Bad news: The final fall term of college is beginning and that means my pace will reaaaaaaally drop significantly. However, I will finish translating and posting all of the chapters up, so not to worry. After that, I'll try my hand at something else.
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Enjoy, and happy writing!
A day had passed.
While the rain was subsiding, the discontent of the citizens who evacuated and guided to the Takagi estate was flaring up to a dangerous degree. The men organizing the evacuation center working under Soichiro were all well-built and always armed with some weapon.
In the eyes of the public, right wingers were no different than members of organized crime, seeing them as a band of those that were pariahs of society. They continued to bandy words demanding things that are within their rights as upstanding members of society in fear and disgust of them.
They could not be any more foolish or wrong.
To begin with, Soichiro's men have sworn loyalty under a man who makes decisions through no other standards but his and his alone. They are the furthest thing away from public servants like a police officer and they had no obligation to accept people into their home, but he did; roughly over a hundred men, women and children. Compared to the environment beyond the gates, they were in paradise.
Second, they believe that the "rights of the weak" are still in play. Women, juveniles and the elderly are those that are considered "weak" by society, sans a few exceptions, and because of that they are compensated by society in various forms, but this is a world where societal order has all but fallen apart. They can demand nothing.
"Heh, those fucking idiots." Ryuji snickered as he watched the rabble quibble for the umpteenth time. They might as well be arguing with the bank about a check that bounced. Their unsightly and pitiful doings spread his lips into a smile.
"It is inevitable. Nobody could have seen the end of the world as we new it was coming. Especially not like this. A world where people eat people, and the eaten eat more people…that was supposed to be something that existed in the world of movies and novels."
"Inevitable, huh. True, you can't cry over spilled milk but I can't just chalk it up like that." When the world ends, what do you do next? The answers and decisions is all within every person's control. The only way to live in a world that has changed is simple: one must undergo change themselves.
"And why is that?"
"Regardless of what happens to the world, people have the unquestionable ability and right to choose, as long as they draw breath. What do you want? How badly? What will it cost? What or who are you willing to sacrifice for it? The results are all based on choice." Ryuji pointed towards the crowd. He could not make out what exactly they were arguing about, he thought he saw a flash of pink pigtails, but they soon disappeared out of his sight. "Yet they don't bother to weigh their options, and ditched possible alternatives. They never even tried to adapt to the new world, rejected the path of evolving to survive and took the cowards way of relying only on others. As far as I'm concerned, they're worse than suicides."
Those who underestimate and reject the gravity of the situation will soon be weeded out through the law of the jungle. Therefore, their deaths are inevitable. Their lack of cooperation would only compromise any organization. In fact, their existence would only have meaning as bait. Or rather, simply eliminating every last one of them would be beneficial in the long run. If they die without causing any problems, this organization would greatly shave off the risk of falling apart from within. "I…see…."
"You sound like you have something you want to say."
"How exactly do you do that?"
"Do what?"
"I see it in how you fight, but it's about how you think. It's….I can only describe it as two polar opposite forces coexisting in a container, synchronized and heightened to its utmost degree."
Ryuji simply shrugged at the question with a smirk. "Well, if you wanna keep breathing whilst doing what we do, you gotta make that work. It'll come naturally, so give it time."
"That is your source of power, then."
"Correct. The combination of cold, calculative rationalization and the unpredictability of madness changes people, giving them strength that you wouldn't believe. It certainly isn't something those idiots below can handle, let alone comprehend. They'd off themselves because they won't be able to stomach their own decisions. Also, Saeko."
"Hm?"
"I just want you to know," he whispered in her ear placing a hand on her shoulder and gently squeezing, "you are different from those waste of space that call themselves human beings."
Saeko felt goosebumps all over her body like a virgin who had just heard a passionate confession of love for the first time in their life.
"I have a pretty good intuition, and I'm willing to bet that you have silver-dollar potential as one of us. And I need you to ascertain that I'm right, 'kay?" He lightly lapped up the bite mark on her neck to remind her. "Rain's letting up. Get your stuff ready." Leaving Saeko in the room Ryuji stepped out into the hallway and noticed Vector standing near the doorway leaning against the wall. He had overheard the conversation, and his eyes were inquisitive of Ryuji's intentions.
