Kamaitachi Chronicles

By: Aviantei

Twenty-Two

Bradley continued to smile at me, not even looking the slightest bit perturbed despite all the chaos around him following the incident. I suppose one didn't end up gaining clout as a leader if you looked panicked by a bad situation, but I couldn't help but wish he'd go do that whole "calm and unruffled" leader somewhere else, especially while I was in the middle of feeling very perturbed indeed.

After all, I doubted anyone would want to be seen getting princess carried around by their boss, and even less so whenever their boss just so happened to be the leader of the whole damn country, and shit, Armstrong was still carrying me, I was supposed to be a combat-oriented alchemist, not some damsel in distress—

"Major," I hissed, trying and failing at keeping my mounting panic out of my voice, "put me down, put me down!" I was not about to look like some fragile kid in front of the Fuhrer, not if I could help it!

Armstrong, to my great and immeasurable disdain, didn't seem to get the message, nor did he have any concept of a reasonable private speaking volume. "Just a moment, Ivrena Caiman!" he said, each and every syllable booming in my ear and across the open yard. "I need to make sure you get seen by a doctor as soon as possible. No need to worry, I'll put you down as soon as I find someplace safe!"

"Oh, dear, are you injured, Sickle Weasel?" Bradley asked. At least it sounded like genuine concern rather than anything condescening. Didn't make me want to die any less, though. "No need to stand on ceremony—" as if I had the free reign to stand in the first place! "—I'll still be here to talk with you until you're taken care of."

"No, no, I'm fine! I just breathed in some knock out gas, but it's not that big a deal! I mean, they were all super concerned with having us as hostages, right? It wouldn't make sense for it to be a poison in those circumstances, so I'm sure I'll be okay!" Shit, was I panicking? I might've been panicking, and that was just a goddamn awful feeling if I had to say so myself. Quick, redirection to save face! "Whatever it is you need to talk about, sir, I'm more than ready to listen."

"Is that so? Well, in that case, allow me to walk with you, Major." That crisis averted, Armstrong began moving again, and I kept my gaze locked on Bradley. "You see, Sickle Weasel, I wanted to thank you for your work today."

Maybe it was a good thing I wasn't walking, because I might have just stumbled upon hearing that. "I'm not sure I follow, sir." Everyone was acting like I'd saved the day, when it was because Armstrong had shown up that I'd survived at all. I at least had enough common sense not to argue with the Fuhrer of all people, but that didn't mean I was just going to sit here and take the credit where I hadn't earned it.

"Why that's simple, Sickle Weasel," Bradley said, "your presence helped ensured the safety of the hostages. I'd be remiss if I didn't thank you personally for that."

That made some sense at least, but it also seemed rather excessive for Bradley to tell me in person instead of just sending some fancy military letter. It wasn't like I'd done it to receive praise or anything, but turning down compliments from the leader of our nation would've just made me seem like an ungrateful brat, so I decided to keep my mouth shut on that matter. "I'm honored, sir," I said instead, biting my tongue to keep the but this still makes no fucking sense from spilling out after it.

Despite that, my face must've been a different matter, since Bradley added, "You seem to still be confused, Sickle Weasel."

Was that permission to ask further as to what the hell was even happening? Because if so, I would go ahead and take it. "It's just—"

"Oh, there you are! Thank goodness you're alright." I recognized that voice as Kara, and, sure enough, the woman was headed our way, trying not to run but also walking at a rapid clip. I'd already known she had a pretty solid set of nerves on her based on how she'd reacted to the entire kidnapping situation, but the observation was just further cemented by the fact that she didn't so much as flinch in the presence of the two men. Even if you didn't recognize Bradley as the Fuhrer he was a pretty severe looking man, and the swords at his hips just added to the effect, and Armstrong was a hulking mass of human who also happened to be shirtless at the time; I don't think I would've been able to enter such a scene without a visible reaction, so I had to give Kara all the props. "Everyone was worried whenever we didn't see you come out sooner, and all those people were getting arrested…"

Yeah, I guessed that would look pretty bad if you didn't know what was going on inside the building. Well, I couldn't make her worry anymore, so I mustered up a smile. "I told you, didn't I?" I said, hoping the fact that Armstrong still hadn't put me down wasn't ruining the effect. "I'm a State Alchemist. I know how to handle situations like this." At the very least, I'd read enough procedural manuals that I could manage to remember the concepts, even if I hadn't had practical training in them, but there was no need to split hairs over something like that!

