wanted this to be over one day. He wanted these families to be safe and these Zechs' operatives to be properly locked up. That was it. No eye for an eye, no vigilante justice, just…clean and clear, things were the way they ought to be.

Instead, thousands of people were dead or scarred. Here, one of the units managed to have a whole village of Earthmates kidnapped on their watch and were going to get court marshaled.

"Hey Yagami, you must feel some kind of way, that's half your people, right?"

Kitamura. Shin cut his 'all-American' blue eyes at his captain who was drinking a beer, something Sato prohibited all but his favorite from enjoying. "…I'm not personally affected in any familial way, sir, if that's what you mean."

Well…to his knowledge. His dad didn't know any of his father's family to his recollection though Shin seemed to remember his grandfather coming to visit them once or twice in his life. Kitamura just grinned, "Don't be so callous, Yagami. I bet all Americans are related somehow, right?"

Shin closed his eyes as some of the others around them started to whisper or snicker. Boy, did he hate it here. "…Wouldn't you be a little stirred if an American suggested the same of the Japanese, Kitamura?"

"Not at all, Yagami. At least it's just one people."

Kitamura was just looking for a reason, Shin. Punching him in the nose would be that reason. Just fuck him. "What's funny is I'm so lowly with my 'half-blood' that some of you waste a shit ton of time on me but I've still accomplished more than both of you, Kitamura."

"What'd you say to me, fucker?" Kitamura hissed, slamming his beer down on a random table.

Aw, hell. He got into a fist fight, even if he let Kitamura swing first, he started it. Komari suddenly stepped between them as Kitamura advanced, her arms still crossed and eyes still narrowed, "You heard him, bitch. Maybe you need to stop starting things with your stupid ass mouth that you have to finish with your fists."

"Stay out of this, Yamada, or does Yagami need you to fight his battles for him?" Kitamura spat, his eyes piercing.

Ugh. There were sharp whispers from onlookers and Shin just needed this to end. He'd put in his papers now. Komari, alas, was completely unbothered. "You and our punk ass sergeant have written Yagami up for almost ninety percent of this deployment thus far. He can't even breathe wrong around you and you want to act like this would be a fair fight? If he even flicked off one of your eyelashes, you'd go running to your daddy like the bitch that you are."

Damn. Kitamura's face was turning red as he hissed, "Say whatever shit you want, Yamada, but he's still a pussy if he hides behind you."

Man, what a piece of absolute garbage. Komari still looked nonchalant though! "A pussy can take a beating, Kitamura. It's the dicks that seem to have trouble taking a hit. Which category are you prepared to fall into? If I had to vote, I really do think you're a dick."

Kitamura blanched before barking, his hands balled, "There you go again, sounding like you're fucking him on the side. Maybe Itoh wants to hear about this, huh?"

"There you go again, trying to snitch like a bitch and announcing it in front of your entire unit. Who trusts a snitch ass bitch, huh?" Komari said mockingly, mimicking his arrogant tone.

Shin scratched the side of his face while other soldiers did start to whisper. He heard one say 'she's not wrong, he does snitch over small shit…'. The captain was done, backing off, "…I'll let your disrespect go this time, Yagami, but you better watch your mouth."

Unable to even affect a 'yes sir' that wasn't going to sound snide, Shin just nodded once and headed for the promenade because he needed his now fifth cigarette for the day. Trembling as he lit up the thing that might actually kill him if this experience didn't, he took a staggered draw, angry.

…Komari saved him this time. The next time Kitamura tried that slick shit again though? Oh, the beating there would be well deserved.

…He'd go write up his request. This cycle? This would end.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Day 150. Request denied.

Shin lied in his cot on his back, staring at the document that reached him today after he got back from patrol. It took sixty days. Sixty days he'd hoped and prayed that he would finally get out of here and be free of this tyranny that had him written up for a hundred days.

The percentage was better but a hundred days? The only satisfactions he got was one, absolutely nothing had come of it, and two, Sato got ahead of himself and announced after that blowup in the mess hall that he 'wished to speak to him' in front of enough people who started to look at Kitamura differently. Yea, he got written up for insubordination after a captain harassed him over his nationality.

And he got denied.

Swallowing, he pursed his lips as he read the reason for the thirtieth time. 'Inadequate population at base'. In other words, he was supposedly needed here because the numbers were down. It sure as fuck didn't feel like he was needed though.

While he had started to feel like he was losing his mind in isolation now, alone down this dark hall, Shin really was not in the mood for company but there was a knock at his door. Ugh. "…Come in."

The door opened and the shadow looked like Komari. "Dude, are you asleep? It's 8 pm."

"I'm not."

"Then why are your lights out? Are you losing it?" Komari demanded, flipping on his lights.

He squinted as she walked in, reaching out. With a sigh, he handed the paper over to her. She skimmed it briefly before shaking her head, "That's probably bullshit, Shin. I'm sure Sato suddenly made you out to be his favorite and it would be a 'disservice' to him to let you move on. It's a solid excuse but it's not true."

"I think so too…" he murmured wearily.

She sat down beside him, saying softly, "…You're almost halfway through, Shin. And even with this stupid shit, you'll probably get promoted."

"Komari, if I get out of here, I dunno if I'm coming back" Shin scoffed, sitting up. "I get it: my first deployment was…well, it was good. Sure, we had some crazy stuff go down there at the end that may scar me for life but it was a decent first run. Maybe I got spoiled. But this? This shit? This shit where my commanders are trying to frame me for anything from rape to insubordination? They've spent more time and energy trying to get rid of ME than the task at hand. We could have FOUND those people Unit 12 allowed to be kidnapped, Yamada, but they aren't even worried about that. I-I want to be the right person to overcome the wrong people, Yamada, but this is ridiculous."

"And that's exactly how those two got into power, Yagami: they crushed people and are more worried about settling scores than keeping people safe. If you want to back down, FINE, but that WOULD be a wuss thing to do. You know that we're needed, don't punk out now."

Shin groaned, gripping his temples as he droned, "Why is your girlfriend allowing you to talk to me…?"

