Eighteen
Consolidation
Rafu yawned as he walked down the stairs, the smell of food and the noise of his platoon waking him up. As he rubbed his face to help himself truly awake, a few voices greeted his appearance, to which he grumbled a response as he made his way to his pack that had been tossed in a corner next to their weapons last night.
"You would think we'd be given lighter training after we dominated that last battle." Rafu mumbled, his body still aching from their company exercises they did until the moon had come out. "Why the hell are we doing pushups in full kit? What are we going to do, fall down two hundred times in a battle?"
"At least he's doing them with us." Gorou said while shoving fish cuts into his mouth.
"Don't talk with your mouth full, kid." Leiko ordered, slapping the Inkling in passing before increasing her step to avoid retaliation.
"Why the hell are you even here? Aren't you supposed to be with Yua's platoon?" Rafu asked, somewhat annoyed that the spear squid was still loitering with his platoon.
"Because, Hotaru is here." Gorou grumbled, silencing himself to finish eating. Rafu took the opportunity to shift his gaze to the new harquebusier that had joined platoon, somewhat miffed that he knew one of his squaddie's names. After all, if he knew his squaddie's names, what was the point of squad leaders?
"Well, get out. I'm not even supposed to be talking to new blood that isn't one of mine." Rafu said as he brushed past others in the platoon to get his own ration over the fire. "I heard some of the shit Yua's pulled on other Inklings, and I'm not going to get taken down by a friendly."
"I probably should leave anyways." Gorou eventually agreed, leaving his trash on the table as he grabbed his weapon and bolted out the door before Rafu could shout anything.
"I got it, platoon leader." Hotaru said before Rafu could charge the door to get the intruder back, already cleaning his own ration package that he used for a plate. Rafu snorted, going back to finish heating his stupid fish as he spoke.
"That boy's no good for you, son. He's a trouble maker."
"Ha!" Leiko shouted from across the room, never failing to keep the mood light and getting a few chuckles from the younger ones in the platoon.
Rafu smiled as he watched his platoon happily go about their morning routine, every Inkling in high spirits, and more importantly, together. None were sticking to the edges of the room, or avoiding anyone else. Not even the guy who had recently joined them after their company's roster got reinforced by volunteers from the Twenty-First.
Seeing as their old commander and sub-commander had admitted to being traitors, and subsequently sent northward for trial, and as the remaining Inklings in the company had no logistic officers to be giving temporary orders, they had fallen under the Tenth's banner temporarily. As there were over two hundred young warriors waiting for redeployment near him, Range had openly offered induction into his company for the losses he took. His offer had allowed slightly more than twenty of the young Inklings to fill the empty spots in his spear line, Rafu getting the only harquebus from the other company, due to one of his own wanting to transfer and chase after his lover or something. Since it was a squaddie, Rafu hadn't cared enough to try to stop the boy from going after love and was somewhat surprised the replacement hadn't even needed to move into his platoon's building.
"So, what are we going to do today?" Uyeda asked, finally getting comfortable with speaking to his platoon leader.
"Running!" Rafu shouted, getting groans from those around him. "Nonstop running, all day, every day! We're expected to be able to run for ten miles straight without slowing down."
"That's insane." One of his braver squaddies moaned, apparently fearless to critique their general's orders.
"And yet, we will do so anyway. We're running with Umeko's platoon today, so…" Rafu started, the entrance slamming opening and distracting him.
"Rafu!" Naoki yelled from across the room, stunning the harquebus platoon who was still half eating.
"Uh… Naoki?" Rafu asked as he watched the angry warrior cross the room, not even knowing why the platoon leader was raising his fists and coming towards him.
Apparently Kaji's idea of a lock pick was a mallet, Kichi realized as she watched her and Range's guards sort through the shattered remains of the chests. From the wooden crustacean chests, shiny metal had poured freely, small little discs littering their halls floor. At first, Kichi had thought the metal circles were made of iron, but it was much too bright compared to the dull color than smelted steel gave off.
"We waited for how many days for you guys to just smash it? Was this what woke me up last night?" Kichi asked the room, even her own guards looking slightly guilty.
