The Big Switch

by dave-d

Kaname visits a medical center with secret facilities, to help research the origin of the Whispers. No good deed goes unpunished. Who will be the hero this time? The answer is not as simple as it might seem.

16. Chapter 16

For the few… the proud… the reviewer(s)… thanks for hanging in there.

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SOMEWHERE IN SWITZERLAND

At a marvelous antique desk, a scion of its type, carved throughout the lifetime of a long dead craftsman, a man sat, watching two computer screens. He ran one hand over the desk top, remembering the day he had used organizational contacts to obtain the furniture at an estate sale in the village of Clarens.

The technician tapped his fingers on a well-used keyboard, before taking sips from an exquisite china cup of expresso, and munching on a warm biscuit slathered in elderberry jam. The chateaux that he used as a temporary home and base of operations was filled with more furniture than equipment, but it was his work with the latter that paid for the former.

Dabbing at the corner of his mouth with an embroidered cloth napkin, he eyed the computer screen to his left. Images zoomed towards him, almost as if he was a bird flying through clouds and clear blue sky. Glimpses of the ground below gave him a rough idea of altitude, but not location. The landmarks were far too tiny to make out. The screen on the right showed a thick pulsing red line with arrows, depicting the flight path, superimposed on a ghostly outline of the world. With a tap of a key, he brought up an individual nation. Further keystrokes could narrow things down to provinces, states, cities, or even streets, if he wished.

The circuitous route of the plan 1102-Chazaqiel painted a pattern reminiscent of a piece of modern art that the technician had seen the week before at the Musee d'Art et Contemporain. He typed in another series of commands, continuing to keep the craft flying a random route close enough to the target to reach it swiftly enough when necessary, but not close enough to any given target to raise precise suspicions. That should keep Mithril on pins and needles, should they spot the enormous RPV.

The dial phone on the desk rang. The man picked up the receiver and placed it to his ear. He listened briefly, and then hung up the phone, not having a need to reply. The end-user was ready. Typing in a select phrase, he switched the system over to automatic piloting, on a path straight to the user's location. In a few moments, that man would take over control of the craft from his location.

Leaving the dishes and cup at the desk for the maid to clean up, he left the ornate office and headed downstairs. A driver would take him to Clinique La Prairie on the shores of Lake Geneva.

He could use a good soaking and some pleasant holistic treatments.

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THE LABORATORY

"Don't touch that dial!" Reginald's voice cut through the machine noise like a hot knifed through butter.

"This dial?" Dr. Hfuhruhurr put his hand on one of many glowing dials, knobs and switches, twisting his hand without actually twisting the dial. "Oops!"

"W-what do you mean, oops?" Dr. Necessiter said, fighting back a grin. "Don't say oops."

"Should I do it again," Dr. Hfuhruhurr asked, picking up on the movie cue. He watched as Reginald pushed his way past engineers and technicians, on a beeline to the control panel.

"Yes, yes. Yes. Without the 'oops'. This-a-way" Dr. Necessiter made a twisting motion with his hand. He was channeling David Levinson from 'Independence Day,' just as the other scientist played the role of Captain Steven Hiller.

"Warning," a voice said over a ceiling mounted speaker. "The next run with commence in approximately two minutes. All personnel please move to designated safe zones. No exceptions."

"Stop. Stop! STOP!" Reginald said, knocking a grandmotherly support staff member over a chair. " Didn't I tell you?! I insist on being the one to turn the dial for this." He looked over at the New Magic Egg, where two ferrets were situated in the enlarged and fortified chamber. "Get ready, little ones. Get ready. We will do this." He glared at the two doctors, like a dinosaur sizing up prey. "Those animals imprinted on me. They seem to trust me. I've been present at the test for every animal brought to the Tokyo Neurological Center."

Dr. Hfuhruhurr raised an eyebrow… thought a moment… and then nodded his head. He began working his hands, pantomiming a shark or something else with terrible jaws. He was a wiz at charades.

"They couldn't breed in the wilds," Dr. Necessiter said, pointing at the ferrets. His cryptic remark having Reginald making a face. The scientist had picked up on the 'Jurassic Park' reference. Reginald's words had paralleled those of John Hammond at the birth of a velociraptor. Dr Hfuhruhurr could have been doing a hand signal for 'Jaws', given the Steven Spielburg connection. Or, it could have been a dinosaur. "I wonder if they will even be able to breed after the test."

"You wouldn't want to breed either," Hfuhruhurr said. "If Reggie here looked up your skirt!" He chuckled, seeing the administrative assistant fidget, searching for a pithy comeback. With his long and pointed nose, and the way he held his hands together tight on his chest, he almost had the silhouette of a Compsognathus.

"Here we go!" Reginald prepared to turn the dial.

"Halt!" That was Miss Uumellmahaye. "You haven't primed the containment field." She gave Reginald a withering look. She wanted to say something more demeaning, but felt it would be beneath her dignity. "I for one do not wish to experience the same effects that our… brave recruits… will live through." Her eyes were moist. The way she said 'live through' was almost a prayer.

"The button!" Reginald slapped himself in the forehead. He had to push a big red button next to the shiny glowing dial.

"Push it with your nose," Dr. Hfuhruhurr said. "I think that you should push it with your nose. Form follows function. You look like a woodpecker."

"I-" Reginald puffed up.

"Or, push it with your pecker," Dr. Necessiter said. "If you can get enough wood. The girls in the engineering pool have a bet going. They don't think you could do it."

"You-" Reginald looked like he was about to burst.

"Gentlemen." The way that Anne said that, it was clear that she felt that the two jokesters were anything but gentlemen. "This is a solemn process. Not only for the animals, thrust into their heroic role, but also for Miss Chidori." She reached over and gave a watching Kaname a squeeze on the hand.

"You are right," Dr Hfuhruhurr said.

"Yes," Dr. Necessiter said. He turned to Reginald and said "You have permission to proceed."

"I don't need permission," Reginald blurted, grimacing when he realized that he had taken the bait. He coughed… took a deep breath and let it out… reached a zen place inside him… and pushed the button.

The equipment in the room had already been shimmering, throwing off rings and rays of lambent light. Now, pulses of color ran up and down large mechanical spires, and glowing fireflies of lights flew away from large humming orbs. A wall of darting and dancing particles raised up from metal strips on the floor, forming a curtain between the test area and the rest of the room. Immediately thereafter, a number of technicians turned dials, pushed buttons, and made entries into a computer, fine-tuning the New Magic Egg, which sparkled like the fanciest of Faberge eggs.

"Here we go," Reginald said, eagerness dripping from his voice. "This time… I will go to eleven…." He began to twist the dial.

"But," a technician said. "Most dials go to ten. Does that mean that this will be louder?" He hid a smile behind his hand. He couldn't help himself. Reginald's words had made him think of 'Spinal Tap.'

"Well," an engineer replied. "It's one louder, isn't it? It's not ten. You see, most, most blokes, you know, will be playing at ten… you're on ten here, all the way up, all the way up, all the way up… you're on ten on your machine. Where can you go from there? Where?"

"I don't know," the support woman said, glowering at Reginald. She certainly didn't need another hip replacement.

"Nowhere. Exactly." The engineer continued. "What we do is, if we need that extra push over the cliff, you know what we do?"

"Put it up to eleven." Dr. Hfuhruhurr said.

"Eleven," Dr. Necessiter said, looking at Anne. "Exactly. One louder."