Komari smirked, smacking his shoulder, "Asshole. You think you're the only person that needs to be able to talk to someone?"

…Oh. Grimacing, he nodded softly, "…I understand."

"I wanted to give this to you too."

Frowning, he glanced as she reached into her pocket…and pulled out the pocket watch he had never wanted to see again. Once.

He flipped it open, staring at the picture he had of her. He wondered if she still looked like this exactly. Two years wasn't too long in the scheme of things but maybe her dad forced her to change her hair color to make her more 'presentable'. Maybe she wore strict kemp buns like her mom did. Maybe she didn't smile this way anymore.

Closing it, he pressed the metal to his lips and felt ill. "…I told you I was screwing around with this woman from Wasaba, where my dad was from, right?"

"Yea?"

Reaching under the thin mattress of the cot, he grabbed a carton that once housed a bunch of cigarettes. He didn't keep that letter there, no, but he kept his pictures. Flipping through them, he pulled the two pictures he got of Nesha when they were at a party and someone went around with a disposable camera. Komari took them and flipped between the two before whistling. "Well, hot damn. THAT'S someone Kasumi would need to be mildly concerned about, holy shit. One hit of tequila and I probably would have fucked the hell out of her."

"You're the worst" he smirked some, taking the pictures back, "…I was…THOUGHTLESSLY attracted to her. She could have told me to fuck with her on the ledge of a bridge and I probably would have done it. I think dudes get an unfair shake with the whole 'thinking with the wrong head' but with her? I was damn sure thinking with the wrong head and couldn't do a thing about it. That whole relationship showed me why lust is on the seven sins, I was popping DRUGS with her. I gave zero fucks about anything."

"Were you objectifying her?" Komari drawled.

"I…don't think so? I mean, she basically called me only to screw her, so if there was objectifying, we were both doing it."

Komari nodded, "I mean, not a foundation for marriage or anything but not illegal, man. You're allowed to have fun, y'know?"

"And boy, did I" Shin murmured, "…You know what she said when she gave this to me for my sixteenth birthday, this watch? It's a family heirloom and she…she's supposed to give it to her husband. She gave it to me instead, said 'I don't want anyone to ever have it except you. You're the only one that will ever deserve it'. I…I never figured out what she meant."

Komari frowned as he breathed out, feeling ill. "…Nesha was clear cut to me. We were just going to have sex. That's it. Lyla meant…so many different things to me, I can't even grasp completely everything she encompassed. Nesha told me she would never be back, I'm okay. I get it. Lyla though…?"

"Because it's different, dummy. That's your girl."

Shin winced, clenching his head, "…She didn't SAY anything, Komari. It didn't even have to be a QUARTER as in-depth as you telling Kitamura off for me. Nesha could have never even been a THOUGHT to me."

"…I mean, I love my Kasumi, man, but she would have sure as hell been a thought to me."

"Stop it" he stuck out his tongue, "You know what I mean and you know you wouldn't. She…she was everything to me."

His army friend raised a brow before drawling, "…Well, maybe I DO need to question my relationship because I…probably definitely would have let your fuck buddy ride my face."

Rolling his eyes, he sighed dramatically, "FINE, ya' jerk, would my mind have briefly wandered? YES. But that's all the hell it would have done. A brief wander before I got back on track."

"I'm just pulling your leg, Shin. I get it and I wouldn't…too much. But you need to speak to her when we get back, Shin. Settle this. If she doesn't give you satisfactory answers, move on. I know you don't want to hear this but you still seem in love with her…but that's exactly what I go through with Kasumi."

Shin blinked slowly, "…That almost convinced me to NOT go talk to her, that last part."

Smacking his chest, she stood, flipping him off, "Fuck-k-k you, Yagami. My girl has been through a lot and I'm not ready to give up on her trifling ass yet because of that."

"…No, I understand, Komari, I really do. I just…don't like when the other person's trauma comes at our expense."

Komari nodded, stretching her legs, "…I agree. Just…right now, I don't want to give up just yet."

…Right. She left him there, telling him to get up and read a book or something. "Yes, nee-san…"

"Shaddap."

He smiled and picked the letter up again, reading the words once more. Request denied. He…was going to have to continue to walk on eggshells so he could be the one doing the right thing. Face racism and ridicule for no reason for...115 more days.

…He guess he wasn't supposed to give up on a lot of things.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"My friend and me, looking through her red box of memories. Faded, I'm sure, but love seems to stick in her veins, you know?"

1998. Shin had smirked as Lyla dangled her arm out of the window as they cruised down the boulevard. It was maybe June or July, a steaming hot day. Her dad was away until tomorrow afternoon so he requested they head to the beach for a day trip. The twins were sixteen and intermediate stage terrible so they were busy and the kids were away on a school trip or something. It was just them, going down that long road…

"Yes-s-s-s, there's love if you want it, don't sound like no sonnet, my lord" Lyla sang, the hot breeze traveling through her pastel locks.

"This song is lame" he droned.

"You're lame."

He laughed before singing, "Why can't you see that nature has its way of warning me? Eyes open wide, looking at the heavens with a tear in my eye."

Together, they sang as he found a spot on the busy parking lot, "Yes, there's love if you want it, don't sound like no sonnet, my lord."

That was back before he affiliated the song with the time he almost accidentally got her pregnant. God, that…that was the beginning of the end, right? He didn't understand what went down but it was downhill from there.

"Shin-chan, I made your favorite!"

He smirked again at her as they sat out on the beach blanket he brought while she unpacked the picnic basket. "I dunno, am I a chan?"

"Of course you're a chan" she pouted, taking out the bento and handing it to him.

He smiled, murmuring 'arigato', he opened the container and found teriyaki fish, possibly skipjack, with rice. "Looks delicious, Lai."

She contently took out a container of tea and poured it for them. He gazed at the seashore and found children giggling giddily, rushing away from the frothy waves that chased them. "Can't believe it's been…what, three years since our beach trip?"

"Nn. It was nice" she nodded, eating a rice ball. "…Poor mama. She never gets to go anywhere."

