Hey there! Welcome to chapter two! After the somewhat slow introduction it is finally time to actually get the ball of this story rolling! I hope you enjoy!

Chapter 2: Things That Go Bump In The Night

After the multiple hour tour in which Heinrich showed him every little nook and cranny of the building he needed a place of silence for a short moment. Paul excused himself and retreated to the room which was to be his personal quarters, located within the embassy building itself. It wasn't particularly large, but it had enough room and furnishing to store his belongings in, as well as a bed for him to sleep in and a modern sink with a mirror above it. Like the security officer Hanagazawa had said, there was a set of clothes laid ready for him to put on after he had cleaned himself up somewhat.

Undressing himself to his undergarments, he made do with the water from the sink to wash himself in the most essential places, even if it was no true substitute for a proper bath. A little more refreshed he opened his suitcase to grab his shaving supplies. Looking at himself in the mirror, a razorblade in his hand, he paused for a moment as he stared at his short but scruffy beard. The last couple of years he had to shave regularly, a beard wouldn't have fit under a gas mask after all. But he did not have to wear a gas mask anymore. Instead of removing the beard entirely, he decided to merely shave the outline to make it look less scruffy, using a small pair of scissors to trim the length down. After all was said and done he washed his face up, looking back into the mirror. He definitely looked more presentable, though the trimming of his beard did make the scar on his left cheek even more visible.

Turning to the uniform, he inspected the garments laid out on the bed. It seemed to be a surplus German uniform with the imperial symbols stripped off and with no helmet or other headwear. It had probably been captured by the Japanese during the war. Still, it was in good condition, so he began to slowly put it on, the layers of grey clothing covering his body. Thankfully it came with a grey woolen overcoat similar to his own, without one he probably would be freezing if he had to stand in the cold night air the coming evening. Putting on his boots he turned around, facing himself in the mirror and freezing up as he saw himself in uniform again. He suddenly found himself not in Japan, but in his parent's house, facing a bed.

In front of him was his mother, or at least how he remembered her last. A pale hollowed out ghost of a person, she was nothing like the lively, caring and energetic woman he had known for most of his life. "My handsome Paulie… Look at how grown up you look in that uniform… My boy has really turned into a man…" She said, her voice weak and frail, but a smile on her face nonetheless. She coughed, some blood-tinged phlegm escaping her mouth. Her smile slowly disappeared as she looked at him, her tone more soft. "But promise me… You'll come back to visit your mother, alright?" She said, her similarly gray eyes piercing through him. "I…Of course, I'll come visit you as soon as I get granted leave to return back home." He stammered out. "Promise me, Paulie… Whatever you have to do out there, survive… As long as you live I do not care if we win or lose this war… I will not have my son die while all I could do is waste away in bed…Promise me…" She said as her voice broke a little, a couple of tears slowly dripping down her face.

Snapping out of his memory, he returned to find himself vacantly staring at the mirror. "I suppose I did keep my promise…" He muttered to himself as he packed his own clothes up, stuffing them onto a shelf. With a sigh he opened the door back up, looking to get some lunch. The steps of his boots echoed through the hallways as he walked towards the large dining hall, in which the dinner party would be hosted this evening, and where some lunch had been made available for the embassy's staff. And of course as expected he found his uncle stuffing his face with food, a satisfied grin on his face.

"Ah Paul! Look how dapper you are! I'm glad to see the clothing sizes I recommended seem to fit you. Come join me, you must be hungry at this point, I know I am. Grab one of those boxes and come sit with me." He said with a chuckle, using a pair of thin chopsticks to stuff unfamiliar looking food into his mouth. Paul grabbed one of the boxes, made from simple wood, and sat opposite to his uncle. "Have you had some proper Japanese food before?" He asked. "They call this a bento box, it's sort of a portable lunchbox, quite ingenious really." His uncle explained, handing Paul a pair of chopsticks.

