Chapter 6: Starting Off On The Right Foot
"Ready?" Seryu asks.
"More or less," I answer, throwing on my jacket. The more I think about this training, the more concerned I get that one of those two things will manifest itself by accident again. Last thing I want is to injure a Jaeger member or show that I'm a potentially unstable ally.
"Well, let's go find Esdeath," she says, about to leave the room.
"Hey, Seryu," I grab her wrist to stop her.
"Something wrong?" She turns to face me.
"I'm worried that the weird thing from yesterday will happen again. I just—," she shushes me with a metal finger to my lips.
"I will step in to stop you should it get out of hand so don't even stress about it," she assures me in a velvety tone.
"Thanks," I say, slightly relieved.
"No problem, Tetsy," she hugs me.
"I really need you to figure out a different name more quickly," I chuckle.
"I haven't even gotten good use out of this one yet. Besides, you know you like it. What you need to be doing is giving me a pet name. It's only fair," her hug gets a little tighter.
"You can get one when I come up with something better than my initial idea," I say.
"What's your original idea?" She questions curiously.
"…S-Ser," I mutter hesitantly.
"Ser, huh? It might as well be Sery so it can match with Tetsy," she points out.
"I'm not calling you Sery," I say adamantly.
"Fine then, Tets," she sighs.
"…Tets?" I say, puzzled.
"Mhmm. Since you don't wanna match up with mine, I matched it up with yours. Are you more satisfied with that name?" She asks.
"A lot more than the other one," I reply.
"Then that settles it," she smiles. "We should get a move on before Esdeath loses her patience."
"Before that, I want some good luck from you."
"Oh? Like wha—," I grab her chin and kiss her lips before she can finish. Her hands grab my shoulders. After a few more seconds, I break my lips away from hers. "Was that enough for you?" She mutters, her eyes evidently yearning for more.
"Just barely," I answer.
"If you can hold on just a little longer, luck won't be the only thing you're getting," she says seductively.
"And I—," I suddenly hear an interjecting growl. Looking towards the door, the source of the growling is from a small roundish dog staring at us. "Uh… That's your dog, correct?" I point at it.
"Oh, yep! That's Koro, my Imperial Arms," she answers, going over to it. "I thought I told you to wait in my room and stop the growling. Tetsuo isn't a threat," she pets Koro, getting its aggressive hostility to stop. So that's what those two were up against aside from Seryu. It definitely follows the mantra of looks being deceiving which just reeks of an uphill battle for getting Koro to like me.
"I see. Safe to assume we won't get along?" I ask.
"Don't say that. I want you and Koro to be great friends. It'll happen before you even realize it. You'll see," she assures.
"If you say so," I sigh.
"I know so. Now c'mon so the others don't scold us," she grabs Koro's chain and leads the way.
"You would get the scolding. I'm sure I'd be made a training dummy on the spot," I say, following behind her.
"If you keep thinking you'll get killed for small stuff like being late, then I don't see you being able to connect with the other Jaegers. Esdeath has already decided to take you in so you can ease your guard. Get to personally know everyone and not whatever shit Night Raid put in your head. Can you please do that for me?"
"I… can try," I force myself to answer.
"I appreciate that, Tets."
"You're welcome, Ser." After a few minutes, we manage to catch up to them outside where everyone's horse is ready and set to go. Catching my eye, I notice the kinda scary looking masked guy's horse seems to be carrying supplies and the like. Is that the training equipment?
"Right on time, you two. Hop on your horse and we'll get going," Esdeath says. After Seryu mounts her horse and pulls Koro up to sit in front of her, she reaches a hand out and helps me up.
"Hold on tight, Tetsuo," Seryu advises.
"You mean like this?" I embrace her from behind with my hands resting on her belly.
"N-Not that much but I don't mind it!" She blushes deeply.
"Jaegers, follow me!" Esdeath orders. With that, we gallop through the populated streets of the Capital, passing by various stalls and stores. Even with how bustling and prosperous this place is, the hidden corruption deeply stains it despite me choosing to turn a blind eye to it for my own benefit. If it weren't for my current predicament, I definitely wouldn't stick around for long. Maybe when this is all over, I can convince Seryu into leaving the Empire behind. Who am I kidding? I won't get that far. Even if Night Raid goes down, that scenario… might be too much to handle. Who's to say Esdeath won't dispatch me after the fact? What if Seryu is the one to do it? More and more doubts infiltrate my mind with each passing second. My… head hurts.
"Tetsuo!" Seryu shouts, snapping me out of it.
"Y-Yeah?" I say. Huh, my headache vanished just like that? Looking around, I realize we're out of the Capital city limits and entering a forest. I was lost in thought that long?!
"Wave was trying to introduce himself but you weren't listening," she explains.
"Oh, my bad. I was thinking pretty deeply about something," I apologize.