…Hmm? Shin at that time shook his head, "That's so miserable though, Lai. Life is short."

Or…hey, young Shin, WHY did she never get to go anywhere? What was up with that? Hell, he seldom ever saw her leave the house except when the dad deemed it necessary. Lyla herself had just shrugged before changing the subject to something like the new Tenchi Muyo episode. And he just…sort of went along with it.

"Shin?"

After lunch, they went into the water. Lyla had a pale yellow one piece this time, apparently secured on her own. He had been wave chasing when she called him. "Yea, Lai?"

"You have a girlfriend, right?"

"Yea."

"And this one is for fun too?"

Shin sulked, running his fingers back through his wet hair, "…I dunno, Lai, I guess anything in life is possible but I don't think I pick up any vibes that we're going to be long-term. It'd be nice but there's more to life than marriage and it's not high on my priorities right now."

Lyla pouted at him, wading deeply, "…I dunno what that even means, Shin. It's always supposed to be 'high on my priorities' now."

"Which SUCKS because we're so stupid young."

"Did it suck for your parents though?"

…Did it? In the loosest of terms…yes, absolutely and abundantly, it sucked. Alas, Lyla had something of a point: had his mom's parents not found her, had they just been left alone, Shin truly felt that his parents would still be in about the same place as they were. Maybe they would have had some meltdowns here and there but his dad always came off as the type of person that would not back down. His mom as well, to a degree. They…definitely met stupid young but they were still together.

Pondering, he patted his cheek, "…I guess it did work out for them, huh? Just I doubt I'll have that sort of luck to meet the person I want to marry that early."

"Mm."

Well, shit, Shin. Two years later, you were declaring to someone you'd known your whole life that you wanted to marry her. Maybe he shot himself in the foot. Or maybe she…she just hadn't wanted you.

"Yagami."

Shin paused, walking down the long dark hallway after finishing his nightly shower. It was March 8th, the day after his 21st birthday. He was resigned to spending it in solitude but Komari managed to get him baklava on her 'excursion'. Last year, they went to Baghdad and hung out at a hookah bar. This year? He was forbidden from going out for ALL of his write up over these 259 days. It was at 230.

The honey sweetened nuts and flaky dough were a delicious treat and he thanked her for the consideration. She told him to stop being stupid and they shared a bottle of arak. Yea, that's where…it probably respectably could go into write up territory. They got drunk enough with their contraband liquor that she fell asleep in bed with him.

Was he religious? No, not really. But it was moments like that when some sort of overdrive in himself kicked in to wake him long enough to notice Komari was snuggled in bed with him before it was time for morning routine that made him wonder. Komari, however, was still filled with dread and for good reason: She was waiting for Shin in this dark hallway with her arms crossed, glaring hatefully at him. Itoh Kasumi.

In all honesty, he really wished he could get to know her a little better. She had some really…shitty beliefs when it came to relationships but her work ethic was second to none. And he watched her hand to hand, he got lucky that once with the letter because he must have caught her off guard, she probably could have taken Koji at this point. Just, well, Komari.

Kasumi didn't move but she tapped her fingertips against her arm. Shin waited quietly as finally she snarled, "…Komari has always been a friendly type. When we were in school, she had friends of all kinds. She was too open. I was always more guarded and distrustful. Just…she got to me. At least, in a few ways."

…Mm. Kasumi's eyes opened, cut sharply, "…Hina, Mako—after we started dating, after I told her I was the one that wanted a relationship with her, she continued to be friendly with them. I didn't understand—I don't understand. I—I should be enough. With Hina, with Mako, I SHOWED her I was enough."

Shin pursed his lips as she came off the wall, her fists balled. "…I worried a bit when she chose to transfer out of the other barrack to here. She was around 99 percent men. She swore to me that she would be loyal to still my concerns. When we came home to Tsuyukasa, I thought she had remained loyal. Then, when she thinks I'm away, I hear her laughing and chatting with someone— 'baby daddy', was it?"

All he could do was blink because…that was literally the worst idea plausible but he just waved it off to Komari's 'don't give a fuck' take on life. Now? Now, how does he explain to her girlfriend they weren't sleeping around with a name like that? "That…was a joke?"

"A joke? About you impregnating her?" Kasumi spat.

"…Well, I…I didn't say it was a GOOD joke…"

Kasumi scoffed, her brow tight, "The last week, Naomi brings it up to heckle. 'Oh, I met your GOOD friend, Yagami Shin'. 'He seems like a good catch, a respectable guy, I can see why you were ATTRACTED to his 'friendship'."

Damn it, Naomi. Shin groaned more as Kasumi glared hard, "A 'good friend' was how Komari described Hina and Mako but I was able to get rid of them, proving they were worthless to her. I come here and get added incentive to get rid of you along with Komari's infatuation. You. Some guy she apparently was alone with for half a year, she works extra hard to make sure you aren't easily rid of—drugs you, because apparently she's aware you weren't like Hina or Mako. She knew you'd please her."

Awkward. "T-That's not true!"

"You weren't so focused on her expressions, Yagami, you came closer than Hina and Mako by a landslide. You 'fell asleep' though. So, now, Komari defiantly continues to associate with you, comes to your defense, and is out all night with you. I'm supposed to be okay with that after you showed you can please her, 'good friend'?"

"Itoh-san" he muttered, holding up his hands, "…I would have NEVER had sex with Komari in any capacity if it weren't for your and the captain's blackmailing. Komari would have never either because what you're getting lost on is 'friends'. She's my FRIEND and Hina and Mako—those guys were her friend too. And believe it or not, I get it: you were Komari's friend and it turned romantic, sexual. It will not happen with Komari and I."

"And I'm supposed to trust you?" she snapped.

"You're supposed to trust Komari!" he countered hotly, "Shit! If you distrust her that much, if you think she's just off fucking with anything that moves, LEAVE. Maybe let someone in that will trust her!"

"Like YOU?"

"Like literally ANYONE else—woman or man. Komari thinks the world of you but you think absolute shit of her and it's…it's not fair."