"The ship's restaurant mainly catered towards a western audience, so I can't say I've tried yet." Paul replied as he raised an eyebrow, looking a little confused at the pair of thin sticks, and Heinrich saw that he didn't exactly know what to do with them. "They're a little finicky to get used to, but once you do it isn't half bad, here, hold them like this." His uncle said as he showed Paul how to hold them. "Good, and then you can make an open and closing motion like this, and grab the food in between them." He instructed as he demonstrated it on his own food. It took a bit of struggling, but soon Paul picked up a fluffy piece of egg omelet between the sticks, carefully placing it into his mouth before letting go, much to his uncle's amusement. "Already learning! Now you'll just have to pick up the pace and you'll be eating like normal." He chuckled as he kept eating himself. He had to admit, the food was pretty good, even if it was unfamiliar to him.

"You like it?" Heinrich asked, to which Paul nodded. "It's good, yet a little light on my stomach, I can see why you eat so much of it to feel full." Paul said with a small grin, earning another loud chuckle from his uncle. "Hmm that it is, when you're off in the evening sometime I'll make sure to take you for dinner, I have a feeling some Tonkatsu would fill you up more." Heinrich said. He ended up spending a considerable amount of time eating and chatting with his uncle. Even if the man did not know when to stop talking Paul couldn't help but smile at his cheerful attitude, and the good food definitely helped too.

"Ah before I forget, mr. Hanagezawa will probably want to see you now that you're freshed up and ready for duty. Though your duty only starts in a couple of hours I imagine he probably wants to go over your responsibilities for tonight." Heinrich mentioned as Paul got up to leave. "I'll walk to his office." Paul assured him, leaving his uncle to visit his superior. Knocking on the door, it stayed silent for a moment, before a simple "Enter." echoed through the door. Paul did so, finding Hanagezawa writing at his desk, looking up at Paul. He nodded in approval, apparently satisfied with what he saw. "My uncle said you would probably want to discuss my duties this evening before I start?" Paul asked, hoping that his pronunciation was alright. It seemed to be good enough, as the man nodded and stood up, grabbing the rifle that was still standing against the side of the desk, handing it to Paul.

"I do, and now that you're cleaned up I'll hand this to you. It will be your responsibility to clean and maintain your weapon, I'll provide you with the supplies." He said as Paul slung the rifle around his shoulder. The officer also gave him two stripper clips of cartridges, 10 bullets in total, staring him in the face. Even if the man was easily a head shorter than Paul he still had an intimidating aura around him. "Though I give you these bullets I expect you to not use them. The last thing I want is a diplomatic incident because you decided to haphazardly gun someone down, only load these if absolutely necessary." The officer commanded, to which Paul replied with a small nod, "Understood.", stuffing the bullets into a pocket on his uniform. "Same with this, though you'll keep it fixed on your rifle during duty I do not expect you to use it." The man said as he handed him the bayonet of the rifle, which Paul fixed on his hip with a belt. "In general, either simply scare whoever is causing trouble away, or call for backup and arrest them if they comply. The only reason I want you to be violent is in self-defence, understood?" The man explained, and though some words were lost in translation, Paul nodded. "Good, I'll hand you your cleaning supplies for the rifle, and then I want you to report to me at 18:00, you'll start your duties then." He said, dismissing Paul for the rest of the day.

A couple hours later…

Looking away from his Japanese practice books, Paul inspected his pocket watch, 17:54, about time. He had taken the time to properly clean his rifle, and used the rest of it to study more Japanese in his room. Fixing the bayonet to the end of the barrel like instructed before slinging the weapon around his shoulder, he made his way towards Hanagezawa's office. "Good, you're here." The man mumbled as he slung a rifle around his shoulder as well. "At the start of your shift you will be patrolling the garden out back, while I receive the minister alongside the embassy personnel. Around 22:00 you will report to me in front of the building, and we will switch places with you standing watch out front, understood?" The man explained. Paul looked at his pocket watch, nodding. "Yes sir, I'll be on my way then." He said before leaving towards the beautiful garden in the back of the compound. He made his way towards the veranda at the back, the cool evening air making him shiver for a moment. The sun was slowly beginning to set, more and more darkness creeping over the garden.