Glancing at the other boring containers, Kichi could see that the crustacean's cargo was all the same of the shiny metal, just in multiple forms between small discs and larger ingots. Wondering where Kaji of the River was to answer her questions, Kichi looked around the hall, feeling slightly under dressed in just her basic armor. "Don't tell me you all did this when Range and Kaji weren't present. They've been dying to see what's been in these stupid crates."
"Kaji went to go retrieve some things for us." Range calmly explained as he entered the room, a smaller metal box in his hands. Kichi tossed the shiny disc towards her guards, intentionally missing their open hands so they would have to exert a tiny bit more effort in their task of cleaning up as she began to move to her general. On her way to investigate what Range was holding, Kichi glanced through some of the urchin's iron bound containers, the black wood shards scattered along the floor in some bad smelling cloth that had obviously been waterlogged, then left to dry for a long time.
"What happened to the urchin's cargo?" Kichi asked as she neared the inquisitive general, looking puzzled with the lock mechanism on the iron rectangular prism.
"I'm guessing the fish-tribe sank their ship, then took their stuff. Their chests weren't water tight, so most of the contents inside became unsalvageable, save for this one box. I don't want to smash it open, in case something breakable is inside."
"That didn't stop you earlier, Range." Kichi pointed out, gesturing to the mess that was scattered over the floor they had their leadership meetings on.
"Well, I wasn't the one who opened the first container. You can blame that on the other commander." Range pointed out, shifting the blame to the missing Monster Corp guy.
"Speaking of them, why are they still roaming around the town's perimeter? Have you made an alliance with them?" Kichi asked, confidently taking an aggressive speech pattern, which did little to the perplexed general.
"What? No. They're the Monster Corp. They'll do what they want, when they want. If Kantoku wants to hang around and dither in Minami, there's nothing I can do to stop him. Does he scare you?" Range asked, still not even glancing in her direction as he put the metal container next to his ear and shook it gently.
"No, of course not. My company is just unnerved by him. It doesn't help that he randomly visits our company's housing by the way." Kichi stated, getting a shrug from the general.
Range said nothing for a time, eventually looking away from the box and shifting his view to the entrance of the hall, where Kaji stood with a single bodyguard. The banner brute, as he was called, was holding an entire set of armor, obviously having trouble keeping everything in his arms. Kaji himself only carried a single helmet and a small wooden box, apparently satisfied with himself.
"Did you finish it?" Range asked, his voice distracting the other guards from their task as they looked to Kaji.
"I have, you ungrateful shit." Kaji of the River growled, walking towards the two officers with as much purpose his old legs could move with. As Kaji neared, he took the helmet in both hands, and threw the helm with great effort at the general. "Here's your stupid helmet, now give me the box."
As Kichi watched the metal box drop to the floor, she ducked out of the way from the large projectile, not wanting to get hit by such a creation. After she heard Range catch the head gear, she turned to see him flipping it around and inspect the piece of armor, the same inquisitive look on his face.
"Did you have Kaji make you armor? Didn't he make you an entire set less than a year ago?" Kichi asked, knowing that Kaji was very much underappreciated in their brigade's eyes. As she was turning to apologize for the general, Kaji was holding a second helmet and looking at her, confused.
"Ya' didn't tell her?" Kaji asked to Range, who was adjusting the helmet, playing with the banded metal and leather that draped down to protect the sides of his face and back of his neck.
"All I'm missing is a mouth guard, and I'd be a squid guard. Couldn't you have added a crescent or something, like right on the forehead or top?" Range asked, ignoring the question entirely as he pointed to the top of his head. "Was a little decoration so much to ask for?"
"I thought you wanted practicality! I'll make it out of the silver you looted, alright?" Kaji groaned, trying to appease the general. "But I want some for private use."
"Fine, fine. The rest I'm trading for more resources, though. I've already had my logistic officer draft the first letter to inform them what sort of gift I'm leaving here." Range stated, getting a sigh of disappointment from the elder. "And Kichi, this armor is for you. We can't have you running around dressed as a conscript now that you've proven you're a somewhat capable leader."
Kichi felt confused briefly, before having Masaru get her attention by grunting at her. Quickly realizing he was needing help, Kichi grabbed the smaller pieces that were dangling from his arms, threatening to fall to the ground. After feeling the soft, thick leather of the interior, Kichi turned to the elder, knowing the expression she had on her face didn't match her emotions.