"Even so, you're young, dear. I can't help but worry." And then her expression became much sterner as she rounded on Bradley, a finger raised as if she was scolding a child. "King, I want to know what the meaning of this is. Recruiting children to be soldiers is going too far."

Is she…lecturing the Fuhrer? The fact that she had used his name was enough to indicate that she had to know who he was; even I didn't have enough balls to do something like that. Was it her audacity that was making my head spin, or was it that Nikola's smoke had some sort of lingering effects after all?

"Now, now, dear, let's not be too hasty," Bradley said, though he happened to look somewhat sheepish under Kara's glare. "Sickle Weasel's skill as an alchemist is incredible, and that's what I based her enlistment on. My intent was to allow her to continue to build on her research, though she is learning some additional self-defense so that she'll be safe." Which was half-truth, half-lie considering that I had no doubt been recruited thanks to my combat prowess, but that didn't seem to be too prudent to bring up at the moment, not when I was processing the intel I'd just received. Between their familiarity with each other, the fact that Bradley had called her dear along with him coming to thank me in person, and Kara's insistence that the whole terrorist incident and kidnapping had been her fault, it all clicked together.

Ringleader hadn't just picked people at random. He'd picked us out because he was targeting the Fuhrer's wife.

The Fuhrer's wife that I just so happened to save.

Yeah, I think I'm fucking done with today, thanks!

The Bradleys were still in conversation with each other, though it wasn't heated enough to be called an argument—more like a debate conducted by two people with impeccable manners. Still, considering that I was the topic of conversation, I felt the need to speak up. "Um, Kar—I mean, Mrs. Bradley." Both husband and wife turned to me, and, I continued, "You don't need to blame anyone else for this. I chose to join. I…care a lot about alchemy, and working for the state means I can keep doing that. And I'd rather have the skills to help out people like I did today, so…"

So please don't get into a fight with the literal head of state maybe? I so wasn't worth whatever sort of chaos that would bring.

Mrs. Bradley took a moment to process those words, and then she sighed. "Alright, if you insist, dear. But know that if you ever change your mind, that's okay, too." Good, crisis averted! Or at least I thought, but Mrs. Bradley rounded back on her husband. "I'll let it slide for today, King, but don't make a habit of this."

Bradley chuckled, showing that all was well. "I'll do my best." Then he nodded to me. "As I said, I appreciate your work today, Sickle Weasel. If there's anything that you ever need, don't be afraid to ask."

"Yes, thank you for all your help today, Ivy," Mrs. Bradley said, dipping her head in my direction. "Though if I could add one more thing?" Far be it for me to refuse a request from the Fuhrer's wife. "There's no need to be so formal with me. You can keep calling me Kara."

A possible favor from the Fuhrer and becoming on first name basis with his wife. What even was my life?

Lucky for me, the doctor at last arrived on the scene to take care of me, sparing me from any other revelations.

Extra lucky for me, Nikola's gas didn't involve any sort of poison, so I was given a clean bill of health after getting a couple of bruises prodded and a few scrapes dabbed with disinfectant. Even Luis was given the all-clear, and no one else (save the terrorists themselves) had any extensive injuries. It was about as well off as a hostage situation would've gone, so I supposed I could count myself lucky for that. I mean, it wouldn't have been my fault per se if things had gone south, seeing as I hadn't been on duty at the time, but I still would've felt guilty about the whole mess, so I'd take a clear conscience. It didn't take all that much longer for me to give my testimony to one of Armstrong's subordinates, so I was free to go.

Of course, by the time that was all over, it was already evening, and my last day of vacation was squandered. I super wanted nothing than to go back to my hotel and collapse, but I'd promised Rosomak and Connor that I'd be there for dinner. Not to mention that the whole incident had been reported in the evening edition of the papers, and I didn't want to worry them by not showing up, since they knew I'd been planning to go to the very library that had been targeted.