…It's not fair…

"…Stay away from her, Yagami."

"Like hell, Itoh."

He didn't bother having a western showdown with her, he just walked away to his room, tired and miserable. Lying down on his cot, he rubbed his eyes before murmuring, "…Yes, there's love if you want it, don't sound like no sonnet…my lord…"

Shin didn't even know what that was supposed to mean. Except, he had feeling he was prepared to give, it just wasn't poetry or whatever was required of the Okamoto family, and he was, in the end, not worthy. He…he thought he was though. And he was supposed to confront that in a few months.

What…was he missing? Why…why couldn't he be there by her side?

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Day 298.

Shin sat in the empty communications room, a bit sleepy as he pressed the phone to his ear, holding the phone card he was able to secure. He'd get thirty minutes to speak with his family.

Listening to the line connect, he recalled from an email that his dad and mom were in between phone numbers so he called the landline. It'd suck if no one picked up but, well, the house was probably almost empty now at this point.

"…Hello?"

Oh. "Oh…hey, Tony?" Shin questioned, a little surprised. He hadn't talked to the kid since…hell, he left. It'd almost been a year.

Shin frowned as there was dead silence and he cleared his throat. "…Hello?"

It was still silent until, finally, his dad's voice responded, "Hello?"

…Was that punk still mad? Shin's eyes narrowed, "…Hey, dad."

"Hey, son. How are you? Not much longer, huh?"

"Nope." And not a moment too soon. "…Everything good with Tony?"

"Oh, don't mind him. He finally broke down and got a job some months back and he's positively miserable and tired. He's not even working full time but I guess he's not used to it."

Oh…okay. "Well, that's good. How are the other kids?"

"Jill is fine. They all seem a little…dour but I'm not sure if that's because they're teenagers or something else. I can't get 'something else' out of them so I'm just hoping it's the former" Yamada explained with a sigh.

Dour… "Even Shaun is dour?"

"Oh no, Shaun is fine. Still speed demoning around on his bike with his friend, Ann."

…A girl friend, ay? "I never met an Ann."

"She's a 'diversity' student they admitted into Subami High School on a scholarship. She's actually the daughter of a guy I used to know in Wasaba."

Shin blinked, "Oh, that's kind of cool. Well, I'm glad he's still…giddy. How are the twins?"

"I haven't seen Nelly in about two months now, apparently his first semester didn't go well, as we expected. Koji still drops in on the weekend though, he indicates he's going to be able to get out end of his third year, God willing."

Awesome, Shin smiled. "That's awesome. I'm…I'm proud of everyone. Is mama there?"

"Oh God, no."

Snickering, Shin shook his head, "You know, dad, for as close as you and mom are, you would think you'd be a little upset she's away so much."

"Your mom has exactly what I wanted for her to have: Yagada. And if that puts her outside of the house a little, that's fine. She deserves her empire."

Mm. Shin rested his chin in his hands, murmuring, "…You still miss her though, right? While she's out conquering."

"…Well, it gets a little lonely. I just know she'll be back eventually though and after all we've been through, that's…that's really the best feeling nowadays."

"…Yea, I understand."

Shin frowned when suddenly loud sirens went off overhead. What? "Something's going on, dad, I gotta go."

"What? Isn't it late there? What's going on?"

"I don't know. I'll give you a call later—love you, papa."

"…I love you too, Shin, be careful."

Jeez, his dad probably thought he was about to run into a gunfight or something and freaking out right now. Hanging up, he quickly went out to the hallway. He scowled as Kitamura rushed past, looking annoyed. "Stop beating off, Yagami! The Zechs invaded the village!"

…What? Shin blanched, his mind instantly going to the little girl that gave him flowers every day. It…once again, it had been so peaceful! What the fuck?! Rushing to his room, he put on his fatigues and headed to retrieve his artillery.

If there was anything he wished they took from the Sharance experience, it was breaking up the platoon by expertise, not unit. No, Sato barked that they get into their normal units which meant he was going into basically battle with a bunch of pseudo-comrades. Over the time, they didn't seem to think badly of him but they certainly weren't, well, Komari or Saki or Joro. In fact, they really just kind of avoided him since he was always in Kitamura's crosshairs. He didn't blame them, just…

Taking the Humvee's into town, he…was floored by the amount of soldiers. He couldn't help jump when it sounded like a bomb or mine was exploding somewhere. Shit, this…this was the real deal this time. Shin almost gaped when Kitamura just flung the door open and yelled for them to 'get out'. The real deal and they had no plan?

He'd used the analogy of Wile E. Coyote and the Roadrunner before in regard to his time here for other purposes. Alas, this experience? This was probably actually a bit closer. He was literally on his own, ducking and dodging and shooting at the ornery Zechs who were attempting to break into the homes to apparently just blatantly kidnap the Terrans. After about two hours, he…he thought his kill count was high the last time, he was sitting at about twenty just from this event alone.

"Yagami!"

Shin was hiding behind a building, jolting when he heard his name by a voice he hadn't heard in a while. Turning his head briefly away from the bullets whizzing past the brick building, he frowned. Damn, what was his real name? He always just called him Handsy-san last time!

Well, Handsy-san had been promoted to Captain in the other platoon where Joro and Saki were transferred. In fact, all of them ran up with some other soldiers. Handsy-san looked bewildered, "Yagami, what the fuck are you doing by yourself?!"

"Sir…I have literally no idea" Shin admitted.

Handy-san's brows furrowed and he peeked back around the corner. "…What kind of formation is this? Who's running your unit and squad?"

"Platoon leader is Lieutenant Colonel Sato and my captain is Kitamura…"

"It's a shit show out there, Yagami! The sun's coming up and we don't have the area secured at all!"

Because Sato was not a leader, he was a nutcase. Shin hadn't seen much of it prior but at least a dozen and a half of their men had been downed this time. He froze. Was…was Komari okay? Joro frowned, his gun in hand, as their cover was quickly getting demolished. "…We'll watch your back, Yagami, but you shouldn't be out here on your own, man."