"Thank you, Kaji. I've never received such an amazing thing before." Kichi swore with sincerity, placing the first gauntlet on and feeling something she had thought lost. Unlike her first set of armor, which had only weighed her down and made her feel out of place, the gauntlet felt... right.
"Ah, you embarrass me, commander. I'll say in advance, I didn't know your dimensions, and I know you're young so I gave you some growing room. You won't find a more comfortable and durable set of armor in the country, I'd wager." Kaji promised, suddenly acting bashful by her compliments.
"Really, Kaji, thank you. There's something about it that makes it feel… I don't know. I don't have words, so... thank you again, Kaji." Kichi bowed to the elder, not having any idea what price Range must have paid to get the master smith to make such a gift.
"Go equip yourself, Kichi. Masaru, go take that to her room." Range stated, picking up the box and handing it to the elder. She briefly watched Kaji open his small wooden box, taking thin metal tools out of the container.
"Before that, I wanted to know when we'd be leaving. It hasn't rained in over four days, and I'm sure our-" Kichi started, getting interrupted by Range.
"Soon. We'll be departing once the siege company comes to survey that rock formation and either destroy it or convert it. And yes, we'll be joining our third company on the road to finally be a brigade. Now go get equipped so you can show off to everyone in the town!" Range yelled in his positive disposition, forcing Kichi out of the room with every word. As she followed Masaru out of the room, Kichi put on her second gauntlet, wondering if the leather that was the interior was from one of the sharks they had killed during the hunting trip. As she was about to close the door behind her, she heard another door in the hall slam open, halting her as she overheard yelling.
"Platoon leaders are fighting!" A somewhat familiar voice shouted, Kichi fairly certain the individual spoke a few times during the leadership meetings.
"Who's company?" Range shouted back, not that alarmed by the messenger's words.
"Ours!"
"Is it serious?"
"Kind of?"
"Alright. I'm on my way. You all, wrap this up already. Let's go see what's happening!"
Glad that it wasn't her problem to solve, Kichi didn't turn around, content to get her new armor on. On her way towards her private quarters, she could hear the elder she respected accuse Range of breaking into his shack to get a peek at the helmet he had made him, only hearing a confused general rebuff the elder with an insult.
In all of his time within the Tenth, Rafu hadn't really feared for his life. Perhaps that had been his second mistake, the first being coming to the company when he heard about their open position. Now, as Rafu ran for his life away from the eldest, and most respected platoon leader in the entire company, he tried to gather what he could have possibly done to attain this individual's ire.
"IS THIS ABOUT EMI?" Rafu shouted, not wanting to turn back and see how close the Inkling was. He knew Naoki and most of the heavy infantry were sprinters, so after avoiding the warrior's initial attacks, it would only be a matter of time before Rafu could outpace the older warrior in his lighter gear.
That was the hope anyway, which was quickly diminishing the longer this chase continued. Rafu didn't know why things had turned out the way they had, but the more he delayed the inevitable, which appeared to be a vicious beating or execution, the more of an audience he was gathering. Already, Inklings were lining the roads he ran down, unsure whether or not to get in the way of either one of the platoon leaders.
"YOU KNOW DAMN WELL IT IS!" Naoki shouted back, not even out of breath even though they had been at this for minutes. Rafu tried to shove aside the thought of just how close his voice was to his ear, trying to come up with a plan that didn't involve losing speed.
"I DON'T KNOW WHAT SHE TOLD YOU, BUT I DON'T THINK I'VE WARRANTED THIS! IF WE COULD JUST TALK ABOUT-" Rafu tried to shout back and start a dialogue, but suddenly had his legs stop moving and crashed to the ground. He didn't even get a chance to say another word in his defense, having to put up an actual defense as Naoki's fist started landing against his head. Flipping over so he couldn't be punched in the back of the head, Rafu brought his arms as close to his face as possible to shield him from the physical abuse he was taking.
