Don't worry guys - I didn't go anywhere. Lol. Had to take a break after posting that last chapter because I've been cranking these out pretty much nonstop since day 1. Also had another short bout of writers block right after, plus some real life stuff too getting in the way.
I thought the Suzaku chapter was hard, but damn, this one really took the cake. No, we're not seeing the immediate aftermath of the previous chapter this time around (next chapter though, I promise). I figured that this would be the best place to begin giving a little extra attention on Kallen since this is also her story in addition to Rai's. One of my biggest gripes about the show was how so many things, organizations, and characters just existed because they had to and not because there were any plans to actually show us more despite hinting to and building up to those things - Kallen's past being one of them.
We never got to dive into her or any of the OG members of the Black Knights' past. Literally nothing about her brother Naoto either - three pictures, and that's it, and one of them wasn't even in the main series - it was in the end credits! Lmao. But I am here today to begin rectifying this. This is the first of many flashbacks that will give my headcanon take on how things went down to show Kallen's development into the badass we all know and love at the start of the series. But then again, the lack of Kallen love outside of episode 9 and the short lived charactr arc she had during Narita was all we got. Maybe it had something to do with her lack of green hair, idk. But either way, I hope you enjoy.
As an aside, y'all ain't ready for what's coming next after this.
Huge shoutouts to DeadlyViperQuill yet again for all the help, beta reading, suggestions, and ideas and general soundboarding. Virtual high fives to you, buddy.
...
"Not this again!" The harsh scolding voice of my mother reverberated across the thin walls of our quaint residence waking me up from my deep slumber.
I groaned and stifled a yawn as I asked myself in a low voice, "What's going on?"
Tiptoeing toward my door, I lightly cracked it open to see what the commotion was all about.
"It's only a scratch." My brother dismissed with a weak chuckle.
"Ms. Kozuki, let me explain-"
"I don't want to hear it, Ohgi! Three months! We've only been here three months, and you two are already causing trouble! You remember what happened last time, don't you?!"
Before either of the boys had a chance to respond, my mother continued in a still-agitated tone, "Head on over to the sink, Naoto, and wash it off while I'll go get my first aid kit."
I quietly gasped. "A first aid kit? I better go and see if he's-" I shook my head to stop myself from finishing that thought.
Naoto and my mother, Shizune, didn't always see eye to eye. Don't get me wrong, we all got along about as well as any family could, but ever since the invasion four years ago, Naoto always took it upon himself to do what he could to fight back against the Britannians. You could imagine how my mother reacted when she found out that he was rubbing elbows with nearby resistance groups, but no matter how much she protested, he still carried on, and to make things more stressful for her and for me, he convinced Ohgi to tag along as well.
Yet, if there was one thing the two of them could agree on, it was keeping me in the dark as much as possible when it came to what Naoto and Ohgi did after finishing up their jobs around the various locales we've lived in. I may have just been a kid at the time, but I knew what they were doing - I always knew. Just because I was younger doesn't mean I was stupid.
Daring to cross the threshold of my bedroom door, I soundlessly snuck down our short hallway and poked my head around the corner making sure to stay within the shadows.
Arriving back to the kitchen with her first aid kit, my mother began to clean the cut along Naoto's left tricep with antiseptic solution.
"Being out of practice for four years really hasn't dulled your medical expertise, mom. Your inner nurse never left." Naoto observed in as suave a tone as possible, no doubt trying to mitigate the next impending round of verbal onslaught from my mother.
Clenching her jaw, she poured a little extra solution on Naoto's arm.
"Ngh." He flinched back slightly. "Was that really necessary? It's got to be clean enough by now."
"Oh, I'm sorry. I thought after all this time playing hero in the ghettos, you would've been more resilient to a little sting like that."
"Heh. You should see the other guys, right Ohgi?" Naoto's gaze turned toward his best friend.
Loosening up from his anxious, statue-like stillness, Ohgi replied in an awkward laugh, "Oh. Yeah. You really did a number on them. I really wish I could've helped mo-"
My mother's hackles rose as she shot him a death glare making him once again freeze in quiet trepidation.
Refocusing on her patient, she applied pressure to Naoto's arm for several minutes to stop the bleeding.
"This wound is just deep enough to warrant stitches, but since we don't have any leftover anesthesia, you *will* feel the whole thing. You can handle that, right?" She mildly challenged with a hint of rebuke.
"I'll defer to your medical expertise," Naoto smirked cooly with a slight bow of his head and an agreeable hand wave.
She began to seal the wound, and my brother once again tried to ease the tension while doing his best to ignore the stinging suturing. "So how are Kallen's studies going?" He flinched and scrunched his eyes. "Her final exams are coming up this week, right?"
"You would know if you spent more time here instead of gallivanting out there."