"…You're right. I-I need to go see to something anyway."

"Be careful" Saki warned.

Right. Shin waited for the shooting to stop so he could shuffle along to the next barrier, trying to catch up with his unit to make sure Komari was okay. This…this was a shit show.

"Soldier man! Soldier man!"

Soldier man? Shin quickly looked around, hiding behind an abandoned Humvee, and was shocked to find the little flower girl hiding under basically a picnic table. Shit. Rolling and crawling toward her, he quickly picked her up and guarded her with his body as bullets beamed all around them. She was sobbing as she gripped his jacket, crying in Arabic, "Papa's dead! Papa's dead!"

Oh. Oh no. Shin looked to the side and saw a man lying on the ground, motionless. No. No. This was what they were supposed to be defending against, why?! "Where's your mama, princess?"

She shakily pointed toward a house and he guarded her with everything he had, getting into the home. He yelped when he narrowly dodged getting attacked with a rod iron. "W-Wait! I'm not a Zechs, I have your daughter!"

The woman was in shambles, screaming about her dead husband and how 'nothing else mattered'. Damn it! Grabbing her and yelling at her slightly older sons to come on, he managed to get them safely into the basement of another house where several other Terrans were. About to run back out to do…something, the little girl caught his hand. He turned to her, her blue eyes filled with tears, her body shaking. "Soldier man, please don't die."

Oh God. He gave her hand a brief squeeze, reminded of when Jill was small, and smiled, "Don't you worry about me, princess. I'm here to keep you safe."

…But there were hundreds of soldiers out there and until the other squad showed up, he had been essentially alone. Taking a pistol off his waist, he handed it to the little girl's mother. "Anyone comes in here that looks suspicious, shoot them."

The woman looked…astonished, but nodded rapidly. He left the building in the back as to not raise suspicion, keeping a mental note of the location in case it was leveled so the Earthmates could be dug out. He glanced off and saw Joro and Saki back to back, one declaring the way safe when the shooting cleared in their direction.

"Yagami!"

Shin looked up, alarmed, finding Kitamura and a bunch of soldiers just crouched on the ground, covered in dust, at the building next to the one he came from, an opening of about two meters between them. Kitamura looked annoyed, "Come the fuck on, Yagami! We have to fall back!"

…But…was the way clear?

"Yagami, come the fuck on!" Kitamura snapped, peaking around the bend.

…Shit.

Sitting back, he could almost laugh at it now because never in a million years would he have trusted that son of a bitch. Then, he was the stone-cold dummy that believed that same negligent bastard had some grasp on anything that just…ran across the opening.

Something made him freeze. He thought it might be fear. No, he saw a brief spray of blood and wondered whose it was. He looked to his shoulder with a giant hole going through it and realized it was his.

"Fuck! Yagami, get down! Get down!"

It wasn't even Kitamura that screamed that, it was Handsy-san. Shin quickly clambered back to the building, his head ringing as he tried to register what in the hell was going on. Looking to his shoulder again, it…very slowly started to register.

Holy shit, he was shot.

Shaking, he looked to his arm and found he had bullet holes going down his entire left arm. Oh. Oh.

Trying not to panic, he almost jumped into the sky when Joro, Saki, and Handsy-san made it to him. Joro looked pale, "DUDE. Dude, are you okay?!"

"I-I think so" Shin barely whispered.

"What the FUCK, Kitamura?!" Handsy-san screamed toward the other side, "You didn't even clear, ya' dumb fuck! You almost got Yagami killed!"

Shin wearily glanced to the side and found all the blood drained from Kitamura's skin, the other soldiers looking paralyzed. Huh…was that intentional? Maybe he hadn't expected other people to see…

Oh. Shin sobbed, crippling over. "Oh fuck—fuck, there-there goes the pain, fuck."

It really hadn't even felt like anything initially…now it felt like his entire arm was on fire. Handsy-san glared hard in Kitamura's direction, "We're getting you back on our bus, Yagami. I don't know what the fuck I'm looking at here."

…A request denied that almost took his life.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

It was…maybe pre-pregnancy scare. In fact, when he thought about it, the event he thought was where he might have gotten her pregnant, she was upset about something. After they were done, the following day, she asked if they could…go get drinks. He kind of honestly got why alcohol got a bad rep, it…literally led him to some pretty crazy situations.

Shin was sitting at the bar, swirling a beer as he watched Lyla drink tequila. He'd asked what was wrong but she assured it was nothing. Trust was lacking everywhere, it seemed.

Luckily that time, they'd been within walking distance of his apartment so after about an hour or two, she told him she was done. He paid their tab and…that ought to have been it.

His stupid self was impaired a bit…and, unfortunately, so was Lyla. When they got in the elevator, she advised that she wanted him.

Gnawing his lip, in the elevator, he tenderly pushed her hair back, pulling her into a sultry kiss. As much as he would like to say he was going to be the responsible one, if Lyla said she wanted him, she would get him. It sounded…like the epitome of self-serving but really, Lyla…Lyla could have whatever she wanted from him.

Thankfully the hallway was empty when the doors opened so he could push her back up against his door, lifting her up to wrap her legs around his waist. She roughly grabbed the back of his shirt as he got the door open, kissing her hard as he recklessly searched for a surface. Ah, the counter…perfect.

It felt so good, he recalled. Lyla was completely embracing him, her soft exhalations ringing in his ear. She murmured, "I love you so much, Shin. I…I want you so bad…but I…I can't…can't have anything."

…What?

Yagami Shin grimaced, opening his eyes, confused. He was lying in an infirmary bed. His arm was wrapped up and in a sling…

…Oh yea, he'd been shot.

Fearfully, he stared down at his left hand before daring to flex his fingers. First the thumb, the pointer, the middle, the index, the pinky…

…Okay, it…hurt like hell but he could do it. He…he hadn't lost usage of his hand. Daring to move his arm, well…that wasn't quite as smart a move. He almost bellowed with agony.

"Stop that, Yagami."