The crowd turning into a shouting match didn't aid him in his plight either, Rafu thought as the yelling for bets of who would win were suddenly the only thing he could hear, drowning all the words and curses Naoki's mouth was maybe saying. Rafu also understood he was not the favorite in the winner of this fight, so he doubted anyone actually wanted to help him. After several more, very long minutes of defending himself, and being unable to listen to a single thing Naoki had been shouting at him, he could suddenly hear everything the platoon leader was speaking.
"DON'T, EVER, COME, NEAR, US!" Naoki shouted every word with every swing, putting his full force onto Rafu's arms to get through his guard. "ABSOLUTE, PIECE, OF, GARBAGE."
Rafu was fairly certain his arms were about to give and he was about to get knocked the hell out, right before the beating he was taking suddenly ended. As Naoki's weight was no longer keeping him on his ass, Rafu took the sudden opportunity to gain his freedom, feeling very dizzy as he got to his feet and stumbled about. Quickly wondering what had stopped Naoki's fury, he could see the back of his general, not even looking at him. Judging by the crowd's unanimous cringed expression, it appeared that Range had done something very painful to his first platoon leader.
Out of the crowd's voices, he could hear similar words and phrases, namely 'ouch' 'that has to hurt' and 'that kick though'. After catching his breath, Rafu briefly thought he was safe right until the moment Naoki got back to his feet and tried to charge him through their leader.
Their general didn't even give him the chance to take a step past him. Within a second, Naoki was on his back again, Range having simultaneously tripping the Inkling while grabbing the warrior by the face, violently bringing the platoon leader back into the dirt. Even though Naoki had been beating him steadily for the past several minutes, not even Rafu wanted to see the Inkling go down in such a way. As Range stood to his full height, he addressed the crowd without a hint of levity or emotion, which was briefly terrifying with how accomplished and known he was for being a killer.
"Everyone who is not a platoon leader in the Tenth, go back to what you were doing. Those who I have just called, follow me."
Only a few brave Inklings answered his call, slowly following their general as he dragged Naoki out of the middle of the road and into an empty space between two buildings. Rafu clutched his poor left arm, which had nobly taken the main assault of the downed platoon leader, and realized it was actually swelling from how much damage he had sustained, which was a rare infliction to those with such durable bodies.
Following after the three that weren't Range or Naoki was becoming an easier task with each step, luckily. Rafu hoped that it was just his left arm that was going to hurt, as he didn't know how Range disciplined his platoon leaders. After throwing Naoki against the wall of a building, Range turned on the four of them, speaking quickly and quietly.
"You three, what the fuck happened, and why didn't you interfere to stop it?" Range asked, Rafu understanding he wasn't getting yelled at just yet.
"I arrived after you." Saki, or some other female spear warrior stated tersely.
"I couldn't get through the crowd, sir." Some kid said, Rafu never hearing this Inkling speak before. "I tried as best I could, but there were too many for me to push through."
"Fine, what's your excuse, Tae?" Range asked, anger evident in his voice.
"I was having flash backs to when you kicked me in the head. I wanted to see it from a spectator's point of view." Tae offered, shrugging his shoulders.
"I'm considering demoting all of your asses right now, just so you know." Range growled. "If you three don't know why this situation happened, leave."
Rafu watched as two of three left, somewhat surprised that Saki had stayed, as she hadn't even been around during the chase and fight.
"Yes, Saki?"
"Emi wants to marry Naoki." Saki bluntly stated, before turning on her heel and leaving without continuing her explanation, which Rafu, and the dazed Naoki would have really liked.
"Huh." Was the only thing that Range could possibly say after watching the spear warrior leave, making eye contact with Rafu for the first time since his arrival. "Did you know that?"
"No." Rafu sighed, using the other building's wall to steady himself. "No, I did not."
"She… what?" Naoki asked from his grounded position, blinking awkwardly as he gripped his head that had taken a plated boot to the head.
"Naoki, I didn't know you two had plans like that, man. But still, I don't think you rushing me in front of my platoon, or chasing me through the streets was needed. All I did was hit on her." Rafu breathed out, knowing damn well he wasn't serious enough about the girl he'd just met to get tied to for life with. "Not like I would have stood in your way."
"I… didn't know that either… I was told you insulted her honor, which could mean like, three things." Naoki explained as he rubbed the back of his head where he had taken the most damage. "Maybe I overreacted."