"Her, one of us? Even if that's true, that is something that will happen way in the future. Have you considered what would happen if her impatience gets the better of her?"
"Then that's as far as she goes." Ryuji retorted without so much as batting an eye. "Sure, it'll be a disappointment but there's no real damage. Call it a personal interest of how far she gets, how strong she gets, how long she maintains the strength, and how beautiful of a woman she turns into as she closes the gap between us as soldiers. I might even start keeping a journal."
Vector loosened a small snort at Ryuji's words. "Do what you will. Are you ready to leave?" Vector was tapping his toes against the floor in an erratic pace. He wanted to leave as soon as possible.
"I am. Saeko should be within the minute. Have you heard back from Karena or Vladimir?"
"Yes. They've already started, but they need all hands for setting up EMP countermeasures like faraday cages ASAP. We do have spare electronics and generators, but they prefer not to use them. Too much of a pain in the ass to set up. Plus, we'd be fucked if the computers short-circuit while copying data."
"Not that I mind, but can't Vladimir rewrite the launch protocols and codes for nukes easily? If not he could at least hack the MSDF's missiles and shoot them out of the sky."
"The US president is still alive so the BSAA does have opinions to voice in various governments overseas. The chance of America's Doomsday order 666D is close to nothing, but there will be idiots trying to destroy still functioning countries with ICBMs pointed at them as a 'duty to the nation'. I will guarantee that." Nukes are not just bombs that level and flattens city blocks; they destroy infrastructure with the leading method being EMPs. The sophistication of technology meant high dependency in order to efficiently get on in life. EMPs destroy any and all electronics that have an integrated circuit in it. Being an island nation, if such a weapon were to be fired on the mainland, the entire country would be sent back into the stone age. "But I can imagine either Vladimir or Hector jerry-rigging something to make everything work. They always do."
"Hey, what about me? I did work part time as a mechanic and a programmer, you know?"
"You're not reliable enough if the DOD almost got a lock on you."
"That was ages ago! The statute of limitations for that should've run out by now. Plus, that wasn't entirely my fault. Another noob fucked up and I got caught up in the blunder. I still did manage to pull security schematics of Langley though. Without being detected."
"I have no recollection of the event in question."
"Oh, fuck you man!" Ryuji struck him with a jab in annoyance. "I'll put the stuff in the car. Ring the earpiece when you come down. I'm driving." With that he left in a huff.
"You have a strange way of showing affection to him, you know that right? Did HUNK's teachings rub off on you?"
"Leave him out of this. Let's go if you're ready." Just as the words left his mouth, Saeko stepped out from the room with a small bag on her back, an M37 and the new sword she was given.
"I'm sorry to keep you waiting."
Vector said nothing as he quickly walked down to the first floor and tapped the earpiece. Outside the building, Souichiro, Yuriko and their subordinates were standing next to the car. Ryuji bowed deeply as he slipped back into the driver seat.
"Don Takagi, thank you for everything. I wish you all luck."
"And to you as well, young lady. Give my regards to your father when you see him again."
Vector and Christine remained silent and gave them a small bow as they got in. Nobody spoke a word until they had passed the iron gates and the many concrete barriers set in place. "Ryuji, I'm thinking of have a drink with everyone once we get back. Anything particular on your mind?" The one to break the silence, surprisingly, was Chrsitine, one of the most taciturn team members only second to Vector.
"Mojito."
"No can do. We have lime wedges, but there's not enough for juice. We don't have sprigs of mint either. As for rum, hopefully it's not gone yet."
"Son of a bitch!" Ryuji smacked the top of the steering wheel with his fist. "God, I am so going to make Hector go for a run to get good booze, I swear. Fine, I'll have a screwdriver. It's the easiest thing in the world to make. You?"
"El Diablo." She answered without missing a beat.
"Holy shit. I can understand if it's a Bloody Mary, but you're going for that?" Christine never could really hold her liquor compared to her teammates, but after ending up together with Hector, she eventually became strong enough to drink the hulking man under the table.