"Why don't you just make ten louder-" The technician asked. "-And make ten be the top number and make that a little louder?"

"THIS GOES TO ELEVEN!" Reginald had had his fill of the ribaldry. But his appearance, and the perfect answer, had a lot of people chuckling, and some fighting back belly laughs. "You people! This is not a comedy club. This is science!" With that, he turned the dial to full power in a slow measured motion.

"I hope it works this time," Kaname said, fingers crossed. The ring on her finger was now yellow, with thick streaks of black. "If only to escape from all this." She looked from doctor to doctor, and from administrative assistant to crew members.

"Amen!" Anne shrugged. That wasn't her religion, of course. But that word just seemed perfect at that moment.

"Something different is happening!" One technician watched a view screen, which showed the camera feed from within the Egg. Cloaked in a lambent glow, like being bathed in a pastel aurora, the ferrets had stopped moving. Their eyes glowed red. Then, the color spilled out from the eyes, and began to paint their entire body with a soft glow. They began growing larger… then smaller… then larger… and then smaller again. A strange whistling noise escaped from both ends of their bodies.

POPPPPPP-PPPPP-PPPP-PPP-PP-P!

The unlucky test subjects exploded like furry little bombs. The voices in the lab all quieted, in sadness and respect. All, but one, which broke the verbal silence a few moments later:

In a sing-song voice, picturing a Jack-in-the-Box toy he had as a child, Dr. Hfuhruhurr called out:

Every night, when I go out
The weasel's on the table
Take a stick and knock it off
Pop goes the weasel

In an even more theatrical manner, Dr. Necessiter continued the famous nursery rhyme, which was also a vocal piece listed as number 5249 in the Roud Folk Song Index:

Up and down the city road
In and out of the eagle
That's the way the money goes
Pop goes the weasel

The meaning of the verses involves pawning one's coat in desperation to buy food and drink, as 'weasel' is traditional Cockney rhyming slang for 'coat' and 'pop' is a slang word for 'pawn.' Therefore, 'Pop goes the weasel' meant pawning a coat. The 'monkey on the table' is the demand for payment of a mortgage or other secured loan. If knocked off the table or ignored it would go unpaid and accrue interest, requiring the coat to be pawned again. The stick itself may be rhyming slang: sticks and stones rhyming with loans. The 'eagle' probably refers an old pub in City Road, London, the Eagle.

Of course, the two doctors were referring to the loud noise, and the unfortunate victims.

"THAT'S IT!" Anne had reached her limit, yet again, even after raising the breadth of her limit. "This time, its enemas!"

Doctors Hfuhruhurr and Necessiter started running. It was best to keep as far ahead of Miss Uumellmahaye as possible, of course. They also didn't want to be around when the Egg needed to be cleaned, or when a necropsy was performed on whatever might be left of the poor ferrets.

"The poor things," Kaname said,a tear in the corner of one eye. There was symbolism in her words, she realized. She was sad at the fate of the two cute mammals. She was scared for herself and Sousuke. Time was ticking away. This was just the latest in a growing list of failures.

The first mishap had occurred with the goldfish run. The two fish had turned translucent, and expanded like giant Japanese street lanterns, glowing inside. When they started floating up towards the ceiling, Dr. Hfuhruhurr had tied strings to them, walking around as if he had two balloons. Dr. Necessiter grabbed a sharpened pencil and popped both of the deceased fish, before marching off, whistling. The two Cane toads had ended up worse, literally turning inside out. The cats were still alive… but, very different. Their long curly hair had shot straight out and stayed that way, stiff and sharp,like porcupine quills. And, they had turned pink, with neon green polka dots. The lambs were still alive, too. They seemed no worse for wear; but, something very odd had happened with them and the machinery. The recorded measurements were contradictory, and made no sense, yet. Everyone in the room felt that they had dodged a very big bullet, even though they did not know what that bullet was.

"No-" Kaname cringed. She didn't want to think about the puppies. One hospital staff member had hailed a taxi, visited an animal shelter, and returned with a box of cute mix-breed puppies. Their fate would haunt her for a long time. "You don't mean…." She looked as a pair of burly men pushed a large cart into the room. The cage held a pair of chimpanzees. "Are… are they… next…."

"Check the results!" Reginald ordered a group of scientists to run the numbers from the experiment, and to compare them to the rest of the acquired data. "If the concurrence factor is greater than fifty percent, we will try the primates. If not, we will bring in more puppies!" He eyed the quivering crowd. "Or… if our efforts run dry in purchases… we will start bringing in personal pets…."

Kaname tensed up. There was no way that anyone there would get their hands on her hamster or fish! 'She' was carrying a taser gun, much like the one that Sousuke had given her, back before he had vacated his apartment and left her under Wraith's watchful eyes. She sighed, beginning to think back to that day, and the days that followed. She shook those thoughts away, not wanting to deal with the swell of emotions that always came with them. Good memnories had no place here and now. She didn't want to sullen them with the feelings she was dealing with at that instant. So, she switched her thoughts to the here and now, wondering what Sousuke was doing. Classes should be over now. He should be getting ready for softball, if he was staying on campus.

"I wonder how he's doing," Kaname said. "At least he had things easy, I bet." Any thing had to be easy, compared to the events she had been beset by. "Unless." She tensed up. Her feelings of warmth turned into feelings of concern. Not for Sousuke. Rather, for the things that he might have done, in her body. "I shouldn't worry. I won't worry!" She clenched her fists. She would fight the worry. "Sousuke did just fine, I know it. What could possibly happen at school?" memories rushed into her mind. She had a catalog of dozens of things that had happened at school. Sousuke may be in her body; but, Sousuke was still Sousuke, on the inside.

The noises that the chimps made, broke Kaname out of her thoughts. She looked over at the two of them, huddled together in their bleak enclosure. The one animal had a scar on its cheek. She immediately associated it with Sousuke. That, by association, made the other chimp an honorary Chidori. She herself knew all too well what it was like to be held in a cage of sorts. She had come close to being a Guinea pig on a number of occasions.

"I wish I could save you," she said to the chimpanzees. "But… I'm sorry… I need you to help save me."

The world is not fair. She was well aware of that fact.

Sousuke was, too.

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FINAL HOMEROOM REDUX

Sousuke strode with a purpose.

Passing by a hallway mirror… and getting a good glimpse of 'his' face and posture… he was suddenly struck by a dense of déjà vu. 'He' looked just the way that Kaname often did, when she rolled up her sleeves and waded into some kind of trouble at school… or when she prepared to hit him with a flying knee to the chin, after he had done something irritating or inappropriate.

"That face fits," he remarked to himself. He was in a sour mood. Sour, but serious. Serious in a 'come up with a plan' and 'defend the position at all costs' way. He was sour, having heard the bully boys chatting and cat-calling all day. He was serious, having heard word that there might be some kind of enemy operation in the works. "Enemy…." He slowed his steps, some.

What exactly were the opposing sides? Boys versus girls? Thinking of things that way, would he be traitor if he went against the boys? He was a boy in soul and mind, after all. But, he was in a girls body, and he had sworn to protect the girl who was normally in that body, seeing that it was the body he had been ordered to guard. "There are more than one way to skin a cat," he mused, adding another earlier animal friendly saying: "There are more ways to kill a dog than hanging." He could divide things differently. Good boys versus evil boys. That worked. Any boy siding with the rabble rousers would be identified as 'evil.' Any boy siding with the endangered girls would be 'good.' All others would be in a gray zone: 'evil until proven good.'