The first two hours of his shift proved to be rather uneventful, the only sounds being that of Tokyo's gentle background bustle and the occasional laughter coming from inside the dining hall. However, as he walked along the large pond a sudden rustle of leaves made Paul jump, instinctively grabbing his rifle from his shoulder. He had noticed before on the ship he had become increasingly easy to startle, small noises quickly set him off. He remembered almost once punching a man in the face when he grabbed Paul's shoulder to simply ask him directions. But quickly after he had grabbed a hold of his rifle he noticed a pair of small yellow eyes staring back at him through the leaves, making him sigh out in relief. He kneeled down, making a soft kissing-like noise by pursing his lips, a small grey cat popping out of the foliage not long after. He had never been much of a dog person, but somehow always got along with cats, nowadays it felt like he was more comfortable with cats than with other people at times. The cat curiously sniffed his outstretched hand for a moment, giving it a small headbutt and allowing Paul to pet it, a small smile creeping up his face as he ran his hand through the creature's soft fur. He gently felt his heartbeat relax, the tension in his body dissipating. Some headpats later the cat walked away back into the garden, and after standing up with a short sigh and shouldering his rifle, Paul continued his duties, a little more relaxed than before…

At 22:48 o'clock…

After effortlessly switching with Hanagezawa, it was Paul's turn to stand in front of the building, guarding the entrance. If anything this was the most boring part of his duty, at least in the garden he could walk around, here he simply had to stand still and look at the dark path leading towards the streets of Tokyo, nothing much happening. If it wasn't for the fact he was standing upright in the cold air he probably would have fallen asleep. But he suddenly was rocked wide awake as a blood curdling scream filled the evening air, coming from behind him. The voice sounded familiar to him, was that Hanagezawa?

His heart suddenly pumping wildly, he grabbed the rifle from his shoulder again, this time instinctively grabbing one of the stripper clips from his pocket, effortlessly loading them into the gun as made his way to the backyard. As he entered the garden he did not see much, just the pond, and the variety of small electric lights and traditional lanterns weakly lighting up different parts of the garden. "Mr. Hanagezawa?" Paul shouted, his eyes darting around the place, his hands gripping his rifle tightly. The scream he heard was one he was familiar with. It wasn't just someone in hurt, it was someone fearing for their life.

He suddenly heard a weak gurling sight to his right, and rapidly swung himself around to face the source of the noise, taking off the safety of the rifle. His eyes widened as he saw what was in front of him, his breathing freezing for a moment. On the ground laid Hanagezawa in a pool of his own blood, his skin turning a vile green shade, blood dripping out of his eyes as he looked at Paul, trying to say something but finding himself unable, as more blood dripped from his mouth. But as if the sight of his superior wasn't disturbing, what was on top of him certainly was. The man, or rather the creature, turned to look at Paul, tilting its head curiously to inspect the newcomer. It looked human enough in it's basic body plan, but it had been horribly twisted into some sort of chimeric insectoid monster. Large mandibles protruded from its bloodied mouth, sharp claws in place of human hands, and a large scorpion-like stinger protruding from its back. The dark eyes of the creature squinted for a moment, before it began to talk in a gleeful tone.

"Ohohoho...What have we got here? You don't look like you're from around here are you?" The creature said in a distorted voice as it began to ignore Hanagezawa, who was still bleeding out on the grass. "I'll be honest, I did always think foreigners would probably taste disgusting, but I can't say I've tried yet…" It said with another cackle, slowly approaching Paul, the stinger swaying back and forth. Paul's chest felt as if it was about to explode, of all the violent, horrifying and straight up disturbing things he had seen in his short lifetime, he had never experienced anything like this. Acting purely on instinct, in the flash of a second he raised his rifle, aimed the sights squarely at the creature's face, and pulled the trigger.

The crisp bang of the gunshot echoed through the garden, and the creature's face exploded into gory bits as its body went limp for a quick second. Without hesitation Paul quickly cycled the bolt, the cartridge falling onto the floor before shooting another time, this time hitting its chest, leaving a clear bullet hole in the middle. But as he went to cycle the bolt for a third time, he heard gurgling laughter erupting from the creature's body, its destroyed head slowly beginning to grow back together. "Ohohoho…That's cute, very cute. Did you really think that would do anything?" It said, its face growing back completely to how it was before, the hole in its chest shrinking until it was no longer visible. As it approached even closer Paul did his best not to panic, calming his breathing. Though this foe was more terrifying than anything he had seen before, he was no stranger to combat. He had fought on the frontlines of the Kaiserslacht, and if he did not die then, he wasn't going to allow himself to die now. He had made a promise to survive, and he would.