"It's ginger ale and lemon juice, it goes down easily." She shrugged.
"But even so. I draw the line at gin and vodka. I like sweet things. Your turn, Vector."
"Hm….Vodka martini, stirred. No olives."
"My god," Ryuji rolled his eyes and cried out in an overdramatic fashion upon hearing the answer, "what have you got against James Bond, man? You are shitting all over his favorite drink."
"I never said I don't like shaken gin martinis. Or olives." he replied flatly. "I just prefer vodka more than gin."
"Ahem," a finger poked at Ryuji's shoulder from behind. It was Saeko, who had her cheeks slightly puffed up, obviously dissatisfied about the fact that she cannot join the conversation due to her lack of knowledge in alcohol.
"Oh, right. Sorry. But Saeko, you've never been to a bar or had a proper drink before aside from the medicinal stuff during New Years, have you?"
"Then I'll have what you're having."
"I wouldn't advise that." Vector interjected. "He has about three years of drinking under his belt, and many of the drinks that he likes are known for being lady-killers. You wouldn't be able to walk straight if you were in the narrowest of alleys."
"Oh, come on, Vector. Stop being such a party-pooper. We'll start with something weak, like Kahlua milk or a garibaldi. Plus I can always change the ratio of alcohol and juice. And, I'm in charge of taking care of her. If she gets slammed, which is more than likely, I'll take care of it."
"I'm hearing names of cocktails, are you planning on having drinks?" Vladimir's voice crackled over the man pack radio's hand mic.
"We're talking about the possibility of celebrating a job well done with a cadet on board. And it's only one drink. One."
"I have no problem with that, and frankly I'm getting sick of drinking vodka unmixed."
"How's the faraday cage construction going?"
"Smooth. Our backup electronics were already in a locker and I set the cage around that. I took the liberty of leaving everyone else's laptops and cellphones in there as well and the generators and breaker is covered as well. All that's left is the cars, the satellite dish on the roof and the computers connected to the cameras watching the perimeter of our compound. It should be…..oh, ninety percent done by the time you get back."
"All that without our help? Color me impressed. Sorry to have you do all the work there."
"No worries. You made the right choice. Walking is just as bad as driving in this weather with the infected all over the city. Left turn, three hundred meters."
The company left the Takagi estate a little past noon after the rain had stopped and the ground was relatively dry. They estimated that they would be back by 6:00 p.m. at the latest, taking possibilities of circumvention into account.
"Vector, Christine, I'd like to make a detour if you don't mind?"
"Depends what for."
"Showing Saeko how to shoot and how much she can last on her own." Aside from the phrasing, the reason was legitimate. Learning how to properly and safely operate a firearm was now a matter of life and death, especially in Japan where gun laws are extremely strict. The last skirmish Saeko was in took place a few days ago, and the only time that she even touched it was when she placed it in the holster. Although she is well-versed in martial arts, that can only get her so far.
"Fine. Vladimir, is there a small pack of infected anywhere in the vicinity?"
"Shortest route is the second street corner and take a left. Fifty meters ahead and you'll see a park with a fountain. There's at least thirty."
"Much appreciated."
"You're welcome, tovarishch. An internship right after the interview, hm? Well, try not to get her killed." They stopped near the park leaving Christine and Vector to stand guard while Ryuji led Saeko to the center.
"Now, I taught you how to operate this before we left the safe house, so here's your first test. Load the gun, ready stance, and reload. Do it as fast as you can, but don't compromise form." Gripping the gun, Saeko pulled the M37 out. Her muscle memory was excellent, and aside from fumbling with the bullets in her pockets, her overall time was better than most amateurs Ryuji had ever seen. The hammer was cocked, her left hand was placed at the butt of the grip, keeping it steady. Aside from minor shifts, there really was not anything wrong. Even her trigger discipline was good. "Alright, that's a start. Now all you have to do is make every shot count."
"I am a novice. You do remember that, right?"