He yelped, caught off guard, when a doctor sauntered up beside him. It…wasn't the doctor he was used to. Crap, had Handsy-san really brought him back to their barracks? Sato would shit a brick and say he abandoned post! "Relax, Yagami, you're at your base, but since I was treating you, I came with."

"O-Oh. Thank you, sir."

"You're lucky, Yagami, those bullets could have ripped your arm apart. You got hit by three bullets in the arm and one through your shoulder. You have some torn muscle and tissue so you're basically wearing that sling up until the last week of your deployment."

"…What am I going to do with my arm in a sling though, sir?"

"If he's still your lieutenant after this, Yagami, that's going to be between you and him."

…Huh? "I will say you will definitely not be able to hold a gun for a while so you'll probably be on light duty."

Great. Just…great. "…Thank you, doctor."

"Shin?!"

Looking up, he grunted when arms wrapped around his neck. Eh? Oh. Oh! Fuck, he…Shin took a deep breath of relief, hugging Yamada Komari with his good arm. "…Fuck, I was worried. You're okay."

"I'm okay?! You jackass, you were shot!" Komari snapped.

"Yea…"

The doctor wandered away, about to pull the curtain, "…Per protocol, Yagami, I had to call whom you listed as your first contact in your personnel file in case something happened to you."

…What? Nooooo. Shin gaped, feeling the warmth leave his body. His 'first contact' was his dad who was terrified by this very scenario. "D-Did he pick up?"

"Oh yea. I'd, uh, give a call when you're feeling up to it."

"Oh my God" Shin whined, burying his face in his hand, "My dad is probably losing his mind, oh my God."

Komari rubbed his back as the doctor left, quiet for a moment. "…Shin, what the fuck happened? I ran into Joro and Saki, they are pissed. They said Kitamura pretty much let you get shot."

… "It's…it's my fault" he mumbled, "I-I know not to trust him but I was worried about another 'insubordination' write up so I came at his beckoning and got capped four times."

"Could you have seen from that angle?"

"…Not completely, but-"

"Could he have seen from that angle?"

"…Possibly. Probably."

Komari's jaw grew taut as she gripped his good hand, "…If I catch him in the hall, we're fighting on sight, that lousy son of a bitch."

…Ugh. His head hurt and he was tired. Tipping her head, she drawled, "Why don't you give your dad a call and then I'll bring you something to eat from the mess hall, okay? Just lie in here and take it easy."

"…All right. Thank you, Komari. And really, I'm…I'm glad you're okay."

"…Someone had my back out there, Yagami. I'm…I'm sorry I didn't have yours this time" she said faintly.

Watching her walk away, he grimaced. Yea, that…that was the battlefield on his own right there. Granted, he did…fine. Actually, he probably did a little better than usual…up until he had to trust untrustworthy people.

When he got to his feet, he felt deep dread as he requested to use the phone to call out. They allowed him fifteen minutes and he dialed the landline, praying his dad had just…gotten tied up with something else because this was not a conversation he wanted to have right now.

The phone rang literally once. "Shin? Shin, is that you?"

Damn it. "Yea, dad, it's…it's me. I'm-"

Before he could fathom saying 'okay', his dad flipped. "What in the hell happened?"

"I-"

"The doctor said you took four bullets to your left side. Four bullets?"

"Dad, it was not—it was not intentional, I promise you that. I—It was a…tactical error."

He said, bullshitting entirely. "A tactical error?" Yamada echoed, his voice getting…crisp, "Is that what I should have put on your memorial?"

"I'm not dead, dad, I'm talking to you right now!"

Oh, thank GOD, he heard a woman's voice on the other side. Shin sighed with relief when his mama's voice took over, "My Sweetie Plum, are you okay?"

"I'm fine, mama. Please, explain to dad that I am fine. I-I am not dead."

Great, he was on speaker, apparently. "You got shot four times, Shin. Someone meant to kill you."

"Everyone means to kill me, dad, that's kind of the point of war!"

"Then I shouldn't have let you go!"

Dana huffed, "Stop it, both of you. Yama, relax. I know it's hard but this is our son on the other end of this phone communicating to us that he is all right. Take a deep breath, come back to the present—he is fine."

…Shit. Shin winced as his dad fell completely silent. Right…right. Old Shin took…quite a few bullets too. "I…I'm sorry, dad. A…A Zechs soldier popped up after…after we checked and I was about to do a crossover to rejoin my unit. I fell back and was treated immediately. The…the doctor said I just need to keep my arm in this sling until it's time for me to go so I probably won't even see a patrol anymore."

Well…maybe. Some of it was an outright lie and some of it may end up being an outright lie. Finally, his dad rasped, "…You're okay?"

"I'm okay, promise."

"…Come back to us, Shin" Yamada whispered.

Shin swallowed, "I…I will, papa."

"What the fuck do you mean he got shot?!"

This was about to be the loudest most nerve bending ten minute call to ever happen, Shin groaned when he heard Yagami Koji's proclamation. "Yo, Shin, what the fuck?"

"Hello, Koji. There was a large scale attack of the town we protect here by the Zechs. I was securing a location and a Zechs soldier shot me in the arm. I am fine."

He squeezed the bridge of his nose as he wedged the phone against his good shoulder because it sounded like Jill was reporting the details to Koji on the side. "Four fucking times, Shin? Where was your buddy that's supposed to have your back?!"

"We were scattered. Ya'll, it is not a tidy affair over here. It's pandemonium when stuff like this happens!"

Dragging his fingers down his face, he shook his head when Nelly came next, demanding what happened. Good lord. "Shin…dude."

"Is everyone there that cares at this moment so I can reiterate this one more time?" Shin demanded, his voice a bit sarcastic, "I am fine. FINE. I will have to wear the sling for two months then I will be home and you can see my bullet wounds."

"Were you scared, nii-san?" Shaun asked.

… "A…A little, Shaun. Honestly, I…I didn't know what happened at first. It didn't hurt like it looks like it does in the movies right off the bat."