Hopefully, the malcontents had only been talking big, or blowing off steam. But, it always served well to prepare, just in case. Shinji had provided him intelligence at the risk of his own safety. He would not let that intelligence go to waste.

"I know what to do!" Sousuke loved it when a plan comes together. "The bear has given me the answer." He was referring to Gloomy Bear, who had been passive in his assistance. The mascot had worn the ovum costume. He had shown his claws, the weapons of battle. "The victory that comes from a strategy is like an… egg… thrown against a rock." That was a saying of Sun Tzu.

Sousuke picked up speed and actually ran to the Home Economics room. Homeroom would be over soon, and a majority of the students would be heading off to their afterschool clubs. In theory, the clubs are owned by the students, run by students, and only nominally supervised by assigned teachers. Some have close supervision, like bands; others have coaches, like archery or baseball. Some are more autonomous, like History Club or Anime Club. The school gives them a place to meet, and a time. Some clubs meet every day, and for others it's every week. The student council manages the budget for clubs, as well as assignment of meeting spaces.

"I too have a club of sorts," Sousuke said, dodging students in the hallway. Most students would not look at membership in a philanthropic mercenary organization as an afterschool club. His mind could flip both ways. While on Da Danaan, he viewed Jindai as a mission. At the Highschool, he saw military missions as a break from the sturm and drang of school. The only thing that was viewed the same way was Kaname. "Mithril is a club that is very difficult to quit." He remembered standing before the Council, eventually telling them he was willing to stay on…and would even accept a fifty percent pay cut… if he could continue to guard Chidori.

Many but not all schools in Japan go so far as to mandate that all students must join a club of some sort, forcing the students to participate in extracurricular activities. There are a number of reasons for that. The students will be more likely to misbehave if they aren't made to participate in extracurricular activities. Without the requirement, some clubs won't be able to attract members and would be discontinued. It would be harder to attract new students and their parents to the school. The school would no longer be able to collect an 'extracurricular activities fee' from all students' households if some of them are not participating in any such activities. Some of the things most often claimed to be learned or gained through extracurricular club activities by the participants include 'make close friends'… 'improved skill and technique'…'learning to be thankful'… 'learning how to make proper greetings'… 'become well-mannered'… 'make close upperclassmen friends'… 'gain tenacity to overcome problems'… 'gain concentration'… 'become more cooperative'… 'develop friendship with teachers'… 'gained physical strength'… 'become able to speak my opinion'… and 'gain problem-solving skills'. In reality, students can be slow to develop social skills when bukatsu takes up so much time. They are a little late in developing a view of the world and understanding how to behave in society. The sports bullies were a picture perfect example.

"The teachers claim that clubs improve a student's positive concept of self compared to those who do not join clubs." Furthermore, it was considered to be a fact that students in sports clubs have higher self-concepts than students in non-sports clubs. Sousuke didn't necessarily believe that, seeing how the sports guys at Jindai were largely a group of bullies. No, he couldn't assume everyone was. But, for his purposes, if you lie down with dogs, you get up with fleas. "Mithril-" Sousuke slowed down as he approached the room. What had joining Mithril done for his self image and self-concepts, compared to his life before Mithril, or his life before he first picked up a weapon?

Fortunately, there was no one in the room. Given the space issues at any highschool, he expected that some club's members would begin aggregating there. Time was indeed of the essence, considering that he was launching a raid on the Home Economics Club's belongings. Like in war, some necessary choices were not necessarily the most moral or ethical of choices. Sometimes, you have to rob Peter to pay Paul.

Japanese national curriculum guidelines stipulate that student participation in extracurricular activities must be independent and voluntary. But, Jindai clubs… like most nationwide… were closer in principal to his rank requirements in Mithril: he had no sense of independence whatsoever, except for the requirements that he be able to go off the grid or change mission parameters if he faces a situation that he thinks requires such a drastic change, and he cannot reach a superior to ask for permission. In many schools, there is a coerced 'independence' that robs students of opportunities to think for themselves.

"Independence is a sword that cuts both ways," Sousuke said, grabbing a huge metal pot from a storage room. He went to the first of a number of refrigerators and began removing hard-boiled eggs and placing them in the vessel. "That is no more evident than at this school." Though his decisions made sense to him at the time he made them, his superiors at the school and in the organization often suffered fits of apoplexy. Kaname often had the strongest reaction of all. If he wasn't her protector, he wondered if she would always stick by him through thick and thin.

"Sun Tzu says, do not put all of your eggs in one basket." Realizing the value in that concept, he nestled the half full pot inside an equally-large empty pot, before resuming his thievery. He paused in his acquisitions, a stray thought catching his fancy. WWII. World War II marked the glory years for decorating all things meant for combat. Bombers had their famous nose art, while fighters like the P-40 Warhawk had red and white shark mouths scrawled on their nose. Tanks had nicknames written on their gun barrels and soldiers went out of their way to decorate their field jackets, bomber jackets, and more. The particular custom he thought of was the one where U.S. servicemen wrote notes on bombs. Despite being pressed for time, he grabbed a Sharpie and began scrawling pithy quips and challenges on the egg shells. He quoted sayings he'd read about in military journals. He pulled things from his personal experience. He drew a good replica of Grumpy Cat's ears, eyes and mouth, with the message 'DIE' in large block letters. A U.S. Airman had painted that on a JDAM used in Iraq.

Some ninety percent of intermediate and high-school students participate in extracurricular clubs, of which, generally speaking, there are two basic types: sports clubs… undōbu… and cultural clubs… bunkabu. Cultural clubs include things such as music and band; the arts; student newspaper; student government; cooking; flower arrangement; tea ceremony; and such. While the Japanese concept of bukatsu has the potential to teach children a lot of things, the opportunity is often diminished by over-practice, the desire for perfection, and in power relationships. Once a student joins a club, he or she usually stays in the club and continues to participate in its activities until graduation. Most senior members are less active in their club duties during their last year of school, because they are preparing for either job hunting or college entrance exams. Many clubs hold salutary events that commemorate their senior's 'retirement' from the club.

"Retirement?" Sousuke paused. The Council members were up in age. Commander Mardukas and Lieutenant Commander Kalinin were no spring chickens. How many people actually left Mithril, compared to those who exited through the shadowy vale of death? They were there voluntarily, right? If they stayed on for a great length of time, it was because of altruistic or monetary reasons, wasn't it? Or, because as soldiers, they didn't know anything else they could excel at? Would he be a lifer? What could he graduate to? He didn't expect that he would be guarding the cake at Kaname's wedding reception, or looking for booby traps in her children's diapers. "Unless it was my wedding too… or my children…" He almost dropped a large box of eggs. Where in hell had that thought come from!

Mithril asked a lot of him, especially given his age. Sports clubs typically demand five or six days of practice a week, after school and on weekends and sometimes even before school. Club practices extend into long vacations. Some schools even plan summer gasshuku, or camps, where the whole club and the coaches go away for a few days. But, it wasn't sports clubs alone. Some parents with children in cultural clubs felt that they never saw their children any more. True, there are non-sports clubs with minimal participation, and a no stress life-style. Many of those were populated by students who followed the requirement to join some club, but didn't want their life to be consumed by one. Especially since quitting a club is frowned upon and is rather sardonically referred to as kitaku-bu…going home club. But, it was more than that. The disregard of the students' supposed independence may be found not only in enrollment in clubs, but also in withdrawing from them, when faculty advisors make strenuous efforts to retain students who want to quit.