"Who'd you even hear that from? I've only seen Emi in passing, like, once this week. She's been doing stuff with the other female platoon leads. I'll take on any man, but I'm not going to try to go up against them." Rafu admitted, basically ignoring the back and forth stares his general was giving him.
"Fuckin'… I don't even remember." Naoki dejectedly stated, hiding his face. "I feel so dumb."
"Don't, man. You acted out of love. That's pretty admirable. I just wish that, you know... it was for an actual reason, and not on misinformation." Rafu chuckled, squeezing his hurt arm as the pain began to fade.
"Sorry, Rafu. Really, I... should have at least inquired a bit more before acting. I guess I didn't need much of a reason to go after someone who appeared to be a rival. I mean, a calm, collected, older outsider, with an air of confidence and mystery? How was I supposed to compete against that?" Naoki asked as they both slowly rose to their feet.
"Older? Aren't you like, twenty four? And who are you even kidding? You're one of the most integral parts of the company. Even I could see that on my first day here. You'd beat me any day of the week when it comes to achievements, and obviously would beat my ass."
"Twenty four? Try twenty two, dude. Also, you're not giving yourself enough credit. A week in, and ladies were already asking me about you." Naoki said as he hobbled over to him.
"Really? Everyone's been saying you're like, the oldest platoon leader. I assumed you had like, two years on me. I didn't realize we were the same age. I also wish you would have told me that earlier, since I was only hitting on Emi because she showed interest with the archery thing. Haven't even used my bow since I got here." Rafu chuckled, realizing that this entire situation could have been avoided, and how he probably could have benefited from just speaking with the guy who had attacked him.
"Well then." Range spoke, reminding both of them that they were in the presence of their general. "Glad to see you two are friends now. However, if either of you do this shit again, I'm going to beat you ruthlessly, and then demote you both to squaddie."
"Yes, sir." Rafu stated.
"Yes, general." Naoki quickly followed.
"Good! Now then, Naoki." Range stated, grabbing the platoon leader by the shoulders.
"Yes?"
"You want to get married?" Range asked enthusiastically, a scheming smirk coming to bear with a strange light in his eye.
Fairly certain she was putting her armor on wrong, Kichi struggled to attach the breastplate after it had fallen apart. She knew she was causing a small racket, the back part of her torso protection clattering against her pauldrons and leg guards that she had yet to equip. Kichi wondered if Range originally had similar problems when he had received his own master crafted armor, or if she was just doing it wrong.
At least no one was here to watch her failure, Kichi thought as she resigned herself to being defeated. Sighing, Kichi tried bending over to start reattaching the breastplate's back half, before hearing a timely knock on the sliding door.
"Commander Kichi?" Taiki asked through the door. "Are you decent?"
"Yes! Come in, Taiki." Kichi returned, somewhat surprised that the 'brigade liaison' had come to her. Honestly, she had thought Taiki had been avoiding her all of this time, even after she had rescued him from the shark den.
With her back turned to him, Kichi continued to try and get her armor together, still failing to attach it to her body. She sensed that Taiki had remained at the door after opening it, probably confused by what he was witnessing as the commander continued her struggle.
"Didn't I say 'come in'?" Kichi asked angrily, damn well knowing the answer. Not wanting to draw attention from those who could potentially be nearby, and never wanting to deal with them outside a proffessional level like her general did to his random guards he had seemingly elevated out of his company, Kichi quickly gave out her order so she could continue her struggle. "Close the door, before one of my guard returns and 'helps' me with my armor."
After hearing a snort of checked laughter, Kichi heard the door gently close, the wood softly clacking against the frame as Taiki did as he was told. As he inched his way closer, she heard the male stop at a polite distance before speaking.
"Perhaps it would be easier if you removed your gauntlets first, Kichi." Taiki offered, halting Kichi dead in her tracks as she lifted the breastplate over her head. Glancing upwards, Kichi realized she was in fact, still wearing her gauntlets, and closed her eyes at the frustrating realization. No wonder she had such trouble keeping everything together. "Would you like my assistance?"
"I… don't know." Kichi started, trying to keep her face somewhat hidden as she continued to hold the armor above her. Instead of taking Taiki up on his offer, she tried to lower the breastplate to her body, but just like the last several times, the back got caught on something, unlatched itself from the front, and then fell to the ground.
