Enjoy
Later the night, Rocky and Charlie sat on a bench, looking up at the night sky.
"Here." Rocky handed a soda can to Charlie.
Opening his can, Rocky took a sip.
"...What's in here? Poison?" asked Charlie suspiciously.
"P-Poison?! N-No no no no! I would NEVER give you somethin' like that!"
"*SIGH* Okay...BETTER not..." Charlie opened the—
*SPRAY*
"AH HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!" Rocky laughed hysterically. "YO-HOU SHOULDA SEEN DA LOOK ON YA FACE!"
"SHUT UP! THAT WASN'T FUNNY!" Charlie screamed.
"...Is living a peaceful life...really that difficult?" the Immortal asked after calming down. "Whether we can or not, we're still world-class Pandora, so we tend to attract a lot of attention. Hiding what you really want to say is a skill you'll need to survive in this world."
"That may be YOUR way of doing things around here, but for me, as someone who's been brought up in such a bad environment, it just can't be done."
"...You know, I don't really hate that side of you. I mean, you seem to be different from all those arrogant and wealthy rich pricks..."
"Hey! Are you rearin' for a fight?!"
"For someone as eccentric as you are, it must've been out of respect for your mother, right? I...I gotta be honest: I don't know what happened to her, but taking responsibility and giving orders is the job of superiors. As members of such organizations, it's only natural that we follow their orders. It doesn't leave any room for independent thought and alternate beliefs at all. No matter what happens in the end, I will never hate the people for give the orders. And that's why, even though my father made an erroneous judgment, as long as I do my best, there's no point in blaming anyone."
"So...you're saying you want become some dumb tragic hero? Exposing our self-humility—and yet unpopular with everybody...the kind of person who would hide in a corner just because something's too troublesome...is THAT what you're talkin' about?"
"Aren't you pretty clear about it already?"
*YANK*
"NOOGIE NOOGIE NOOGIE NOOGIE NOOGIE NOOGIE NOOGIE!" Rocky suddenly grabbed Charlie's neck with his arm to grind his knuckle into the top of his head.
"HEY! LET ME GO!" Charlie screamed."C'MON! REAL MATURE, YOU IDIOT!"
"We were all brought here because of fate, it has nothing to do with where we came from. After all, we're all comrades who don't know when they'll be reduced to nothing but a pile of flesh and bone, right? The only ones who got our backs...are us: the Pandora ourselves.
"*GASP*" Charlie finally managed to break free and catch his breath. All of a sudden, he began sobbing as he grabbed his eyes with one head.
"Whoa! That's not quite the reaction I was expecting."
"SHUT THE FUCK UP, YOU FREAK! Y-You *SNIFF* shouldn't be so nosy—sticking you *SOB* nose into other people's business..."
"...Why would YOU even care...? Seriously, quit trying to make me feel bad...I mean, we lay our lives down on the line every day, and we want to leave our backs for someone like you...
Meanwhile, Satellite had entered the girl's dormitory while holding something in his hands; however, his mind had wandered somewhere else...
(Flashback)
"ARGH! Who the hell are you?!" Charlie screamed as he got up.
"Tommy! What do you think you're doing?!" Arnold yelled as he got up as well.
"Like Satellite said: that's enough!" said Tommy coldly.
"BUT THAT SON-OF-A-BITCH STARTED EVERYTHING WHEN HE—"
"He's trying to provoke you, and THAT is why I came to stop this petty little squabble. *SIGH* I'm perfectly aware of Genetics' decision, so I will let this go for now, but listen carefully, you two—as well as the rest of Platoon 13: from now on, all unconsidered actions...will have a price to be paid! IS THAT CLEAR!"
"No, YOU listen, motherf—MRPH!"
"YES! WE ABSOLUTELY UNDERSTAND!" Arnold quickly said as he covered Charlie's mouth shut to prevent the situation from getting worse. "WE ARE TERRIBLY SORRY! I GUESS WE SPENT NIGHT LOOKING UP EACH OTHER'S ASSHOLES THAT WE COULDN'T THINK STRAIGHT!"
"MMM! MMM MM MM! M MMM MMMMMMM MMMMM!" Charlie shouted.
"...Good..." And with that, Tommy walked away, leaving Platoon 13 all by themselves.
"Arnold! Are you okay?" Satellite reached his hand out to—
*SWAT*
Arnold swatted the Pandora punk's hand away and snarled, "Don't get in my way again, Satellite...!"
(End of Flashback)
"*SIGH* I shouldn't get TOO deep into it..." He said to himself as he approached a room.
"Hold on!" Kazuha opened the door, only to be shocked by the presence of her unofficial Limiter. "Lite-senpai!"
"Hey, Kazuha. I know it's a bit late, but I couldn't get some sleep, so I thought maybe we'd—"
"Hey! What's THAT?" Kazuha pointed to what her Limiter was carrying in his hands.
"Oh, THIS? This it Mably Champagne. Elliot gave each Pandora a free bottle as a farewell gift before his retirement. Would you...like to have some?"
*CLING*
Clinging their wine glasses together, both teenagers took a sip of the champagne.
"Aw man...that tasted good," the Pandora punk moaned.
"I'm glad you like it, Lite-senpai," Kazuha said with a smile. "So tell me: what's on your mind?"
"Hmm? Oh, well...I couldn't stop thinking about the incident from today with Arnold. *GULP* *GULP* *GULP* *GULP* *GULP* He was one of the few Pandora at Genetics...that would open up their heart to me...I felt that I should try getting along with him more, but...I ended up hurting him in the end. *GULP* *GULP* *GULP* *GULP* *GULP* *MOAN* *MOAN*" After taking a bunch of sips, Satellite briefly laid his head on the table for a couple seconds, much to his Limiter's worries. "Kazuha...what would YOU have done in that situation if you were me? I mean, Charlie IS a very important Pandora, I-I *HICCUP* I can't just leave him...it always seems like he's just like me. Uh...I WOULD try to have them make amends with each other, but I think that would be a little TOO nosy, right? Right? Kazuha, are you listening to me?" Looking up, he noticed his Limiter just giving a small smile. "K-Kazuha! Is she...Is she not saying anything because she only wanted to hear me talk and get drunk?"
"Oh, I'm sorry," said Kazuha suddenly. "I-I can't really think of any methods you could use to make those two reconcile, but I think you already did your best, Lite-senpai. Ain't nothin' wrong with that, I think you've always been doing the right thing. And that's why...you shouldn't blame yourself..."
Satellite widened his eyes at Kazuha's gentle words. "Uh, Kazuha, I-I know this isn't my *HICCUP* my place or anything, but...but...DO YOU WANNA TAKE A BATH WITH ME?!"
End of Volume 16
Thanks for reading!
I'm VERY sorry about the long delay, but my parents were out of town, so I wanted to take a little break.
Next month, I'll return to something I hadn't worked on in a while. Until then...
Later
