I watched the TV screen from my elaborate hotel room. The newswoman, Asuka Tokiro, was giving the latest reports on the war between Japan and China.

"And thus, our troops have begun their second push to capture the Chinese capital of Beijing. The expected duration of the operation is two months, and will involve the mobilization of large amounts of both Japanese and American troops. Now back to you, Daichi."

I sighed inwardly. I had been watching the national news channel for the last hour, trying to see if there would be any mention of what had happened. I guess the military wasn't going to release that information. It made sense, I guess, that they didn't want too many people knowing about China's capabilities. Right now, they were probably inspecting every square inch of what was left of it, and probably trying to design their own. I sighed again. And then the circle would continue. Another machine of war, more ways to kill people. Maybe if they were more open about it-

The TV abruptly switched back to Asuka. "This just in: The Allied forces have officially announced that they have destroyed an advanced Chinese superweapon. While they have not released the exact specifications of this superweapon, they have confirmed that it was airborne, and-" At this point, I saw Asuka's face flicker in shock, but only for a second.

"And was capable of laser ordinance. The official report also states that the superweapon decimated Toshidaya Naval base and Fuzuki Air Force base before being stopped by two fighters that launched from what was left of Fuzuki A.F.B. The two fighters, both of which belonged the 3rd air division, 16th Special Operations squadron, and were referred to as "Demon Flight," was comprised of Thomas "Demon" Fredrickson, and Kenji "Einjeru" Harima, engaged the plane and destroyed it. Tragically, Captain Frederickson lost his life during battle. He has been given a posthumous two-rank promotion and both men have been awarded the Japanese Medal of Honor, given for, and I quote 'extreme bravery, resourcefulness, and valor in the face of danger, whose actions helped save thousands of lives and prevented our almost sure defeat in this war.' An awards ceremony will be held later this week. This is all the information we currently have."

I turned off the TV and looked around the room. It really was quite elaborate, with fancy wallpaper, an elaborate bed frame, and a great view of the city. None of this, however, did anything to ease my suffering.

Why, Tom? I thought to myself, why did you do it? You had so much potential. You had so much more to give to this world than just to be a soldier. You were going to go into the manga business with me, remember? After this was all over, you promised that you would. Why is it, that despite all that you showed me, in the end you turned out to be just as dumb as I was?

But I knew that wasn't what I was really asking myself. What I really wanted to know was why me? Why did I, who has nothing to live for, live, while you died?

I decided to switch the TV back on. Being with my own thoughts was too depressing. The news channel was on commercial. I was about to switch it, when a government-sponsored commercial came up. It encouraged people to enlist in the military, and was full of dramatic rock music and flashy effects. I smiled. My own enrollment hadn't been because of a desire for glory or to impress anyone. Not even close.

Three years and six months ago…

Kenji Harima paced around the park for the umpteenth time, too involved in his dark, moody, and despairing thoughts to notice the dropping temperature and receding sunlight that accompany nightfall. Things were bad for Harima. The girl of his dreams, Tenma Tsukamoto, was in love with another. Strictly, speaking, this was old news. Harima had long since been resigned to this, and had tried to tell her (unsuccessfully) how he felt anyway. The only problem was, recent events had indicated the one she loved, Ooji Kurasama, might love her back.

Tenma had also been trying to confess her feelings for Kurasama (just as unsuccessfully) and as far as anyone knew, Karasuma had been nothing but detachedly polite to her in return. However, Karasuma had recently been diagnosed with a life-threatening disease. After hearing that Karasuma had been hospitalized, Tenma rushed to his hospital room, and finally, tearfully confessed her feelings.

Karasuma had been silent at first. However, after a few minutes, quietly told her that he too, had been in love with her, all this time, and that he had only kept her at an arm's distance because he didn't want to hurt her. He had known about his disease for a long time, and hadn't wanted to get in a relationship just to die. He had been trying to protect both of them. However, despite his best efforts, he had fallen in love with her anyway.

Tenma was both overjoyed and saddened. Knowing that her feelings were mutual made her happier than anything ever had before. But she also knew that there was a good chance that Karasuma might not live, and even if he did live, he would never be able to walk again. However, this seemed to strengthen her resolve to love him, if anything. She had even confided a little of her own feelings in Harima.

She and Harima had been sitting on the balcony of Eri's house, at a party. Harima was trying (and failing) as usual to muster his courage to tell Tenma how he felt. It was, he realized, almost useless at this point.

Somehow, the topic of Karasuma had come up. Tenma had smiled as she looked up at the moonlight and described her feelings for him.