Still evading my mother's agitation, Naoto said, "It's not just that. Ohgi and I are always taking on jobs around town to keep food on the table. Given the state of affairs, we find every last bit of work that we can to help us get by. Nothing we do pays much, after all. You already know we're doing this to keep the two of you safe and to help Kallen grow up as normally as possible."
Temporarily ceasing her stitching, my mother narrowed her eyes and scowled. "'Normal?' There's nothing about this that's normal, Naoto! You and your bad example are starting to rub off on her. You do remember that the reason I home school her now is because she slugged that boy instead of reporting him to a teacher, right?"
I briefly recollected the incident from two years ago. Vividly, I imagined the smug look on the portly Japanese boy, who made it a habit of picking on me because I'm half Britannian. The day he crushed my pencils under his feet after he 'accidentally' knocked them off my desk was the day he pushed me too far. I responded in kind by knocking the wind right out of him. Did I regret it? Tch. Hell no.
Standing up to him may have earned me an expulsion from the middle school, but given how run down and unfunded the few and far between Japanese education centers are in the less-developed areas of the Tokyo settlement, I preferred getting homeschooled anyway.
"He deserved it." I thought as I squeezed my fist with a deepening glower. "And I'd do it again too."
Leaning backward in his chair and putting his right hand over his eyes, Naoto bellowed a loud, overly entertained cackle, "Hah hah hah! She's really got that Kozuki temper doesn't she?"
Daring to re-join the conversation, Ohgi made a 'shhh' noise and whispered, "It's very late Naoto. Kallen's long in bed by now. She needs all the sleep she can get for her upcoming tests."
I swiftly shifted away from the corner as everyone's heads turned in my direction.
"Oh crap." I mentally panicked. "Did they see me?"
I covered my mouth with both hands in an attempt to quell my loud, anxious breathing; however, my amped up nerves quickly quieted down when Naoto resumed the conversation, everyone seemingly unaware of my nearby presence.
"Please," he dismissed gleefully. "You know as well as I do that a ten ton Sakuradite bomb could go off right next to her, and she'd still be out cold. She couldn't be less delicate or ladylike if she tried."
Silently scoffing, I gritted my teeth and lowered my eyebrows angrily as I mustered up every last bit of willpower I had to resist the urge to expose myself by running over there to give my brother a well-deserved smack.
"None of this is funny, Naoto!" my mother exclaimed in a loud whisper. "Before that incident with her in Minato, it was always just you two causing trouble, but now I have to worry about her constantly too... I'm afraid-"
"That she'll end up like me, right?" Naoto's eyes narrowed as his formerly debonair tone quickly shifted to a more serious one.
A long pause transpired as my mother dressed the wound, her eyes sunken in sullen contemplation.
Breaking the ice, my brother started, "I don't ever expect you to understand why I feel the need to do what I do," Naoto gestured to himself and then to Ohgi, "-what *we* have to do, but if there's one thing you and I can agree on, it's that Kallen will never - under any circumstances - be allowed to be involved with our mission. That I can guarantee you."
Now it was my turn to raise my hackles in noiseless protest and indignation. "That's not for you to decide." I thought angrily, resisting the urge to stomp my foot in defiance. "I'm grown up now, and I care about our homeland just as much as you. Why can't you just let me be by your side to help?"
My mother's eyes glistened. "But why does it have to be you two?" Her despairing gaze quickly turned to Ohgi, "When your mother passed away and I agreed to take you in, this wasn't what she would've wanted for you, and it's not what I want either."
Ohgi's shoulders rounded as his eyes shifted downward to the floor, "Ms. Kozuki, I..."
Gently wiping away her tear, Naoto said in as comforting a tone as possible, "We'll be all right. We've made it this far, haven't we?"
Embracing her with his non-injured arm, he whispered, "Britannia has hurt too many families much like this one. If we don't stand up to them, who will?"
"You're brilliant, Naoto. You always have been, but you're not invincible." She sobbed as she gently touched his bandage.
"That had nothing to do with anything we normally do. A couple of teenage boys - two of our own - were being ganged up on by a group of drunken Britannians, and one of them quickly pulled out a switch blade and nicked me. I was fending off too many at once, and I just didn't dodge well enough, but in the end, we took care of them."
"But what if they-"
"They couldn't make out our faces." He reassured. "It was too dark, and they were too intoxicated. The Britannians always say that we're all the same to them anyway. There's no chance they'll come back here. I won't put this family at risk. We did just move here after all, like you said."
My mother was in deep thought as she bit her lip in angst.
Finally deciding how best to word her proposition, she began to ask, "But supposing your fight does come too close to home and circumstances become too dangerous for us again," She trailed off. "For Kallen's sake, I mean. Perhaps I can try reaching out to your father and-"
My eyes widened in scandalized horror. Shock and anger permeated every fiber of my being at the mere thought of having to associate with that deadbeat. Just as I began to open my mouth to fire off every possible objection I could think of, I was interrupted.