When students at some highschools had applied to withdraw from a club… after the paperwork and appointments had been more than onerous… the club's faculty advisor had yelled at the students to think of the other club members, and blasted the students in question as 'worthless.' It seems unlikely that the reason for such abuse was a genuine concern for 'the other club members.' Rather, when faculty advisors have their own identities bound up with these extracurricular activities, they perceive students who try to leave as disruptive elements who are rebelling against the advisors themselves. Moreover, those who remain in the club give the student the cold shoulder and rejected them for quitting.

"I quit once," Sousuke said. He had indeed, he thought sadly. When he had thought Kaname dead, he had checked out, his mind a mess. He had even said to the uncaring world that Kurz, Melissa, Clouseau, not to mention a Chinese assassin and a squad of Amalgam Codarls, should all just fight to the death. The view he had of the 'Sousuke then' certainly had the 'Sousuke now' feeling cheap and worthless. Kaname had not only saved him in body and spirit, but also returned his sense of duty, and a concept of 'the future.'

Sport clubs often exhibit a very strict hierarchy that makes it hard for junior members to oppose or disobey their seniors. Sousuke could certainly identify with that. The members are usually expected to perform menial tasks for their upperclassmen and take care of the mundane tasks such as equipment carrying and cleaning. In the SRT, he often found himself doing the scut work. But, there is a difference in the chain of command compared to the senpai-kouhai relationship. In Japan, senpai is usually the upperclassman, someone of a higher age, or senior. Kouhai is a protégé or junior. It's the equivalent of the mentor system, but more strict and already integrated in most of the society's structures. The mentor system is found at all levels of education, and in professional sports clubs, businesses, and informal or social organizations.

"Like the military," Sousuke said, as he piled the last egg on top of the others. "The concept of discipline in sports may mimic the military as well. That, and the lack of moderation." Bukatsu trains students to be great salarymen… to work eighteen-hour days without complaining and without having another life. And, thinking back to boot camp, he saw yet another parallel. Elite athletes are often exposed to verbal and physical abuse in the belief that it spurs them to greater efforts and greater results.

"In some sports, a spirit much like Bushidō still persists," Sousuke opined. "The code of moral principles which the samurai observed was loosely analogous to the European concept of chivalry. Bushido allowed the violent existence of the samurai to be tempered by wisdom, patience and serenity. A samurai was expected to follow the law of honor, obedience, duty, and self-sacrifice, and was required to conduct himself with calmness, fairness, justice, and propriety. "How many of the eight virtues do the bullies follow," Sousuke said, asking himself a rhetorical question.

The Bushidō code is typified by eight virtues: Righteousness; Heroic Courage; Benevolence and Compassion; Respect; Honesty; Honor; Duty and Loyalty; and Self-Control. Those boys likely lacked the virtues. Or, if somewhere in their family lives, or on the sports fielded, they were taught the principals, those principals may have been warped, or misinterpreted. It could also be a matter of context, he supposed. The Bushido code of behavior had been drilled into the Japanese soldier in WWII as part of his basic training.

Each soldier had been indoctrinated to accept that it was the greatest honor to die for the Emperor and it was cowardly to surrender to the enemy. Bushido therefore explains why the Japanese in the Dutch East Indies mistreated POWs in their custody. Those who had surrendered to the Japanese… regardless of how courageously or honorably they had fought… merited nothing but contempt; they had forfeited all honor and literally deserved nothing. Consequently, when the Japanese murdered POWs by shooting, beheading, and drowning, those acts were excused since they involved the killing of men who had forfeited all rights to be treated with dignity or respect. Civilian internees were treated differently.

Whether the boys were brainwashed with Bushidō or not, he planned to show them the true spirit of warfare. He remembered a bad movie. 'Battle For the Planet of the Apes.' The human mutants' attack on Ape City initially succeeded after an artillery barrage destroyed or damaged many homes and buildings, forcing Caesar to order the defenders to fall back. When the mutant commander Kolp finds Caesar lying seemingly wounded amongst among apparent dead apes on the ground, he taunts him saying that apes would once again be humanity's slaves or they would all die. Then, as the mutant prepared to shoot him, Caesar shouted an iconic line, and most of the fallen apes all around him… who were feigning death or hiding on Caesar's orders… launched a counter-attack that captured a majority of the mutants and drove Kolp into retreat.

"Now-" Sousuke said. "-Fight like apes!"

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AFTER SCHOOL ACTIVITIES

The big hand on the clock moved.

It was now 3:45 PM. A series of chimes sounded over the P.A. system. School was now over. It was time for after school activities to begin.

"Let your plans be dark and impenetrable as night, and when you move, fall like a thunderbolt." Sousuke quoted Sun Tzu. "In making tactical dispositions, the highest pitch you can attain is to conceal them; conceal your dispositions, and you will be safe from the prying of the subtlest spies, from the machinations of the wisest brains'.

Concealment!

That would certainly serve another significant role. Maybe the most critical of all. To follow through with his plan as Kaname Chidori would have far reaching consequences. He needed to find some way to disguise himself. Hmmm-mm-m. That? Yes! This room provided yet another bounty.

The costumes sewn by Home Economics students. They would be perfect. But, which should he choose? A past event sealed the deal. The choice became clear. He had thought back to 'Night of the Lepus.' He remembered the large white killer rabbits. The Easter Bunny costume would hide Kaname's face and hair. It might not fill his enemies with fear; but, perhaps it could trick some into a debilitating false sense of security. "So in war, the way is to avoid what is strong and to strike at what is weak. And, at first, then, exhibit the coyness of a maiden, until the enemy gives you an opening; afterwards emulate the rapidity of a running… hare… and it will be too late for the enemy to oppose you."

Sousuke took the fuzzy white costume off of its hanger and slipped it on. He requisitioned a wheeled cart to haul his heavy load of ammunition. But, what good would the ammunition be without a weapon to fire it, and a means to get everything quickly to the battlefront? The final solution to his dilemma had come to mind earlier. He left the Home Economics classroom and headed to the Engineering one. Fortunately for him, that club did not meet today.

"Good," Sousuke said happily. "Everything is still the way that I had left it." There had been some possibility that a different member of the club could have visited the room while he was in Biology class, clean-up, or Home Room. "And one shall become two again. My apologies, Al Junior." He didn't feel the slight bit silly, apologizing to the once self-aware HAL2000, which was now dead to the world.

Using the necessary tools, he reversed his earlier construction efforts, separating the automaton into its upper portion and self-driving base. He had no use for the former, even if he could appropriate its weaponry. Those devices were only good in close quarters combat, or with a minimum of separation between predator and prey. He had a need for long range attacks, and a weapon that could put a punishing fire downfield in fast and furious fashion. "This, I can use." He made use of data ports and attachment rings to modify the motive apparatus.

"The central stalk will be useful, if things go as planned," Sousuke said. "I will need a place to stand." He used a rachet gun to quickly fasten a large flat sheet of metal to the rear half of the upper surface. "I will need to be in control." He plugged a long cord into one data entry site. The cord ended in a small box that would allow him to direct the speed and steering of the unit, by means of an omni-directional toggle switch and a sliding knob. "Up!" He jumped onto the platform, standing the way a surfer would on his board. "Go!" He felt a bit silly saying that, as it was essentially a command to himself, seeing that the machine had no auditory sensors, and no sentience whatsoever. "I hope the othermachine I need is available." Without that machine, his plan would fall flat on its ass.