"Mhmmm. Now, when you aim, take a deep breath and hold it for no longer than ten seconds. When you target lines up with the two sights in the front and back, pull the trigger. For now have the hammer cocked every time. It makes it easier to shoot. This is known as single action." Drawing his P-14, Ryuji demonstrated as he unloaded the gun, cocked the hammer, and pulled the trigger. With a click, the hammer fell on the empty chamber. Saeko followed quickly by unloading the gun and practicing with the empty revolver. "This makes it easier to shoot, but there's a slight time-loss because you have to do that every time, but you get used to it eventually. Plus that's a small caliber pistol. Guess what double action is."
Saeko let loose a small snort as she pulled the trigger again, and the hammer fell again with a click. "I'm no prodigy, but I will have you know I do possess the power of deduction." She threw a rebuking look at him.
"I'm not trying to be patronizing, if that's what you're implying. I just need you to know everything necessary before you start with live rounds. Aaaand we've got company from all the clicky-clacky. I'll fire three, then you do the same." Loading the gun quickly, he then screwed on the silencer. Three muffled shots of 45 caliber rounds rang out with a sharp puff, and the same number of bodies hit the ground almost rhythmically.
While that was only half his usual speed, to Saeko his marksmanship was too advanced to use as reference. All she could do was ruminate over what she had just learned and practice just like she did with a sword. But while she was lining up her shot, Ryuji's hand stopped her hand, jamming a finger in between the hammer and firing pin. "What?"
"Wait a little bit. Draw them in. That thing has a stubby barrel, and they are over ten meters away. Even for a novice that's a challenge. Maybe you could get the torso, but we need a headshot. Wait until they're at least five to six meters away."
And so Saeko waited, steadying her breathing. Her hands were getting slippery with sweat. The small snub-nosed revolver felt as if its weight had suddenly doubled. She sighed to herself quietly. This is just like the time she held a real sword for the first time. The weapon felt heavier than she had imagined, and the blade caught the light in a way that no diamond or any other jewel in the world ever could. Time and time again she caught herself staring at the blade in a trance, which worried her father at first. Now she could wield it as if it were a part of her.
But this weapon, built solely for the purpose of killing those from afar, had a different weight from a sword. If the sword were a brush with ink, the gun was a stamp. A rugged, unrefined stamp made from a craggy rock. She cocked he hammer and steadied her still trembling hands. "Now?"
"Go right ahead. And make sure one of the three is shot in double action." Ryuji stood back several meters sitting on a bench and was drinking a can of ginger ale. Behind him was roughly half a dozen corpses of the infected piled on top of each other.
The tension in Saeko's finger increased, pulling the trigger back all the way. A dry crack echoed across the park. The slight tremble had an effect on the trajectory, more than she had imagined. The first bullet missed its mark and only grazed another's cheek and jaw hinge. "Damn it."
"You're still shaking. I told you to breathe." Saeko winced as her ears began ringing, distorting and muffling Ryuji's rebuke. The smell of gunpowder made her scrunch her face up. She tried again, this time without cocking the hammer back. Again, the tremble in her hands made her miss, and the bullet whizzed passed the horde and chipped a section of the fountain. "Stop wasting bulleeeeets." Ryuji's singsongy voice heckled from behind.
Saeko tightened the grip on the gun even further in an effort to stop the tremble, and proceeded to take several deep breaths to steady herself. She stopped for a moment in her thoughts, and closed her eyes. In less than half a minute, the tremble disappeared as if it was never there. The third .38 special finally found its mark, tearing through an infected old man's eye socket, effectively leaving severe damage to the brain.
"Hmm. One out of three's a start, I guess. Moving on to endurance. Leave your sword on the bench." She did as she was told, and was handed a knife in exchange.
"Are you asking me to….?"
"Yep. Take down….well, let's go with a dozen to start. If you think you can keep going, do so. If you don't or if I tell you to pull back, do so. I'm leaving the revolver with you as a bonus." The challenge was practical. A sword is effective but not the best choice inside buildings with low ceilings or narrow corridors.