"He's not my father!" Naoto nearly yelled. "We don't need him. Never have."
Upon hearing that, my tensing fists began to relax.
I poked my head a little further around the corner and saw how Naoto's polished and smooth disposition diminished, and in its place was a deepening scowl.
Pleading, my mother said, "But how else are we supposed to help Kallen grow up as normally and safely as possible without the Stadtfeld name?"
"She's a Kozuki." Naoto's nostrils flared while his lips tightened. "And what has he ever done for this family anyway? When was the last time we saw him since the invasion? I can't think of any. How often was he there for you, me, or especially Kallen?" Looking downward, he shook his head. "No. He's far too busy making bank on his Sakuradite trade and living it up in his mansion with his maids and wife. We're not even an afterthought to him. I mean, I've barely seen the man my whole life, and I'd be surprised if Kallen even remembers what he looks like."
My mother's voice trembled, "I understand that, but-"
Naoto's breathing intensified, his chest visibly expanding. "Ohgi and I have kept this family afloat and safe - not him. We've kept everyone's stomachs as full as possible all these years - not him. Face it mom. He was hardly ever around my whole childhood and Kallen's, but after the invasion? We were just an inconvenience for him. He couldn't possibly risk associating with you or his Japanese offspring, after all. That's bad press for someone as accomplished and esteemed as himself."
Trying to hold it together as best she could, my mother replied, "She can't be safe or have a normal life here as a Japanese girl under Britannia's rule."
"I know. I know. You're right, but-" Naoto pinched his nose bridge.
"She's 'right?!'" I gaped in dumbfounded dismay.
"Why doesn't anyone ever care about what I want? I'm not a kid anymore. I'm not-" I stepped backward in appalled alarm, a loud creak interrupting my train of thought.
"Kallen, is that you?" My mother asked while trying to compose her voice as much as possible.
The scraping noise of sliding chairs sounded off filling me with dread.
"Shit! Shit! Shit!" I panicked.
...
I had a long habit of sneaking around to listen in on conversations my family didn't want me to be a part of ever since that fateful night four years ago when Naoto and Ohgi came home battered and beaten after defending my mother from a couple of male Britannians back when we still lived in my hometown of Izu. While I didn't understand the nature of the assault at the time, as I grew older it all became clear, and that understanding was the final nail in the coffin for me. The Britannians don't see us as humans; to them, we're just cattle to be used however they see fit. They stole our home, they turned us into second class citizens, and they keep us around just so we can be ruled over more easily. It's us vs. them, and after each time we moved, my resolve to fight back against them grew stronger.
Unfortunately for me, my investigative efforts usually came up short. Whether it was an offhanded comment designed to get a rise out of me by my brother whenever he suspected I was nearby, or perhaps something as trivial an inconvenient sneeze, I was always found out before I could overhear anything useful. Though at least this time, I would try my damndest to get away before getting caught.
"Did we wake you?" Ohgi asked apologetically.
I didn't respond. I couldn't risk them knowing I overheard everything. If they knew that I knew what they were planning for me, it all just might happen faster, and I couldn't risk that. Evidently, my say didn't matter anyway. I had to prolong this as much as possible until I figured something out. If there was just a way to convince Naoto to let me help him, then I wouldn't have to intermingle with the Britannians and live with "him." I just had to find a way.
Volunteering, Naoto said, "I'll go check on her."
I whirled around and hurried toward my bedroom in a stealthy and soundless manner. Unpredictable creaking floorboards besides, I developed a knack for stealth given how I gradually learned how to be much lighter on my feet through trial and error over the years.
Just barely making it to my room, I closed the door and turned on my desk light while flipping to a random page in one of my textbooks.
A knocking noise lightly resonated just moments later. "Hey sis. You still awake? I see the light's on."
Not waiting for my response, Naoto slightly cracked open my door.
"It's rude to just barge in here like that before I could answer you, Naoto." I scolded in mild annoyance.
"I suppose that's true." He lightly laughed.
Folding my arms, I said, "You might as well come in all the way now."
Opening the door fully, my brother stepped in. "I'm sorry if we were a little loud before."
"Oh, were you? I didn't notice. Too busy studying." I tapped my textbook with the back of my hand.
He arched an eyebrow. "I see that."
My gaze settled on his bandaged left arm, and concern reignited within me as I leaned in closer toward him. "What happened?!" I asked while acting as though this was the first time I was seeing his injured extremity.
"Don't worry about it." He shook his head. "Just a paper cut is all. Mom patched me all up, so I'm as good as new."
"You're always getting hurt." My eyebrows furrowed.
"There's no need to get teary eyed. It's not that bad." He smiled reassuringly.