He groaned, rolling his eyes, when he heard his dad say 'they could have shot him in the head'. He needed to change his first contact. Jill whimpered, "Nii-san, we love you and we're not there so we can't see what's going on. I'm sorry if we're seeming bothersome but all the doctor told us was you were shot and in surgery. Everyone was frightened."

Oof. "I…I know, imoto, I understand, really. It's…it's okay though, I swear to you that I'm not on my last leg or anything."

Shin looked up wearily when the proctor advised 'three more minutes'. "Hey, um, my times almost up so I need to get going."

"'Time's almost up'?" Koji echoed, "You get shot for them and they still have your phone calls on a fucking timer?"

"Well, some…some people didn't make it, Koji, they probably need the line for those calls."

Dead absolute silence. Yea, this call didn't need to happen again. "Everyone, I-I will see you very soon and we'll put this all behind us, okay? I love you all so much and I can't wait to see you. I will see you soon, okay?"

"…I'm holding you to that, Shin" Koji muttered.

"I know."

"I love you too, nii-san" Jill proclaimed, "Please, stay safe."

Everyone echoed similar sentiments before his mom murmured, "…I felt something. It was about two, three hours ago. Was…was it then?"

Glancing at the clock, Shin slowly nodded, "Yea, three hours ago now…"

"…Okay. Be safe, Shin, and call us if anything changes, okay?"

"I will, mama. Love you."

"I love you too, Sweetie Plum. I'm here waiting for you, okay?"

"All right, mama…"

"…Shin."

God, dad. "Yes, papa?"

"…I…I don't like to be selfish. I don't really know exactly…how to be, I suppose, because I never had anything before I had you all. I just…I just really, really, really need you to come back, okay? No question, I…I need you here, Shin. Please…"

"…Of course, dad. It's…it's about to wrap up and I'll see you soon, I swear to you. Don't worry. I love you, okay?"

"…I love you too."

Feeling ill, he hung up and went back over to his hospital bed, lying back down and trying to sleep. That…that was tough.

Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out the watch he now carried with him and flipped it open. Staring at her picture, he frowned. They…were really drunk but…had she said that? If she did, what…what did she mean?

Why…why was nothing clear right now? Why…why was he so lost in everything?

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Day 300. Corruption.

Yagami Shin got shot on Day 298. He was still in the infirmary until the end of Day 299. This morning, he woke up to raucous knocking. Confused, he got up, and it was Kitamura.

"You lazy or something, Yagami?! Get ready for patrol!"

Patrol. As in…that task he did where he needed to be armed in case what happened two days ago occurred. He had stared at Kitamura, his mind incapable of registering this…nonsense. "…I'm on medical leave at least until the end of this week, Kitamura."

"Sato denied it."

"The doctor OUTRANKS Sato."

"That OTHER doctor cleared it. OUR doctor indicated you can do patrol. Now quit making shit up and come on."

Shin managed to get dressed with one arm before going to the armory. The soldier in there running the inventory looked…very confused. "…What are you going to do out there, man? One hand shoot like James Bond the whole time?"

"I guess so" Shin said wearily.

The man's brows had creased, giving him a couple berettas and body armor. "…Man, good luck. You need to sue or something."

Shin needed to have one armed beat Kitamura's ass and got himself dishonorably discharged. There was no…reason for this. The rest of his comrades stared at him in shock, whispering amongst themselves that there was no way they'd have come out here unarmed. Yea…none of them were being targeted by a psycho.

It was hot again, he thought, groggily wiping his brow with his good hand. The sling made it extra hot too. Walking along the paved streets, he watched the Terrans try to rebuild. Shin couldn't help but feel their eyes sharply pinned on them. He saw the graves, around fifty Earthmates were killed. Yea…they didn't do their job.

"Soldier man!"

…Oh! Shin quickly looked around and smiled softly when the little girl approached him. Good. He noticed her mother walking warily behind her as the child presented him with pretty blue flowers, as usual. "…Are you okay, princess?"

"I am fine…you got hurt" she whispered, looking at his arm.

"I'm all right. I'm glad you are too."

Her mother got closer, saying very faintly, "…Thank you for-for saving my family."

"…I'm so sorry I wasn't able to do more, ma'am. Do…do you need anything? Is there anything I can give you?" Shin murmured.

She shook her head, "…My brother lives in Ukraine. We will be going to live with him. It…it will be safer."

Shin swallowed that and nodded, bowing, "…Your daughter's flowers got me through this so I…I thank you both for your kindness."

The little girl looked tickled, reaching to squeeze his hand, "If you crush the flowers and put them on your wounds, Mr. Soldier Man, they'll give you strength! They're called 'rune flowers'."

"I just might do that, thank you."

"…You are a decent man, I can sense that" her mother said, staring him deep in the eye with her dark ones, "…You are not around decent men. Do not turn your back on them."

"…Yes. Thank you."

Watching them depart, he felt a bit sad but…relieved. If something happened to that little girl because they weren't organized, he'd flip out. If something happened just now, he couldn't have even protected her that well…this…

He wandered around, checking and making sure he didn't see any suspicious individuals. His arm…hurt something fierce though and he was nowhere near any meds. Gritting his teeth, he just tried to keep it steady and not think about it.

"…Yagami?"

Uh oh. Shin's eyes widened as he looked to the side. In a car was Colonel Teramoto, the man staring at him with…disbelief, perhaps. "…Yagami, what in the hell are you doing out here?"

"U-Um…patrol, sir?"

"…With one arm?"

"W-Well, I…I have a couple beretta."

Teramoto stared at him like he was an idiot. He was. "…Get your crazy Mission Impossible ass in here, Yagami."

"Yes sir…"

Why was he here though? Shin got into the back of the vehicle as Teramoto huffed, looking to another higher up in the seat beside him. "…This is Yagami. One of my best soldiers a year ago. Now he's apparently expected to be Rambo. Did the doctor not flag you for medical leave or work restrictions, Yagami?"

"I…I was supposed to be staying motionless the rest of this week, sir, before I returned to light duty. Kitamura came this morning and advised me that I was still supposed to be on patrol. He said the doctor I saw wasn't one of ours and that our platoon's doctor said I was 'fine'."