"I know I should give up drinking," a man said, on the way to supervise his assigned club. He watched as a large white rabbit steered around him in the hallway, piloting some kind of tractor or tank. He didn't think it odd that the result of last nights drinking session would surface at the current moment. "Or-" He rubbed his eyes, but the image was still there, before the strange contrivance disappeared around a turn to a side passage. "-Maybe I do need to see a shrink." He had always considered himself crazy, seeing that he married the woman he had married… had more children than he could afford to pay for… and stayed at a job that he hated, which paid him far less than he needed. "Did you see that?" He asked a woman who was on the way to her club responsibility.

"No," the woman claimed, lying. "I most certainly did not!"

Not concerned about witnesses at this point, Sousuke drove his newest creation to an equipment bay area, one that opened out onto the school grounds. Most of the machinery there was used for lawn care. Other mechanical contrivances were stored there too, if they were oversized, or if there was no other place to house them. The item he needed belonged to the tennis club. Either that club wasn't meeting today… didn't need the device… or was slow in arriving. Their loss, his gain.

"There!" Sousuke said, bringing his ride to a halt. "Good. I hope I can make it fit, and the power requirements have been met." Kaname was strong enough to get the job done. Barely. 'He' walked over to a large Playmate Smash Ball Machine Max, a pneumatic tennis ball machine with an enormous hopper and a huge cannon-shaped tube at the front. He smiled, when its power cord plugged into a power port on the base, after hefting the lower half of the device onto the tracked base, and then placing the hopper onto the lower half. He poured half of his eggs into the hopper, following the 'eggs in a basket' rule. He would come back for more if he successfully fired the first batch, or something happened that rendered the initial load unusable. "First things first."

He drove the machine forward, leaving it just shy of one of the powered garage-like doors. Taking the costume off, he placed it on the machine. He covered everything with a large tarp, and placed one of the 'Out of Order' signs on top of it, along with a sheet of paper that read 'Parts on Order. Do not touch.'

He then made a beeline to the girl's locker room, where he would garb-up and gather any personal sporting gear Kaname might have set aside from the common club fare.

The equipment was ready. He now needed to get his 'forces' prepared.

---

Dressed in blue bloomers, and a blue and white T-shirt, Sousuke shielded his eyes against the sun, needing time to adjust to the level of light outside.

As he made his way over to the field assigned to the girls' softball team, he found himself ruminating, being far more introspective than he might normally be. Was that because he had his mind swimming around in Kaname's brain? Or, was it the evolving and maturing thing that Lieutenant Commander Kalinin sometimes spoke with him about?

No matter.

Any way you slice it, the past two days had been a whirlwind tour of the unexpected, and the misconcepted, if that was even a word.

A mind-body switch. Learning Ballroom Dancing with the Commander. Combat against a gang, in Kaname's body. Adjusting to the differences in the female form. Using his personal skills to rescue a kitten that no one else could save. Another spirited romp with the late Gauron's soul sister, Wakana. Giving a speech to the assembled student body. Being shocked into inaction by news of a Pop-Quiz, a lesser version of the tumultuous effect he had suffered after hearing fake news from his dead archenemy. Black hair dye. A wave of disrespect for Kaname, and his undisciplined if well-prepared response. Discussing butterflies with a serial killer.

But, of course, there was more.

Yanki stepping over the line, and his response stepping over a cliff. Mascots, and an unnecessary fight in Bonta-kun, against a deadly looking bear with surprising mechanical abilities. Teaching dancing the way he had been taught, and uncovering Amalgam agents while schooling and enraging dastardly and deceitful school photographers. Showering with girls, and causing excessive havoc in the defense of the naked and well-endowed. A trick with dogs capturing the main objective, but fraught with friendly fire. A resourceful and remarkable defensive creation, misused, taking offense at mankind. The joy of cooking the most perfect food on earth, followed by excessive and unseemly instruction in knife fighting skills. Gender-bending in the natural world, and Tessa materializing in class, unannounced. Hearing about a mysterious aircraft, and only then remembering an earlier report of an enemy A.S. on Tokyo soil.

Was he about to overreact again?

"But, what would I regret more?" What would be more damning, misjudging a threat and stirring up trouble, or ignoring his instincts and watching something terrible unfold?

Like the janitor's prize koi, which he and Tsubaki had consumed, he was a fish out of water at Jindai High. Most of his military exploits were mistimed and misplaced and… misconcepted. But, was that too big a price for everyone to pay, if some day his skills might prevent some great disaster? Or, was he more trouble than he was worth, to the school and all, but especially to Kaname? And was he setting himself up for a fall? What if he faced some great threat, only to fail?

"Though the enemy be stronger in numbers, we may prevent him from fighting," Sousuke said, still on a Sun Tzu worshipping tour. "Scheme so as to discover his plans and the likelihood of their success." He could be effective, and be discrete. He knew what to do, to minimize the chance of a stupid unnecessary confrontation. "Now the general who wins a battle makes many calculations in his temple ere the battle is fought. The general who loses a battle makes but few calculations beforehand. Thus do many calculations lead to victory, and few calculations to defeat." It was better to have a plan, than to be caught with his pants down. The strategist had never used those words; but, he had espoused a similar sentiment somewhere in his works.

"Kana-chan, there you are." It was Kyouko. Aside from her baseball glove, she carried her camera of course. "I was wondering if you might go home, with that bump on your head."

"Just because of a little bump," Sousuke said, imagining how Kaname might react. "Me? If I can put up with a mountain of trouble like Sousuke, what's a little bump. Hah hah hah hahahahahahaha."

"That's our Kaname," Maya said, walking over, swinging the head of her bat back and forth slowly, just above her cleats. "I knew you'd make it."

"Of course she would," Shiori said, placing a large cooler filled with water bottles near an empty bench. "And we certainly need her special leadership skills." She nodded her head in the direction of the large chainlink and tubular steel backstop. Behind it, a couple of girls were smoking, and a few others had broken out a deck of cards.

"I know we're only scrimmaging today," Tomomi said. "It's not like we're playing a real game. Still…." Like the girls who took the club seriously, she was not happy with the behavior of the girls who did only the fun things, avoiding the things that took serious effort and dedication.

"It is not a problem," Sousuke said. "We may well be doing more than scrimmaging today, and it will be no game. If those girls will not come to us, we will go to them. Follow me." He and the majority of the team headed behind the backstop.

"Huh?" That was all that one of the lazy girls bothered to say. She had heard pep talks before. She was so down on that kind of fluff and nonsense. She was in a club like her parents insisted. She showed up every day it met, the way her counselor instructed. She did what needed to be done on game days. "What?"

"You may wish to waste your own life away," Sousuke said, knowing he was being a bit too harsh. "But, I will be damned if I let you waste everyone else's life away."

"Just because you were clumsy enough to scramble your brains," a girl said after blowing out cigarette smoke. "Don't take it out on us. We're not your slaves, you know."

"You're not worthy enough to be slaves," Sousuke snapped back, hand behind his back, remembering Mao's 'gentle' instructions at boot camp, and thinking back to his and Kaname's work with the rugby club. How he wished that sports club was on campus now, and not off at a combine! They might be boys, but they would follow her. Better yet, they were like a human steamroller. "But… if what I heard is real… you may end up worse than slaves."

"What did you hear, Kana-chan?" Kyouko looked a bit concerned. Was Kaname about to fly off the handle again, or was their truly some problem on the horizon.