"I'm not a kid anymore, Naoto! You don't have to keep me in the dark all the time about your fight against Britannia."
Before he could respond, I lowered my eyes and continued, "After this week, I'm graduating my middle school curriculum, and after that, maybe I could-"
"Oh ho. So confident that you're going to pass, are you?"
Gently snatching away my textbook, he pulled up a chair and flipped it around so that the back of it was facing me.
"Let's see here," he stroked his chin after sitting down and leaning his weight forward onto the seat.
"Hey! Give that back!"
"Easy now," he waved his free hand placatingly. "I'm just helping out is all. Since you've been up here all this time studying *so* hard, I figured I could lend you a hand. Who knows? A little quizzing might just be what you need to put your nerves at ease about the exams so you can get to bed ASAP."
Pouting, I looked away from him. "Okay, shoot."
Naoto scanned my chemistry textbook and skimmed through the pages to find a topic to test me on.
"Aha. How about this?" He pointed at a spot on the page he flipped to.
"Hydrogen is composed of different isotopes - the most common of which is?"
"Protium." I answered the moment he finished his question.
Not expecting such a rapid response, Naoto blinked in surprise, "Correct."
"Ask me a harder one next time. My brain barely broke a sweat." I held out my right hand to examine my fingernails.
"Brains don't sweat. I thought a straight 'A' student like you would've known better than to make that faulty observation." Naoto stuck his tongue out.
"You know what I meant," I slanted my eyes.
"Let's try this one then," he grinned teasingly "Describe the combustion of elements in oxygen - including magnesium, hydrogen, and sulfur."
I closed my eyes for a moment and thought carefully. "When magnesium reacts with oxygen, it undergoes combustion to form magnesium oxide."
Taking out a pencil and a sheet of paper, a small hint of excitement built up in my voice, and I continued, "The balanced chemical equation for this reaction is:
2Mg(s) + O2(g) → 2MgO(s)"
I showed Naoto the sheet of paper and finished, confidence exuding through my tone. "This reaction is exothermic, meaning it releases heat energy and produces a bright white light, which is characteristic of magnesium combustion."
I went on to describe the combustion of hydrogen and sulfur. After giving the formula for sulfur dioxide, I paused for a moment, "This reaction," I scrunched my eyes as I racked my brain for the rest of the answer.
"Uh oh. Is our ace student stumped already?" Naoto tilted his head back and smirked.
"No, wait. I've got this!"
Ruminating for several seconds to parse through my mental notes, I recollected the rest of the answer. "This reaction produces a pungent odor characteristic of burning sulfur and is often used to produce sulfur dioxide industrially, which has various applications such as in the production of sulfuric acid."
"Right again. Maybe you do have a chance at graduating after all. Although to be honest, you graduating to a high school education after the 8th grade is still weird to me. I'm so used to the Japanese education system." He shrugged.
Naoto continued to pick different topics at random from various text books, and surprisingly enough, I answered each and every one of them flawlessly. Don't misunderstand me, it wasn't my photographic memory that made me nonplussed, it was the fact that I kept getting distracted by how carelessly Naoto waved around his wounded arm.
"Let's try this one-"
"Doesn't that hurt?" I interrupted.
Confused, Naoto blinked. "Hm?"
"Shouldn't you be careful about the way you move that arm? Aren't you supposed to elevate it or something?"
"Nah. This is nothing." Naoto waved dismissively. "Getting a cut along the tricep is one of the least inconvenient places to get injured. The range of motion limitations aren't so bad. It's not like getting a gash along the bottom of your foot or something. A wound like that would definitely put me out of commission for a while."
With moderate force, I hit my lap with my fists, "But what if your stitches open up?"
"Hmm? Who said anything about stitches?"
"Damn." I swore internally.
"It's just," my eyes shifted from side to side. "The way you were holding it when you first came in here and how thickly it's wrapped - I just guessed is all." I said in as innocent a voice as possible while lifting my eyes upward at him and shooting him a nervous smile.
Lips thinning, he assessed me thoroughly. The level of attention in his thoughtful staring made it seem as though he was boring into my mind to see exactly how full of shit I was.
Trying to distract him before I gave myself away, I continued, "I just don't want to see you keep getting hurt is all. Maybe if you just had an extra set of eyes-"
"That's what I have Ohgi for."
"I said 'extra.' What about me? Why can't I help too?"
"Three's a crowd." Naoto shrugged playfully.
Just as I was about to give a retort, Naoto continued, "You have a bright future ahead of you, Kallen. You don't want to waste your youth playing soldier. Just leave the dirty work to me." He pointed his thumb to his chest.
Raising my voice slightly, I said, "I am thinking about my future. I'm planning to fight by your side so we can take back our home!"
Naoto closed the textbook with one hand, stood up and patted me on the top of my head, "Good job, kiddo. I think that's enough studying for the night. You should get some rest."