It was not the creature's turn to attack, lashing out with its sharp claws. Paul managed to dodge to the side, finding an opening to ram his bayonet into the flank of the creature with a loud yell, much to its annoyance. The stinger lashed its way towards Paul, and with the bayonet still lodged in the creature's side, he did not find enough time to escape entirely. He felt the sharp stinger ever so slightly scratch at his neck, opening the skin slightly, the wound bleeding a little. As Paul stumbled back to create some distance, he panted a little, gripping his rifle and trying to ignore the odd burning sensation emanating from his neck. The creature cackled at him, the large stabbing wound in its side slowly healing again.

"You might as well give up now… While you did not get much of the venom it won't take all that long before you end up like him…" The thing said as it nodded to the now lifeless body of Hanagezawa, something of a malicious grin on its insectoid face. Paul frowned, his face contorting in anger as he looked at the disgusting being before him. "The last thing… I'll be doing…Is dying to a disgusting monster like you…" Paul said as he readied his grip, awaiting the creature's attack. But just as it was about to lunge at him, the door to the garden opened up.

"What is happeni- Oh…Oh goodness! Oh God! Paulie!" His uncle stood at the door, eyes as wide open as possible, his face as pale as snow. The monster looked over, giggling to itself a little. "Ooohhhh ... That's a fat meaty one, you'll be a much better meal than that lanky-". Before it could finish its sentence a bullet again raced through its skull, leaving it speechless for a brief moment. "Run uncle! Take the minister and get out of here!" Paul said as he switched to German, cycling his rifle again. "B-But Paul!" The man stammered, horrified at the sight. "Get help, I'll hold it off!" Paul barked determinedly, lining up another shot and shooting it in the knee, causing the creature to wobble and fall to the ground as it lost control of its leg. His uncle nodded frantically, running into the building.

Paul could definitely feel the effects of the poison starting to kick in, his breathing getting slower, his arms and legs feeling heavier with every slipping moment. Panting, he did his best to keep standing upright as the monster turned its attention back to him, now irritation clearly audible in its voice. "I've had quite enough of you, this is taking too long… Die already!" The thing shrieked as it lashed out with its stinger, the tip hurling towards him. Using most of his remaining strength he parried the stinger with his rifle, lashing out with a yell as he went in for a riposte, bringing his bayonet down on the stinger. Though the bayonet was mainly made for stabbing and not slashing, the sharp edge combined with Paul's desperate strength, was just enough to cut through the tough flesh making the stinger fall to the ground. The monster howled in annoyance, taking a step back, leaving Paul desperately panting as the world around him slowly began to grow darker. The sliced off body part began to dissolve into ash, and Paul could already see a new stinger slowly growing back.

Though the creature's annoyance was still visible, it could also see Paul was on the edge of consciousness, and scoffed at him. "You had to make this difficult for yourself, but you'll end up dead regardless… I hope you're hap-''. Again the creature got interrupted, but this time not by his uncle. In the blink of an eye a wide slash was made along the length of the creature, and suddenly a young woman stood between it and Paul, a peculiar looking blade in her hand. "I do apologize for interrupting the moment you two had… Though I usually try to befriend demons when I meet them, I could already see by the way you were treating this poor man that you were not exactly the friendly type." The young woman said in a soft cheerful tone. She was incredibly small compared to Paul, and though he could not see her face from here she had a noticeable butterfly-shaped pin in her black wavy hair.

After the initial shock of the slash wore off, the monster growled at the small woman. "Slayer or not, I'll kill you all the same!" It yelled loudly, raising its claw to attack, but freezing up before making an attack. "Hmmm? You thought I missed your head on accident didn't you?" She responded calmly as the creature sputtered and sank down onto its knees. "Did you forget that humans can use poison too?" She taunted the creature as it fell onto the ground, the groaning monster slowly going silent, its body dissolving into ash just like the stinger did previously. In disbelief Paul stood with shaking knees, his face slowly turning a pale green as the woman turned around towards him. "Are you alright?" Her face was pretty, her large purple eyes in a concerned expression as she looked at him. It was also the last thing Paul saw before the world around him grew dark, his body finally giving up on him as he fell to the ground, the rifle still clutched in his hands. He could faintly hear a concerned "Oh dear…" before everything finally went dark.