Sousuke told the softball club what he had been told by Shinji. 'He' asked if the girls had noticed the way the sports bullies had been acting all day, and how it had been intensifying hour by hour. They all answered in the affirmative. Most were skeptical, however.

"You don't think anything will happen?" Sousuke said. "Well… I don't blame you." That had everyone relaxing. "But…. believing or knowing… which is better?"

"Ummm… knowing…." One girl said half-heartedly. "I guess."

"Correct!" Sousuke said. "So, we will need volunteers. One will spy on the boy's baseball team. If she finds plans of an attack, she will return, and the others will go forth. We will recruit all of the girls' sports teams, as well as any girls in non-sports club who will heed the call. Okay. Who will go?" No hands went up. No one said anything. They all sat quietly and stared at 'her'.

"It's too hot," one of the card players said.

"It's not like Sagara is on the boy's baseball team, or anything." One of the smoking girls blew out a big cloud of smoke.

"It's your job," another card player said. "You are the club Captain, after all." Their club no-longer had a supervisor. The teacher was on pregnancy leave. Her husband, the boy's baseball coach, had taken paternity time off. "You go. We'll stay back here, keeping everything safe. Right?"

Sousuke was disappointed. He expected insubordination from the lazier girls. But, he had hoped that at least one of Kaname's friends would have spoken up. Perhaps he was asking too much. No. He wasn't. And, he would not sit still for this! He jumped up on a bench and put his hands on his hips. He spat. He then let loose with a verbal barrage as bad as any deadly barrage the allied forces had faced at Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno, or Sword Beach on D-day:

"Right now you girls are less than human, you got that?!" He would take a cue from Mao's book, which no doubt owed a large debt to Gunnery Sergeant Hartman. "You're nameless slaves! Once you survive my training, then and only then will you become a weapon! Until that time you lowly maggots are nothing but a bunch of [BLEEP] suckers! I despise and look down upon you."

That had the other girls looking at each other, or staring at 'Kaname.' Their very molecules had yet to be affected. But, that would soon end.

"Let's make one thing clear: my job is to find the flabby [BLEEP] among you and weed them out! I won't have any stinking [BLEEP] on our team keeping us from victory! There will be no laughing or crying. You are NOT human beings! You are KILLING MACHINES! If you couldn't kill, your lives will be worthless! You [BLEEP] would be better off in a corner [BLEEP] your pussies!"

It didn't make sense to the girls. They should be laughing at the ridiculous speech. They should be telling 'Kaname' to mind her manners. They should be doing anything other than standing there, shivering, the sound of their hearts beating loudly in their ears. But, they were falling under the spell.

"You want to lose on purpose just to stand out? Pretend it hurts to gain some sympathy?! You pathetic loser scum! The best part of you ran down the crack of your mother's [BLEEP] and ended up as a [BLEEP] stain on the mattress! Quit draggin' your feet, you [BLEEP]! If you whimper, I will unscrew your head and [BLEEP] down your neck! That bat and those balls are your only boyfriend! You don't need a Billy Joe [BLEEP] [BLEEP] with a large bulge in his pants! Think of your bat as a hard [BLEEP] and [BLEEP] him as hard as you can!

Citizens' Military Training Camps were military training programs of the United States. Held annually each summer during the years 1921 to 1940, the CMTC camps differed from National Guard and Organized Reserve training in that the program allowed male citizens to obtain basic military training without an obligation for call-up to active duty. The CMTC were authorized by the National Defense Act of 1920 as a compromise that rejected universal military training. Harry Truman, Ronald Reagan, and Chuck Yeager had participated in that type of camp.

But, Jindai High was not in the United States, and this was not 1921 to 1940. And, most important of all, Sousuke was demanding universal acceptance. This would be handled like a military boot camp. Recruit training is a physically and psychologically intensive process, which re-socializes its subjects for the demands of military employment. Psychological conditioning techniques are used to shape attitudes and behaviors, so that recruits will obey all orders, face mortal danger, and kill their opponents in battle. He needed to do in minutes, what usually took weeks or months. But, if anyone was up for the challenge, it was he. It had worked with those once wimpy rugby guys, hadn't it? He had gone soft on them. The girls would not be so fortunate.

"Once this training began-" Sousuke informed the softball team. "-Your right to leave this military team was denied. You have no privacy. You already have uniforms. If we had time, I would shave your heads. You no longer have first names."

All of the girls stood still, in complete silence.

"Your club duties are now highly controlled," Sousuke claimed. "I will tell you how to hold your bats… how to put on protective masks and helmets… how to run the field like you run to a base… just as I would tell you how to make your beds…polish your shoes… and stack your uniforms… if we had the time. Now. The first volunteer. Someone speak up!"

"Me, Sir!" That was one of the card-playing girls.

"Then go!" Sousuke pointed off in the direction of the boy's filed. "Don't be seen. Complete your mission. If you fall, we will put the flag at half-mast!"

The girl ran off. She was soon followed by messengers sent to other girls' sports teams, and to nearby non-sports groups. One even came up with the idea of visiting the nearest cram school, a block away.

"We will now do a quick foot drill," Sousuke said, the sound of authority ringing clear and loud in Kaname's voice. "You will stand like me… march like me… and respond to my every order. Do I make myself clear?"

"Sir! Yes, Sir!" All of the girls answered in unison, standing straight.

"Foot drill is essential for esprit de corps and cohesion," Sousuke told the girls, as he lined them up. "You will get used to instinctive obedience. You will be enabled marched and be moved in an orderly manner. And, most important of all, this will create the basis for action in the battlefield." He began directing simple and sharp movements, getting the club members to move the way he wanted them to. He shouted personal insults. He used physical aggression and gave orders intended to humiliate. The condition of continuous stress depleted the girls' resistance to the demands he made of them.

"This isn't so bad," Maya said quietly to Kyouko, not wanting to be overheard by 'Kaname.'

"I'm starting to like it," a former smoking girl said. "And… I'm even starting to like everyone…."

"Why is everyone so jazzed up," one of the first dozen new arrivals asked. She was a member of the tea ceremony club. Not far behind her were members of the girls' archery squad, the girls' volleyball team, the yearbook club, the girls' swimming group, and the English Conversation club. Figures that could be walking across the field came from track & field, ping pong, the movie club, broadcasting group, cheer leaders' assembly, and the girls' handball team. There would be more.

"You'll see soon enough," Mari promised.

As a buffer against the stressful conditions of Sousuke's brief training session, the trainee group was forming a strong bond of mutual loyalty. They actually began to feel an intense 'we-feeling', something more powerful than the civilian bonds they were familiar with. They began to feel proud of their identity as a sports club member, and of their team in particular. 'Kaname' told Heroic military stories, while praising their sport above all others. They now viewed everyone else as lesser people, less worthy of respect. The growing bonding within the team overrode each individual's natural human resistance to violence. Their instructor knew that the toughness and bonding required increases the closer the contact with the enemy. 'She' was a specialist.

Training systematically stimulates aggression, particularly in those enlisted for ground close combat roles. As part of the process, Sousuke called out: "I wanna see it in your eyes that you wanna kill these fuckers. Imagine these posts are the fucking Baseball Team and they've just killed some of your friends." He handed out aluminum bats to the girls and pointed to huge wooden posts anchoring the backstop. "You wanna fuckin' kill them. Show me your war face!"