"When are you gonna stop treating me like a kid?" I stood up angrily.
His eyes narrowed as his lips quirked downward, "When you stop acting like one."
I winced, and he went on, "Let your big brother take care of the fighting while you focus on living your life to the fullest. Find a good man even." He stroked his chin thoughtfully, "There are plenty of our kind around here whose eyes you've definitely caught. If you want me to help you vet through them, I could always-"
My eyes widened in embarrassment as my face turned red, "I don't have time for that!" Trying to compose myself, I folded my arms, "Besides, boys are stupid anyway. They only ever used to pick on me, but now that I'm older, all they seem to care about is-"
Holding his right arm out, Naoto cut me off, "Woah hoh! Let me stop you right there."
A few awkward moments went by before he went on, "But seriously, is there anyone I need to know about who's giving you trouble?"
I turned around and grunted, "I'll tell you if you agree to let me help you."
"So that's a 'no,' then. Good to hear."
I spun on my heels quickly to face him, "How'd you know?!"
"Because you just told me," Naoto held his chin and smirked smugly. "I'm glad to hear nobody's giving you any problems, but should that ever happen, let me know because I'll always have your back."
"And I'd always have yours if you'd let me!"
Losing patience for the first time, Naoto made himself taller and scowled, "You need to get your head out of your ass and give it up already!"
My eyes began to water, "But I just-"
He turned around, "Get to bed, and maybe review a couple of those questions you hesitated on tomorrow morning so you're prepared."
My voice trembled, "N-naoto," but he responded in kind by closing my door forcefully, almost slamming it.
Curling my fingers, I hit my pillow angrily several times over. Pacing my room and ruminating on what I should do for several minutes, I saw Naoto and Ohgi walking outside.
I quickly and furtively ran downstairs making sure my mother was nowhere in sight. Slipping on my shoes, I cracked open the front door just enough to slip through it and gently closed it behind me.
Catching up while making sure I was just far enough behind them to remain unnoticed and still remain within earshot, I overheard Ohgi, "So how'd it go?"
"No worse than usual."
"That bad, huh? You know she's only suggesting that because she cares about you, right?"
"You're taking her side?" Naoto's voice sharpened.
"Not at all. All I'm saying is she wants you to be safe."
Naoto said nothing and continued to walk with heavy footsteps.
Changing the subject, Ohgi pointed at Naoto's left arm. "Is that going to slow down our plans for Friday? It's at 1:00, right?"
"Pfft. No way. I've had worse, you know that." Naoto lightly patted his bandage. "The recovery time is a few weeks or so, but about one should be fine if I'm careful. Being a soldier means you can't always be at 100%, after all."
"I see..." Ohgi observed grimly. "So what do they call themselves again?"
Naoto halted in place and looked upward at the stars, "The Kento Coalition."
...
It was a long and grueling week of stressful anticipation for me. Breezing through my tests was the easy part. That hard part? Waiting for Friday to come. After having yet another blowout with Naoto, I realized that the only way I could make my case is to show him what I could do and that I can be an asset to him. I didn't know how much time I had until they decided to move me out to live with the man I can't stand to call "father" and dwell among the Britannians, so it was now or never.
Having rolled around in bed restlessly all Thursday night, I was put at minimal ease at the first sign of sunlight.
"Finally." I groaned as I hurriedly unfurled my blanket and rushed out of bed.
Eagerness and angst coursed through me as I got ready for the day so much so that I kept tripping over myself continually while I attempted to draw up my shorts.
Needing a break from my nagging nerves, I took a deep breath and headed toward my window.
I pulled the curtain open and took a good several moments to take in the scenery.
In the distance was the rugged silhouette of Mt. Takao with the rising red sun proudly standing just above it.
Of all the places I've lived, I never had such an incredible view.
"So beautiful." I marveled as I let my worries drift away.
After a few minutes of clearing my head, I finished getting ready and went downstairs.
"You're up early." My mother observed with surprise.
"I just want to get this over with." I shrugged, a hint of gruffness highlighting my tone.
Softening her eyes and tilting her head slightly, she replied, "Is everything okay, Kallen?"
"Yeah. Why wouldn't it be?" I evaded trying to relax my posture.
"All week you've seemed to be on edge about something. At first I thought maybe it was your nerves about the exams, but-"
"I said everything's fine!" I rose my voice.
My mother recoiled slightly in visible unease.
"Uh, I mean," I cleared my throat. "Okay, you caught me. I've just been studying really hard, and I haven't been sleeping well. I'm just eager to finish the school year is all." I feigned a smile.
"You know you can talk to me about anything, right?"
"I know." I stifled a disgruntled sigh.
Changing the subject, she smiled, "You have been studying very hard. I hope you take some time to yourself and get some much needed rest after today."