"Don't sweat it. As I was saying, it's about time we introduce ourselves seeing as you're the new recruit. Name's Wave. Was in the Navy but got requested to join the Jaegers. Still kinda adjusting to this city life thing. Who wants to go next?" Wave says. He really strikes me as the Tatsumi slash "normal person" of the Jaegers. Maybe just maybe we can be more friendly with each other unlike my experiences dealing with Tatsumi.
"Well, I see no need since he's aware of who I am. That being said, don't touch my snacks if you want to keep living," Kurome responds.
"G-Gotcha, Hear ya loud and clear," I stammer.
"You're more than familiar with me. Isn't that right, Tetsuo?" Seryu teases.
"R-Right!" I stutter.
"… T-Then it's my turn. My name is Bols. Was a part of the Incendiary Squad. Sorry for the slim pickings you received as your dinner last night. It was all we had leftover," Bols says shyly. His voice and attitude are nowhere near the gruffness or intensity I thought he'd have!
"U-Uh, yeah. It was still pretty good all in all so I'm grateful for that," I try to not sound fazed by him speaking.
"Oh, that's good to hear! Look forward to future meals! I'm certain your opinion will only rise from there!" he says joyously.
"I-I'll be sure to hold you to that," I say.
"Bols caught you off guard, didn't he? I can hear it in your voice, Tetsuo. He got me good too. He may look pretty intimidating but he's actually a big teddy bear and a family man too," Wave chuckles. SAY WHAT?!
"Bols has a wife and kid?!" I exclaim, shocked.
"You should see the look on your face!" Seryu giggles.
"A-A precious wife and daughter to be exact! I-Is it really that big of a surprise?!" Bols replies, clearly embarrassed.
"I was just seeing if I'd get a funny reaction out of Tetsuo. Seeing as I did, it was worth it," Wave explains.
"For you maybe," Bols says.
"Let's not forget that you were the one who carried a sackful of fish into the conference room and was super awkward about the whole thing," Kurome bluntly reminds Wave.
"W-Well, of course I was! We were all total strangers and hey, that fish made for a delicious meal and you know it!" Wave says defensively.
"Last but not least, my name is Run. A pleasure to make your acquaintance. I believe it's most apt to say I'm Esdeath's extra pair of eyes and ears. That makes you and I quite alike in some ways, doesn't it?" Run asks.
"Maybe but you seem far more deadly and capable though," I reply.
"That's true but couldn't it be said that the intel you deliver can deal just as big of a blow if not more so than the strength of soldiers on a battlefield? Without tactical orders to guide them, it's an uncoordinated force destined to perish. Tactical orders that are made based on what intel they possess on the enemy," he elaborates.
"Well, I can't argue against that. You make a pretty good point," I say. Run really found a way to make me feel more cool than I really am. Maybe that's why Najenda took me down a peg and put me in my place; Being cocky, especially without the experience to back it up, pretty much guarantees an early death. The lessons they taught me are really gonna bite them in the ass. "That being said, all of it kind of goes out of the window when you have extremely powerful people with brains like Esdeath."
"Oh, that much is very clear. Possessing both sides of the coin and never letting either side rust goes a very long way, especially when coupled with experience," he agrees.
"Praising me isn't going to make me lessen the difficulty of your training, Tetsuo," Esdeath advises, the slightest hint of amusement present in her tone.
"I already assumed as much. Would've been nice if it worked though," I sigh. Clearing her throat, Seryu lightly bumps her left elbow against my left arm. "O-Oh, name's Tetsuo. Unlike all of you, I'm not really no one special. I joined the Revolutionary Army in hopes of sabotaging it for the Empire to have my revenge against them. Getting into Night Raid was by sheer luck, believe it or not. I still don't understand what they saw in me. And yeah, I won't hold it against any of you if you accidentally call me Tatsumi. Kinda used to the confusion. I hope I can prove to be an important asset to the Jaegers!" This is the first time I've been honest while introducing myself now that I think about it. It does feel strangely liberating even though I'm pretty much more or less truthful about anything else all the time.
"I hope so too. With a face like that, you best not disappoint me," Esdeath advises.
"I don't plan to, General," I say boldly.
"That's what I like to hear, Tetsuo," she says. Despite the back of Esdeath's head facing us, I can see the devious smile on her face.
"Thanks for not letting me forget," I whisper in Seryu's right ear.
"No problem. See? Too busy having a conversation that you forgot your own introduction. It's that easy," Seryu whispers back. Abruptly, an image of the room they're letting me use flashes in my head without triggering a headache. What? Why that? Is that room important or something? Another image flashes a white coat and makes my eyes sting for a second.
"Ngh!" I grunt painfully, burying my face against Seryu's right shoulder.
"You okay?" She mutters.
"I'm fine. Don't worry," I assure her. That coat has me thinking something is amiss. Either I'm crazy or are the Jaegers missing a member? When I have free time, I'll flip that room upside down if need be. If I find nothing, then I'll just have to ask them directly and hope it's not a huge can of worms.