The mystery officer glanced to Teramoto, bewildered, "…A one armed soldier is not 'fine', Teramoto. I think we can officially say they made a mistake letting Sato have this base."

Teramoto just shook his head, looking out, "Just between those in this car, Yagami, but Sato and his various lackeys have been reported to us for negligence. The major officials were putting it off because of the necessity of leadership right now. However, another base that was called to help secure the area, every last soldier there reported the unit for lack of leadership, no protocol, no formation…and your old crew, they were very indignant that apparently Kitamura allowed you to get shot because he didn't check once."

Grimacing, Shin nodded quietly. Teramoto snorted, "…Now, they have you out here without an assault rifle expecting to shoot people that have come at us with assault rifles. They give you a couple berettas and a dandy 'fuck you', I guess. Despicable. Sato is going to be court marshaled up the wazoo."

"What about Kitamura?" asked the other official.

"We'll let him finish his tour. With Sato out of the way, he's lost all his power and should be more on edge about doing the wrong thing. Yagami…play it entirely safe and don't tell anyone you saw me. If you see Zechs coming…yell to warn everyone and run. You are a sitting duck. We'll have this fixed tonight."

"Y-Yes sir. Thank you."

Teramoto didn't say anything as he exited the vehicle and continued to walk around. While he kept his eyes pinned, he focused on helping the Terrans clean up. It took three hundred days but supposedly this hell might be taking a turn.

…65 days to go.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"You're a snitch, Yagami."

Day 310.

Yagami Shin was sitting in the mess hall with the strange combination of Yamada Komari and Itoh Kasumi. The latter was at such a loss of Komari defying her wishes, Shin guessed the next best option was to just join. She said absolutely nothing to him and she didn't last very long in the scheme of things, usually just around for ten minutes before taking off. Currently, his mama had sent him a box of Cinnamon Toast Crunch expedited and he was enjoying a bowl, everything just briefly right with the world. Until this douche came to talk to him.

Eating another spoonful, he looked up drearily at Kitamura. Komari admitted she'd never had cereal before but was currently eating the helping he'd offered Kasumi which she didn't eat after finishing hers. The abrasive woman leered, munching before drawling, "Fuckturd, don't you see we're off the clock and don't have to deal with bullshit right now?"

"…You need to go down to the dorms, Itoh, Yamada" Kitamura said lowly.

Kasumi stood without preamble but Komari smirked, raising a brow at her, "Whaaaa? You fucking him or somethin'?"

"Don't be sick."

"Then sit. Only I tell you when to go down when we're off the clock."

Shin almost expected Kasumi to snap at Komari but, surprisingly, she smirked as well and sank back into her seat. Oh…right, they…were in a relationship that wasn't entirely hinged on hostility, he just hadn't seen it before. Kitamura's ears were turning red at the defiance but literally…they were done for the day. Give it a rest.

"What are you talking about, Kitamura?" Shin asked, pushing his bowl out of the way after he finished his milk.

"You don't think everyone doesn't know you got Lieutenant Sato fired?" he snapped.

Blinking languidly, Shin drawled, "…I didn't turn anyone in. The entire other platoon that came and saw the shit show he was running were appalled that we allowed over a dozen Terrans to die and lost as many men as we did. And, oh, yes, how you told me to run across open shot range to get shot. You remember how about a dozen people were watching that, Kitamura?"

"You-"

"And you have some balls, coming here talking to me about snitching on Sato when I let every single bullshit thing you and that asshole did ride for three hundred days. Ten months, Kitamura" Shin's eyes narrowed, "I didn't even turn in the fact that you and him forged my medical documents and had me running around enemy territory with a pop gun for three days."

While Teramoto assured he'd be done with that crazy under-armed patrol gig within the day, it went on for basically the full week. The doctor that treated him so happened to call the other physician who never even saw Shin to get an update and was livid to learn he was just out here. The doctors turned Sato in.

Kitamura gritted his teeth as Shin stood up. Fine, if he got kicked out in the last 55 days, so be it. He was about done with this. The other soldiers there instantly perked, coming to observe as Kitamura tried to hide his surprise. "…I'm from the industrial parts of Tokyo, Yagami, I don't think you want to do this. And I'm not holding back because you're crippled either."

"I'm from the worst slums of Japan, Kitamura, one arm is all I need for your soft ass."

That punk asshole actually tagged his arm with bullets he got because the prick let him get shot. Kitamura actually came around to swing again on his arm but Shin was done: he was pissed.

Managing to side step his swipe, Shin stepped right up to him, pulled his good arm back, and punched Kitamura square in the jaw.

Koji used to say the sound of his fist connecting to some fucker's jaw was like music to his ears and Shin would call him a psycho. Alas, in this moment, that crack of knuckle meeting flesh was like hearing his favorite album in one second and Shin understood completely. Kitamura yelped, actually crashing to the ground as the soldiers hooted, laughing and cheering.

Dropping his arm, he looked down as Kitamura tried to get to his feet, stumbling as if he was off kilter. Shin was ready for more but the bastard held his jaw, seething, "I-I'll get you dishonorably discharged for that, Yagami!"

Komari didn't even have to say anything, the onlookers suddenly taunted, 'then who's the snitch now, Kitamura?' and 'snitches get stitches, prick!'. Kitamura gaped at them before his eyes narrowed sharply, stomping out of the room. Darn, Shin was hoping he could hit him one more time…

So, he sat back down, pouring himself another bowl of cereal. Komari was smirking very widely at him, "Feel better now?"

"I feel excellent now, actually."

"Kudos, though you should have popped his ass a long-g-g-g time ago."

To be honest, Shin never did learn what the deal was fully with Kitamura. He heard various rumors over time but one was that his father was a celebrated commander and Kitamura wasn't rising through the ranks as fast as the man liked. Sato probably promised to get Kitamura promoted if he managed to get rid of him. Now, with that opportunity out the window, Shin had only managed to get in his way.

When…he sat back and thought on it now, he…he had little animosity against Kitamura. Five percent of a miracle was very difficult to be a part of.