Nodding, I turned around and headed toward the kitchen to have breakfast. Naoto and Ohgi were right behind me not long after to get a quick bite in before heading off to do some mechanical work at a nearby location that I made a mental note of.
After they left, I reopened the fridge to check on the lunch bag I made in anticipation of needing a cover story for when I rushed out the door after finishing my last exam. I've been doing this all week to make it seem like it was a regular thing for me to bring some food to the boys for their lunch breaks. Meanwhile, I just ended up eating it after finding a quiet place to sit down.
Taking a seat with pen in hand, I began my last day of testing eager to finish as quickly as possible so I could tail the two of them to find out as much as I could about their first mission with the local resistance group.
Long, dragging hours of restless scribbling and circling went by as I continually glanced at the clock with the vain hope that time would move faster with each answer I completed. Why was it that whenever you wanted time to speed up, it slowed down, and vice versa? Time was such an asshole.
I did my best to tone down my grumbles and groans to avoid further inquiries from my already curious mother, who sat nearby as I flipped through page after page of rushed scrawling.
My exams came to an end, but not as quickly as I would have liked given that my mother insisted I not skip any break periods in between the tests. Looking back up at the clock, I saw that I only had a half hour left to sprint down several blocks and hope Naoto and Ohgi didn't leave work too early.
Rushing toward the fridge, I took out the disposable lunch bag and quickly ambled toward the door.
"Heading out again, dear?" My mother queried.
"I noticed that Naoto and Ohgi didn't pack any lunch. I figured I'd surprise them again."
She gave me an assessing look while her lips curved upward. "Who's the friend you've been meeting with?"
"Friend?"
She nodded. "The other day, I asked the boys how the food was that you've been making them, but they said they didn't see you at all."
Unable to come up with a suitable fib, all I could muster was a drawn out, "I..."
My mother stood up and took a few steps toward me. "It's a boy, isn't it?"
"W-what?!" I stammered.
"It's okay." She shook her head reassuringly. "You don't need to tell me anything, but all week you've seemed like something was on your mind. I know you've been stressed about the exams, but after finishing up, you'd excitedly run out the door with food you prepared, and that's the happiest I've seen you in a while."
Yeah, I was happy because this last ditch effort was the only hope I had to keep me from fraternizing with the Britannians more than I had to, and each time I ran out the door, I imagined myself succeeding in convincing my brother to understand my side of the argument.
Not sure whether it was a good idea to deny or agree with her conclusions, I slipped on my shoes, swung open the front door and bolted. "I've gotta go!"
...
Luckily for me, I arrived just as Naoto and Ohgi called it quits for the day and headed toward the Hachioji ghetto.
Following them for some time while weaving between various structures and alleyways, I slowed down my pace to a halt and scurried off into a nearby building when they acknowledged that they were close as they turned a corner.
Poking my head out the window, I saw a group of about two dozen men and women gathered around in a scattered semi circle. In the middle of the crowd was a teal haired man, who looked to be roughly Naoto's age.
"It's a pleasure to come face to face with you all." My brother greeted.
"Thank you for taking the time to meet with us." Ohgi nervously followed after Naoto bumped him in his side with his elbow.
Jumping down from the pile of rubble he was sitting on, the teal haired man addressed the two of them while folding his arms . "You boys wasted your time. We don't associate with half breed mutts."
"We're Japanese!" Ohgi retorted defensively.
"*You* may be," the teal haired man pointed to Ohgi. "But he isn't, and to us, you might as well be too if you're taking orders from him."
Ohgi tensed up, but Naoto placed his hand on his shoulder and replied with a grin, "You really did your research, Sugiyama."
"Word gets around here fast." Sugiyama tilted his head in condescension.
"It's a shame the same can't be said about your response time." Naoto stepped forward with a widening smirk.
Sugiyama pursed his lips, "What do you mean?"
"Exactly one month ago, you and your team were double the size, but during what should have been a simple raid of a weapons convoy, the Britannians got the upper hand and eliminated half of your team all because your group lacked coordination and reaction time."
"Are you mocking their sacrifice?!" A purple haired man with glasses yelled.
"Not at all." Naoto grimaced. "What I am suggesting is that their lives could have been spared. You had the numbers, you had the weapons. So what went wrong?"
"How did you find out?" Sugiyama glowered.
Brushing his hand through his hair, Naoto replied, "Like you said - word travels fast around here."
Walking forward and holding his arm out, Naoto turned as he addressed the whole assembly, "Izu, Shibuya, Minato, Fuchu, and Hachioji. What do they all have in common?"
The group of Japanese turned their heads at one another in confusion.
"Disunity and mismanagement. That's what. I've been to these ghettos. I've worked under their respective resistance groups, and while I wouldn't say that I didn't pick up a few skills along the way, I would say that their unwillingness to see the bigger picture made things worse for the Japanese in those areas in the long run."