"Range had someone help him when he first got his set, you know." Taiki offered, obviously trying to point out that it was okay for her to accept his assistance. Instead, Kichi chose to make fun of her friend, a smirk appearing on her face as she turned to him for the first time.
"Ho, aren't you becoming bold, Taiki? First, entering a lone commander's room, then offering to dress her? I don't know whether you're brave or dumb, Taiki my friend." Kichi joked, watching the boy's face start to redden at the insinuating words. Before he could stutter out a response, she took him up on his offer, laughing as she spoke. "Yes, Taiki. I would absolutely love your assistance."
She watched Taiki shake himself from his thoughts, his embarrassed face quickly changing to quietly scoff at himself as he neared her, leaning down to pick up the metal half that had fallen. As Kichi faced him, she saw for the first time a smile appear on her friend's face, something she hadn't seen since the very end of winter. For a long moment, they looked at each other, each holding half of the chest armor that was still not on her body. Kichi felt her heart skip a beat as he spoke, actually forgetting to think as she stared into his dark blue eyes, something that had never happened before.
"I… need you to turn around." Taiki softly said, holding the back piece ready. Quickly gathering herself, Kichi did as she was told, unsure what she was supposed to do with her hands and the armor within them. As she felt puzzled at what she should be doing, Taiki almost whispered in her ear, Kichi feeling his breath on the back of her neck. "No, hold it close to you. Otherwise, I can't attach it."
Feeling his hand move across her side to adjust what she held, Kichi turned to him and saw his eyes dart away from her. As she let him move the breastplate to where he wanted, Kichi wondered what this Inkling had been doing this entire season, realizing this was the first time they had been alone in a room together since their last conversation in winter.
"Where have you been?" Kichi whispered, briefly stunning Taiki's movement. After his hesitation ended, he tried to smile it off and began attaching the two pieces of steel together from her shoulders and sides.
"I was… reminded, of my station. I realized I might have been distracting you from your duties, instead of helping you accomplish them. I thought that if I distanced myself, you would be able to… work, through whatever was plaguing your thoughts." Taiki spoke as he adjusted the bindings of her armor, quickly bending over to pick up her armor's rectangular pauldrons and attaching them.
"Reminded? By who?" Kichi asked, insulted that someone had gotten in the way of a private relationship. She hadn't felt such an intense anger before at simple words, and turned away from Taiki before he could see the rage on her face. Who would dare to influence her only friend?
"It doesn't matter. After I we had been trapped by water, metal, and beast, I realized how stupid I was being." Taiki quietly chuckled.
"Then why did you avoid-" Kichi started, being interrupted as Taiki lowered himself to his knees as he began attaching the small metal skirt that would protect her waist and upper thigh.
"Because, you looked so… driven. Your entire character had changed completely, and I didn't want to see you return to your previous state. I was afraid I would have just reminded you of whatever was on your mind." Taiki slowly explained, having enough time to attach one of her thigh guards.
"That's ridiculous." Kichi simply stated, getting a single nod from the boy.
"I have never claimed to be a smart man, Kichi. All I can do is ask you forgive me for my stupidity." Taiki said, his head raised to look up into her eyes, his sincere face not even flinching as she brought her full glare down on him. After a few seconds of trying to direct her immediate anger on the kneeling warrior, Kichi shifted her gaze, realizing there wasn't any point in being mad at him.
"Of course I forgive you. But, if you ever avoid me like you've done again, I'm… I won't even tell you what I'll do. How about that, huh?" Kichi asked after her coming to the conclusion that a threat would be just as pointless as her anger.
"Thank you, Kichi." Taiki answered, quickly going to retrieve the second thigh guard.
"You never told me what happened in that cave, by the way." Kichi joked, getting a chuckle from her friend. "Akurai said how close you three had gotten during the night. You want to elaborate on that?"
"No thank you. I'll let your imagination do the rest." Taiki spoke between laughs, trying to avoid her gaze as she continuously joked about his sexuality.
Briefly, Kichi felt in her heart that she could be happy for all eternity if this moment never ended, but the moment would expire too soon as one of her guards knocked on the door, informing them that Range was about to marry two of his platoon leaders.