"I really love him, Harima. It's been so long, but now we're finally together, and it's wonderful. I've decided something, too. I'm going to become a doctor, just so I can help him and people like him." At this point, she turned toward Harima, the light of romantic determination shining in her eyes. "And I've decided something else, too. Even if he does die, I'll never love anyone else. Ever. I'll stop myself from being with anyone else, because I don't want to be with someone else. He's enough for me." She turned back watching the stars, the faint shadow of a smile still upon her face, seeming to find pleasure in her dedication to her beloved.

Her words had struck Harima hard. And he was still reflecting on them, a few days later, when he was walking through the park to think, and perhaps somehow find the peace of mind that had eluded him since he had fallen in love with Tenma. But the truth was, there was no way out. She had meant what she had said, and Tenma was a stubborn one. There was nothing he could do. If he confessed, it would just make it awkward for everyone, including his "fiancé" (He had agreed to pose and Eri Sawachika's fiancé to stop her parents from trying to force her into and arranged marriage).

Graduation was coming up in a few days, and he wondered what he would do after that. If Tenma was really gone from his grasp forever, then there was no point in sticking around. His only friend was Yakumo, Tenma's little sister. Aside from her, he had no reason to stay, except for his fake "engagement" to Eri.

On the other hand, where would he go? No other place held any appeal to him. He just wanted to go somewhere where he could start anew, where he could forget everything that had happened, where he could become a new person. However, no such opportunity seemed to present itself, and it certainly, he thought, wouldn't be found by walking through a public park at dusk, hungry and cold. Or at least, that was what he thought. Before he had seen the pilots.

Three were two them, both in their green, naval flight suits, apparently just out for a few hours before they had to return to ship. They were laughing and joking with each other, and to Harima, they seemed to be everything he wanted to be. Confident. Proud. And above all, carefree.

He walked back to the apartment he shared with Itoko, his cousin, and a plan began forming itself in his mind. The military seemed as plausible a choice as any. Decent pay, nice benefits, and above all, a chance to escape this city and see the world. Yeah, he thought, as he climbed the stairs up to his apartment, his breath coming out in small puffs of steam, not a bad idea at all.

Present day.

I was pretty hungry by the time I pulled myself out of my little trip down memory lane, so I decided I should order room service. I had to admit, the brass couldn't have picked a much better place to have some R&R. "Get some rest and recuperation, soldier." They'd told me. "You deserve it."

Of course, there's always that minor problem, I thought irritably, that it's in the same city that you were running away from in the first place. Or that it's the same hotel chain that Rich Girl's family owns. To be honest, I didn't want to see any more of my schoolmates. I had put all of that behind me.

Hmph. Come to think of it, wasn't Rich Girl's family pushing her to take over more of the family business before I left? Which meant that if she caved in, she was probably running this hotel, at the very least. But she probably wasn't involved in day-to-day management, so she wouldn't know I had checked in. Good. I didn't want any awkward encounters or demands for explanations on why I had left.

I looked up as I heard a knock at the door. Must be the room service. I accepted the meal and took it back to the bed, where I began to eat it with gusto. I hadn't eaten anything this good in a long time.

The waitress's nervousness had seemed to indicate that she was new on the job. I remembered when I was "new" in the military. I still remembered my first night with my bunk-mate.

3 years, five and half months ago…

I was tired. Today had been my first day of basic training, and a whole day of lecturing, tours, and being yelled at by the degrading senior officers had not had a positive effect on me. I was ready to sleep, to say the least.

I approached the middle of the rows of bunks in the barracks he looked at the small information card he had been given. 3/24b-1. This was the right bunk, all right. And looking at the identification numbers on the beds, I had the bottom bunk. I didn't really care, so long as I had a place to sleep. I looked up as a tall, olive-skinned man with red eyes approached and stood in front of the bunk. American, by the looks of him. He looked at me inquisitively.

"3/23b-1?" He asked. I nodded. He stuck his hand out. "Thomas Frederickson. You can call me Tom. And you are?"

I was surprised. Despite his looks, his Japanese was flawless, with hardly any accent. "I'm Kenji Harima. You can just call me Harima"

"All right. Cool, Harima. See you in the morning." He said, as he hoisted himself up to the top bunk. I followed suit, and I was asleep in minutes.

Present day.

Following my own example from all those years ago, I decided to hit the hay. I needed some sleep. I had no intentions of just hanging around during my blessed week of R&R. I had stuff to do. Stuff I should've done a long time ago.

(Author's notes): For those of you who have read my other fic, "Tales from Ashford Academy," you may be interested to know that the deceased captain Fredrickson also had connections to R.T.H. More will be revealed at a later date.