And also Connor's cooking was super fucking good, and I deserved something nice after the day I'd had, alright?

"You sure seem to enjoy getting into trouble, don't you?" Rosomak asked, a lilt of teasing to his voice. The worst part was that I couldn't even deny it; I'd been a State Alchemist for a little over half a year, and I'd already been involved in two military incidents that I hadn't been assigned to. Rosomak still offered me a smile across the table. "Well, that's part of the reason why I've decided to stay off the front lines. The research life is the one for me."

"That and you can't fight to save your life," Connor added, waving his fork through the air. He dropped his voice to a stage whisper as he said to me, "Eli tried going through the basic instruction, and almost all of his teachers gave up on him."

A giggle escaped me, helping some of the stress from earlier in the day melt away. It wasn't like these sorts of situations were my everyday life, but they did help me feel like things were a little normal—you know, aside from the fact that I was a teenage soldier, but whatever. "Still," I said, poking the brussels sprouts around my plate as I thought, "I wasn't all that much help when it came to fighting for a combat alchemist." If Armstrong hadn't shown up, then…

"That's alright, Caiman, you're still learning." I looked over to Rosomak, and he seemed at ease as he spooned an extra serving as casserole to himself. "You mentioned learning to fight for self-defense, but crisis management is a different matter altogether. You'll continue to grow as you get more experience. That's what half of your research budget is for anyways."

To help increase the military power of the state, he meant—but I found that didn't bother me much. In the end, it would be my choice of what to do with my alchemy. "Even if I have the training, my alchemy is still limited…" Without being in close to middling range, there wasn't much I could do. And with multiple opponents involved—not to mention those like Nikola who would also know alchemy—I was at an extensive disadvantage. "Ugh, fuck it. As soon as I get home, I'll buckle down and figure something out. I hope you're ready to help me test even more circles, Rosomak."

"Nothing would make me happier, Caiman."

"That's the spirit," Connor said, toasting his wine glass into the air. He took a long slip of his drink. "Besides, you said that the Fuhrer said you could get a favor off him, right? I'd say that's a pretty big win, don't you think, Eli?"

Rosomak had been frowning the way I'd learned to recognize as his "deep in thought" face, but he blinked back to awareness. "Hm? Yes, I suppose so." He still looked rather serious, though, and I raised an eyebrow at him. "Ah, it's nothing to worry about. I was just thinking about some research." He reached for his own wine glass. "You did well today, young miss Caiman. We should celebrate that. Connor makes a wonderful souffle, and it would be a shame to miss out on it."

Despite my thoughts already spinning about future alchemy plans, Rosomak was right. I'd done a good thing today. Sure, there was a chance I could've still helped the situation even without my State Alchemist position (assuming I'd been there), but the military authority had helped. I could be proud of what I'd done. All the extras—my own ability as a soldier, the ways I could improve my alchemy, the favor that I'd earned from Bradley, the fact that I'd formed a brief connection with Kara—could wait for just a bit longer.

Be thou for the people. I'd accomplished that much at least. Wasn't that what I'd always said I wanted to do?

And so I raised my own glass to join the others' and let myself enjoy the rest of the evening in peace before I could at least return to East City in the morning.

[Author's Notes]

I can't believe Mrs. Bradley doesn't have a canon first name, smh. That said, this was def the plan the whole time, so I'm glad I finally got this piece of into out in the open! Also interested to see just how much of a ripple effect I can make out of this...

But the main part of the interrupted vacation arc is done, and we just have a little falling action to go here! I have two more arcs planned for this first year of Kama's story, so I hope you'll stick with me as we keep trucking along.

If you're so inclined, please take the time to check out you could have my heart (and i would break it for you), my Moriarty the Patriot [Shibuya Operation - Story Storm] project; wandering road, wherever you are, the side stories collection for my larger Kimetsu no Yaiba fic, walk steady on this cruel world's path; and Exception, my -man fic that somehow is even older than this project but has been making substantial progress enough to receive regular updates these days. There's hope for my unfinished projects yet!

Next chapter is looking like it'll drop in early March. Please look forward to it!

-Avi

[01.21.2022]