Sour faces painted the countenances of the group and Naoto went on, "Would you like to know why? It wasn't a resource or weapons issue - that's for sure. It's because no one can see-"
"Let me guess, 'the bigger picture,' right?" Sugiyama interrupted.
Unfazed, Naoto continued, "The fact that there aren't any half bloods, pure bloods, or any other kind. Your group and theirs are all so concentrated on outdated issues and stereotypes that you make yourselves artificially weak. To top things off, you make hasty and haphazard decisions with indiscriminate and purposeless attacks against the Britannians all so you can have a pissing contest to see who can garner Kyoto's backing faster like children looking to get another sticker next to their names on a board."
"So you're saying we're like a bunch of kids, who don't know what we're doing?" The purple haired man with glasses scoffed.
"I'm saying you could be more." Naoto took a step toward Sugiyama and fixated his gaze on him. "What you're lacking isn't drive or commitment - it's direction."
Sugiyama folded his arms, "Oh, and I suppose you're the one to give it to us?"
Tilting his head back at an angle and grinning, Naoto said, "If need be."
Before anyone could respond, Naoto continued, "Any day now, the Britannians will be parting ways with their Glasgows and be making use of a new model - the fifth generation of knightmare frames. It's stronger, it's faster, and it's better in every way."
The resistance group began to jeer in disbelief, but Sugiyama's eyes widened. "You're serious?"
Naoto nodded, "That is, according to my contact in the Japan Liberation Front, anyway."
That got everyone's attention, including mine. "No way. The JLF?!" I gaped in awe. Even though I wasn't privy to many of the goings on for resistance groups as a whole, even I was familiar with the name of the largest one of them all.
Luckily, no one could hear me among the murmurs of the crowd, and Sugiyama started, "So what are you proposing?"
"How many of you have ever piloted a knightmare frame?"
Nobody raised their hands.
"Then that's where we'll start. If Britannia is evolving, then resistance groups as a whole have to as well. If you want to get Kyoto's backing, then you need to show them what you're capable of."
"And how are we supposed to do that?" Sugiyama wrinkled his nose. "In case you haven't noticed, we don't exactly have one parked out back."
Naoto finished closing the distance between himself and the teal haired leader of the Kento Coalition and made heavy eye contact with him. "We're gonna steal some, of course."
...
Naoto's plan fell mostly on deaf ears. Minami - the purple haired man with glasses, Sugiyama, and a little less than half of the others decided to tag along. The rest decided it wasn't worth it. Nonetheless, Naoto was confident that they would succeed.
"Maybe we should hold off for now. I can try to convince them to give this a shot." Sugiyama suggested.
"There's no need." Naoto shook his head before looking back into his binoculars. "Before we can make a name for ourselves among the rest of Japan, we need to prove ourselves to your group."
"So that's your goal? Nationwide recognition?" Sugiyama's eyebrow rose.
Nodding, Naoto replied, "If we're to win this war, what we need isn't a scattered group of disorganized guerillas. There has to be a united front of soldiers to stand against the Britannians if Britannia is ever going to fall. Random attacks with no real aim isn't the answer."
Sugiyama followed, "The Japanese military were united four years ago, and we still lost the war."
"The battle, maybe." Naoto raised a finger. "But not the war. Wars are only lost when you give up."
"Like Genbu?" Sugiyama pursed his lips.
Taking another brief break from his observation of the landscape, Naoto's lips curved downward. "Weak leadership is what cost Japan dearly, but that surrender is what ignited an unending resolve in the hearts of many Japanese. We will use his weakness as our strength to do what he wouldn't and couldn't."
The conversation carried on for a bit longer before Naoto went over his plan again. It was relatively simple. Due to the previous blunder of the Kento Coalition that Naoto referenced earlier, the Britannians have regular patrols throughout the ghetto. Their numbers are few given the underwhelming threat that the resistance group currently was up until this point, but that's precisely what Naoto was counting on.
Little did he know, I would lie in wait to make my debut as his ace and improve his already flawless plan.
Stepping away from them to get myself in position, I stowed away in a nearby building. Some time went by, and I saw a flashing signal from the resistance members around the corner indicating that the Glasgow patrol was approaching.
If my brother was correct - and he usually was - then the three knightmare team would have a single unit leading the way a fair distance ahead of the two rear ones for scouting purposes.
I covered my ears and braced myself as the first objective of Naoto's plan began with a small scale detonation occurring near my location.
Another flash from around the corner. Just one, which meant that it was only the leading Glasgow that was approaching to investigate while the other two inched closer but stayed far enough behind to cover the rear.
Rushing, the lead unit made a sharp turn in our direction and stopped several meters away from the smoke. Turning its head, it looked around for signs of terrorist activity before getting struck in its side at an angle by an RPG sending it crashing into a nearby building.