The knife was similar to something she had seen in a war movie, attached to the end of a rifle as a bayonet. Holding it like she would a sword sans the non-dominant hand, she walked straight towards the horde. Slapping aside the clammy hands caked with dried blood and decaying flesh, she jammed the blade through the jaw and pierced the brain of one infected. She kept going, parrying hands and aiming for the soft spots such as the eye sockets, the hollow of the nape, through the nose and the temples.
"How goes the test?" Vector's voice asked through Ryuji's earpiece.
"Eh. We need to work on her marksmanship. She's not a novice in combat, but she isn't on our level. Not even close. More than a student, less than a master. Really awkward level of skill, if you ask me. She's okay with a knife, but still rough around the edges."
"That's the harm of being used to handling one kind of weapon. Any plans for her?"
"Well, after a shower, maybe—-"
"He means her training regimen." Christine cut him off with an exasperated sigh. "What you do with anyone between the sheets is your business unless you're marrying them, so keep it that way. Idiot."
"Oh. Got it. Right. I'm thinking focusing on the lower body. Everything above that is pretty good thanks to all the practice swings at the dojo and the kendo club. Only there's something missing. Can't exactly put my finger on it. Aaaand goodness gracious me, she's done with all of them. Alright, Saeko, time to go!" Taking the sword, Ryuji jogged towards the car and Saeko followed behind, drenched in blood. As soon as they got in, Vector floored the accelerator before the doors closed completely.
"So? What's your first impression of shooting a gun?"
"It was heavy in a different way compared to a sword. I do believe it will take some time to get used to."
"You don't have that kind of luxury." Vector flatly replied, taking Saeko's comments as a complaint without taking his eyes off the road. "I won't ask you to strip and reassemble an assault rifle blindfolded in under a minute. That would be asking too much. But you at least need to be able to hit five targets with a two centimeter radius five meters away in under ten seconds. And you need to learn how to operate a semi automatic pistol as well."
Ryuji whistled at the tall order Vector gave, too tall for a novice. A target with a radius of two centimeters was roughly the size of a one-yen coin. "Whoa, Vector. That's a little much, isn't it? That's what you need to do to get into the Security Police division of Japan's MPD."
"And you're the one that needs to bring her up to that level ASAP."
"How much time do I have?"
"All the time you need. But until you can operate a gun as proficient as necessary, I'll hold onto the sword. You can stick with the knife." Saeko's mouth opened in an attempt to protest. The sword was a gift, and no ordinary gift at that. A sword was considered the soul of the samurai, and Saeko believes it as such, considering it was given to her by a man who embodies the way of the samurai in the modern era. But before she could utter another syllable, Vector slammed down on the brakes, flinging Saeko forward. The seatbelt caught her from flying out the window face first, but she felt a gloved hand close around her throat with a punch dagger a hair's breadth away from her eye. There was no way she could resist. Although Vector was over forty, his hand choked her with a vice like grip, cutting off the oxygen. "Shut up. If you truly wish to be one of us, and be recognized as such by everyone, you will not say no, you will not decline, and you will not whine. You will not remain weak, you will not grandstand, and you will not hesitate."
If Saeko were a girl that ended up in Delta Team under similar circumstances to Ryuji, Vector would have said nothing, but she was not. Her life was as light and insignificant as a grain of sand compared to the bond that she felt with Ryuji. The Wolfpack were men and women that have survived a war together that no ordinary soldier could come out on top in one piece, both physically and mentally. Their loyalty to each other were forged through experience, blood, pain, and the menagerie of B. trying to kill them in the most grisly ways possible.
"And of course, you will not die without permission. Ryuji seems to have taken a liking to you. Your choices are to hone your skills until you're on par with us, or leave. There is no third option aside from ending your life. I don't care what you choose." Vector's grip tightened, and Saeko's face was turning sheet-white as the blood circulation to the brain was being cut off as well. Her attempts at breaking free were getting weaker, leaving her less than thirty seconds before she passed out. "See? You can't even break out of me choking you with my off hand. Right now, you are exactly what you expressed yourself to be: a sacrifice." With that, he released her and went back to driving as Saeko heaved to breathe normally again.