"Grrrrrr-rrrrr-rrrr-rrr-rr-r!' The girls growled, and forced some faux fearsome faces. It was slightly more threatening than the look Mulan had, cheeks filled with rice, after Mushu had told her to show him her war face. Another gender bender coincidence, seeing that the title character was a girl pretending to be a boy, and later, a group of male soldiers would dress up as women. He tried to shake an unwanted melody from his head, one attributed to both scenes. Instead, he remembered snippets of the lyrics:

Let's get down to business

To defeat the Huns

Did they send me daughters

When I asked for sons.

BE A MAN

We must be swift as a coursing river

BE A MAN

With all the force of a great typhoon

BE A MAN

With all the strength of a raging fire

Mysterious as the dark side of the moon

Hoo-ah!

The girls' response was not up to snuff for the sergeant in Sousuke, or the Sousuke in Kaname. "I think my bunny slippers just ran for cover. Come on, scare me girls," he shouted. "Show… me… your… war… face!"

"GRRRRRRR-RRRRRR-RRRRR-RRRR-RRR-RR-R!" The growling grew louder. The faces grew much more fearsome.

"I feel like I could take on a fucking tiger," one girl said, eyes glowing.

"I feel like I could take on a fucking Tyranosaurus Rex," another girl said, an unholy smile on her lips.

Now, it was time for a process called milling. "Every girl will put on her baseball glove!" Sousuke watched as his recruits complied. "Next, you will all pair off!" The girls did as they were ordered to do. "Smack each other's head with the glove, as aggressively as possible." To further enable his recruits to attack on demand, he would teach them to dehumanize their opponents in battle as an 'enemy target' … 'to be engaged'… which will 'fall when hit'.

In the relatively short time that the 'spy' was absent from the team, her teammates had undergone a mind-boggling transformation. She stared in awe… with a seed of jealousy growing in her chest… as she watched them all upon her return:

Sousuke: What is our specialty, ladies?!

Team: KILL! KILL! KILL!

Sousuke: What is our goal in this endeavor?!

Team: KILL! KILL! KILL!

Sousuke: DO WE LOVE OUR SCHOOL?! DO WE LOVE OUR SOFTBALL CLUB?!

Team: GUNG HO! GUNG HO! GUNG HO!

Sousuke: Scout, report!

"I-" The returning girl began, and stopped. She spoke louder, with as much enthusiasm as she could muster:

"I OBSERVED THE ENEMY. THEY ARE PREPARING FOR ATTACK. THEY HAVE RECRUITED OTHER BOY'S CLUBS. THE GOAL IS TO HUMILIATE US… TEACH US OUR PLACE… AND ESTABLISH DOMINACE FOR THE REST OF OUR TIME AT SCHOOL!"

She paused again, and then spoke in a quieter more personable tone. "Some just want a chance to stick it to the Unapproachable Idol… you, Sir… Kaname Chidori…." She then gave accounts of more things that she had scoped out. Like the girls, the boys had also recruited from numerous clubs. Aside from baseball, there was kendo… soccer… mathematics… sumo… badminton… manga… culture… rock music… tennis… fine arts…shogi… go… and the boy's archery team. No girls from any of the co-ed clubs had joined. Not all boys from any given male club signed on.

But, all was not bleak.

Boys from some clubs had heard the spy's tale, and would be joining the melee on the girl's side. So would a number of mascots, still waiting for the busses that were late. As if some cosmic force were arranging a game board, a nearly equal number of mascots were feeling kinship with the boys and their aims.

The assembled girls shouted out in a roar. They were not calling out in anger and disbelief for their own sake, but rather for their Club Captain and Class Representative. They would all die before letting any harm befall their leader.

"You others know what to do," Sousuke said, watching moments later as softball team members took on leadership roles, teaching newcomers what they had been taught. "Everyone, be glad in this fact: If we fight, we conquer." If Sun Tzu was good fodder, so was Confucius.

A loud roar filled the air.

"But, now… be silent." He lowered his arms in a gesture to reinforce his words. "I say the future is ours…if you can count! Now, look what we have here before us. We've got the Softball Club…sitting next to Tea Ceremony Club. We've got the Girl's Archery Team…right by the English Conversation Club. Nobody is dissing nobody. That…is a miracle. And miracles is the way things ought to be. You're standing right now with members from fifteen clubs. And there's at least fifteen more. That's more than thirty hard-core clubs. Can you dig it? Can you dig it? Can… you… dig… it?!"

YEAH!

"Now here's the sum total," Sousuke continued, sounding tougher than any gang leader could. "One club could run this school. One huge combined club. Nothing would move without us allowing it to happen. We could tax the system… the teachers… the administrators… the boys… because we got the fields, suckers! Can you dig it?"

RIGHT ON!

"The problem in the past has been the boys turning us against one another. We have been unable to see the truth, because we've been fighting for one hundred square foot club rooms… our turfs, our individual little pieces of turf. That's crap, sisters. Each turf is ours by right. Because it's our turn!"

He held his hand out, stopping another group shout.

We can do it!

That response was quiet and measured. Sousuke nodded his head. "Be meek… in appearance only…." Time for some Sun Tzu again. "The clever combatant imposes his will on the enemy, but does not allow the enemy's will to be imposed on her. Appear at points which the enemy must hasten to defend; march swiftly to places where you are not expected. We can form a single united body, while the enemy must split up into fractions. Hence there will be a whole pitted against separate parts of a whole, which means that we shall be many to the enemy's few. To secure ourselves against defeat lies in our own hands, but the opportunity of defeating the enemy is provided by the enemy himself. Rapidity is the essence of war: take advantage of the enemy's unreadiness, make your way by unexpected routes, and attack unguarded spots."

"Sousuke Sagara ain't got nothin' on our Kaname,"

"Damn skippy!"

"But… what about them…." One girl from the Ikebana Club pointed to separate groups of adults heading out onto the field. Some were club advisors, while others were staff members who had heard about large numbers of students gathering in an uncharacteristic manner.

"We owe allegiance to one another," Shiori spoke up, smiling when 'Kaname' nodded her head.

"We won't target them," Tomomi said. "But it would serve them well to stay out of our way!" That brought shouts of agreement.

"Now," Sousuke said. "How we are going to win!" That had the girls excited, hearts filled with fire and imaginations dreaming of victory. "All warfare is based on deception. Hence, when able to attack, we must seem unable; when using our forces, we must seem inactive; when we are near, we must make the enemy believe we are far away; when far away, we must make him believe we are near. Hold out baits to entice the enemy. Feign disorder, and crush him. If your opponent is of easily angered, seek to irritate him. Pretend to be weak, that he may grow arrogant." There was something else that he understood. In order to annihilate the enemy, his girls must be roused to anger. And, to provide them some advantage from defeating the enemy, he must offer them their rewards. So, he mentioned all of the put downs and slurs he had heard the boys make throughout the day. He recalled all of the innuendo and sexual comments they had said. He dreamed up possible outcomes from the coming ordeal, things he would certain would play on the girl's sense of inequity, injustice, and supposed impotence.

"And, there is also this," Sousuke said, looking behind him and seeing a growing cloud of dust. The enemy forces were on the move in force. He hoped that more reinforcements would arrive soon, or he would have to mount a seeming retreat, keeping the boys at a safe distance until his numbers grew large enough. "When we win, just think of the bragging rights! How many boys do you think will speak out of line, then?!"

"We're going to murderize them," Rumiko said, putting her hand out.

"I pity the fools," Daidai remarked, putting her hand atop Rumiko's.