"Gah!" I covered my ears, not anticipating how loud and piercing the closer explosion actually was.
True to form, the knightmare was hit just precisely enough that the ejection feature of the escape pod was damaged, and the Britannian opened the hatch in an attempt to make a run for it.
*Bang. A single round fired off and perfectly struck the soldier's leg once he made it to the ground.
"You damned eleven monkeys!" He screeched in agony as Sugiyama and Ohgi bolted from their hiding spots to drag him away for interrogation purposes once the mission was completed.
"Now's my chance." I thought as I hastily sprinted toward the Glasgow and climbed into the cockpit. I may have had absolutely no experience in piloting a knightmare frame, but then again, things usually came very easily to me. The fact that this was a sink or swim moment that I couldn't turn back from now was the extra motivation I needed to see this through. It couldn't be that hard, right?
Looking inside, I saw several screens and other accessories that rattled my brain and put me on edge before I closed my eyes and took in a deep breath. "I can figure this out."
Taking a seat and closing the hatch, I put my feet on the pedals and hands on the joysticks.
"This shouldn't be too difficult," I smiled as I managed to get the Glasgow to become more erect from its leaning posture.
Speeding back in the direction of the other two knightmares, I witnessed the aftermath of this team's quarrel with the Britannians.
Something must have gone amiss because at least one of the Britannians should have been taken out by now and ready for capture.
The two enemy Glasgows split up and covered both sides of the street as they fired off their weapons at random buildings near the ground level.
At this rate, they would gun down everyone in the area given the scattered way they peppered the buildings where Kento's people were hiding.
I charged in at the unit with a yell as it distractedly fired away.
"Wait, how do you throw a punch with this thing?!" I panicked as I drew nearer.
Pressing buttons at random and moving a joystick rapidly, I somewhat managed to raise the right arm of my Glasgow in a striking motion and sloppily flailed it at my opponent. I celebrated when I somehow managed to swat away the artillery weapon. "I did it!"
My self-appraisal was short lived, however, since I failed to stop my charging glasgow and ended up getting its arm stuck in the nearby building, making some debris cave in.
The resistance members who were inside fled from the collapsing rubble.
One of them yelled, "This wasn't part of the plan!"
"Who's piloting that thing?!" Asked another.
Numerous explosions boomed at the other Glasgow as it turned to face me with gun at the ready, and the the unit became significantly damaged well beyond the point of any use or repair. So much for acquiring all three frames...
Its seat ejected toward the ground and bounced back several paces behind me, but I couldn't focus on that because the nearby enemy knightmare came charging at me, fist at the ready.
Hyperventilating, I threw my Glasgow in reverse at full speed and hit the input pad numerous times with my fist to try to yank my unit's arm out from the structure as the Britannian drew near. At the last second, my frame's right arm detached, and I sped backwards making my opponent just barely miss me.
"Hey! Watch out!" Numerous voices cried from behind me as my knightmare rapidly backed up in their direction.
"I'm sorry! I yelled not knowing whether or not they could hear me as they dove into a nearby alley before I could crush them.
"Ahhh!" A lone voice screeched briefly behind me before coming to an abrupt stop as I felt a bump beneath my right side before crashing into a pile of rubble.
"Wha?!" I gasped fearing the worst.
"Great! He's dead! Now there's one less to interrogate!" Someone complained throwing his hands in the air.
"D-dead?" My jaw hung open while tears formed in my eyes.
Suddenly, rapid fire scattered along the ground and toward Kento's people who fled deeper into the alley.
Unable to get any of them, the Glasgow shot at me.
"Ah!" I gasped too shell shocked to try to get out of the way.
Another RPG torpedoed and struck the Britannian sending it toppling sideways, but it wasn't from the direction of the ones from earlier. No, it came from the adjacent street where this whole thing began.
Looking sideways through my glistening eyes, I saw the familiar silhouette of my brother hastily approaching the aftermath of the skirmish.
Fury painted his grimacing countenance as he observed the fiery aftermath of what should have been a simple plan to execute.
With no one else in sight, he turned toward me, his eyes bulging and scowl deepening.
Heart thumping violently in my chest, my profusely sweating hands squeezed the joysticks, my fingers trembling like leaves in a hurricane.
Naoto slowly stomped toward me with the force of a thousand earthquakes. Every breath felt like a struggle, my chest heaving with every panicked gasp as he drew nearer.
He stopped in front of my knightmare and looked up, and my eyes widened in terror, darting back and forth in vain for an escape route that didn't exist.
He called out to me demanding to know who was piloting the Glasgow, but I was at a loss for words. While insurmountable dread in anticipation of Naoto's inevitable, justified scolding filled me to the brim, it paled in comparison to the fact that I just took a life because I was in way over my head...