Other girls commented, and all eventually had their hands stacked up. After removing 'his' hand, Sousuke smiled. He assigned temporary command to Maya.

"There is something I need to get," he said. "I shall return."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

CHUO-KU WARD, TOKYO

Miyamoto Bokuden sat in the pilot chair of the orange-colored Venom Arm Slave.

He was still trying to settle himself down. A large bit of his seething anger and resentment belonged to Jindai Highschool and that bitch, Ayame. A smaller burning pit of rage centered in his stomach was dying down. That came from the Amalgam pilot who refused his order to give him control of the A.S. He now lay dying down below on the concrete parking lot.

"They made fun of me as a model. They mocked my craft." He checked the Venom's readouts, particularly those pertaining to the Lambda Driver. "We'll see how much they mock me when I return to their little school, and stomp it and them into the ground." He reached down to the custom made communications console and worked a dial. "We'll see who's having fun, then." The soothing sounds of classical music filled the cabin.

"Anything by Einaudi transports me to another world, where I can dream to my heart's content," Mr. Magnesium said. "This piece in particular. Those water sounds are quite apropos, with the ocean so near." It was 'Elegy for the Arctic' by Ludovico Einaudi. The gentle, lyrical pianism of that Italian composer-pianist was the perfect way to ease the stresses of the day. "Let's check the Bat's progress again."

The Bat he referred to was the Chazaqiel, a mammoth RPV with a wingspan close to two American football fields in length, and one that had been built by contributions from his family, under the aegis of one of the Amalgam upitty-ups. It could serve many purposes… bomber in land wars… anti-ship and anti-submarine missions… cargo carrier… and troop transport. But, thanks to one feature in particular, it could serve another role, one which would be quite beneficial.

"I wouldn't get halfway to the damn school if I tried to walk through the city," Miyamoto said. "Likewise, no helicopter could even reach me, to transport me to my destination." Seeing that the aircraft was only thirty minutes away, headed straight for his location, he pushed a button on the control console that caused a small door to flip open. The bright orange button beneath that door had a dark figure etched into it, one shaped like a dirigible. "This should be fun." He pushed the button.

A compartment on the rear of the A.S. slid open. A loud hissing noise could be have been heard by the figures in earshot, if they had not all been shot in the ear. Helium cannisters discharged their contents, helping the self-inflating balloon fill. The process would take some time, give the size of the balloon. When it was released, it would float skyward, attached to a long synthetic cable stronger than steel, a cable that was also attached to the Venom.

The nose of the RPV sported the two prongs characteristic of the Fulton surface-to-air recovery system, also known as 'Skyhook.' That was a concept borrowed from the aerial retrieval system used by the Central Intelligence Agency, United States Air Force, and United States Navy for retrieving persons on the ground using aircraft such as the MC-130E Combat Talon I and Boeing B-17. That system involves using an overall-type harness and a self-inflating balloon with an attached lift line. An aircraft engages the line with its V-shaped yoke and the person is reeled on board. Red flags on the lift line guide the pilot during daylight recoveries; lights on the lift line are used for night recoveries.

The American recovery kits had been designed for one and two-man retrievals. Five hundred feet of high-strength, braided nylon line and a dirigible-shaped balloon inflated by a helium bottle were used in the set-up, one developed by inventor Robert Edison Fulton, Jr. in the early 1950s. It was an evolution from a similar system that was used during World War II by American and British forces to retrieve both personnel and downed assault gliders following airborne operations. The earlier system did not use a balloon, but a line stretched between a pair of poles set in the ground on either side of the person to be retrieved. An aircraft, usually a C-47 Skytrain, trailed a grappling hook that engaged the line, which was attached to the person to be retrieved.

"Let's double check," the model said. He toggled through a touch screen list of inventory items aboard Chazaqiel, and found that the ones he had requested were indeed aboard, loaded into their drop pods. The items in question were built by his family, too. Built from pilfered plans belonging to another Amalgam member. "Excellent. The more the merrier."

He yawned, and then stretched out some. He was bored, but happy to be so inclined. He didn't want anything to ruin his mood, or impede his plans. It was good fortune, that the local military had become lax and indecisive after their efforts prior to his arrival. That's the kind of thing that happens when one side has the Lambda Driver, and the other side does not. Still, someone with even two brains cells to rub together could think of sniping the balloon.

Whistling a happy tune, with a rhythm far different than the beautiful music that was playing, he drummed his fingers on his control stick, pursing his lips. He was trying to think of a Classical Music playlist… for his brief flight… and for the joyful jaunt that would commence when he touched down.

"Of course," he said, smiling. "Something exciting. Something scintillating and exhilarating. Wagner." A WiFi connection gave him access to numerous music databases. He downloaded 'Flight of the Valkyries.' Some might consider his choice to be so cliché that it approached corny; but, he didn't care. He closed his eyes and pictured a scene from 'Apocalypse Now.' He chuckled and said "I love the smell of burning schools in the afternoon. It smells like vengeance."

Before adding more pieces, he checked a readout. The RPV had descended to an appropriate height above the ground, and was lowering its airspeed. He put on an extra set of harness belts. There would be a serious jolt when the time came.

"Please place all trays in the upright position!" He laughed at his joke. He doubted that anyone who caught sight of Chazaqiel was laughing.

Out at sea, a group of fishing boats proved his conjecture to be spot on. Eerily silent for a craft so huge, the RPV sped over the busy boats, while the men were hauling in nets. As a huge shadow blotted out the sun, they looked up, shocked at what they saw. To them, the dark flying wing looked like an impossibly large pteranodon or eagle. "Kami… kami…." They cried. Some bowed. Some covered their eyes. One man leaped into the sea. The boats rocked violently as the RPV flew over them. "It's… it's Rodan!"

Trying to massage out a sudden crick in his neck, he checked the inventory again. He considered bringing some aerial drones out to play. Pilotless copies of the Soviet Mikoyan MiG-41, the drones could be considered sixth generation aircraft, as the Soviet interceptors were merely generation 5++. Armed with an array of air-to-air missiles and an anti-missile laser, each was capable of Mach 4 to 4.3, and could operate at very high altitudes, and even in near space. But, they were just as adept at bombing runs, and carried a set of small thermobaric munitions.

"No," he said. "I can't be greedy. The Bat needs those." The aircraft could be launched in quick succession from the RPV, useful in countering any Mithril aircraft or anything sent into the air by the primitives of his former nation. He checked the status of the second uninflated balloon. The icon on the viewscreen was green, meaning 'Good to Go.' That was good to know. He'd like to get off of this blasted island when he finished with his frolicking. The RPV would double back and pick him up a second and final time.

Brahms - Academic Festival Overture. Saint-Saens - Piano Concerto No. 2 (second movement). Dvorak - Symphony No. 5 (Third movement). Jupiter from The Planets by Holst. The Alcotts (movement III) from Charles Ives' Concord Sonata. He would choose two or three from that shortlist.

"Oh, lest I forget." Mr. Magnesium added the third movement of Dittersdorf's Harp Concerto in A Major to his list. It would serve as his exit piece. "To serenade all of the new angels on their journey up to Heaven."

He rummaged through a glove box, looking for a candy bar or a pack of mini-donuts.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

AFTER SCHOOL ACTIVITIES REDUX

After start-up procedures were complete, and a second batch of eggs now sat ready under the tarp, Sousuke put on his white costume, briefly feeling the way he did when he slid into Arbalest's pilot seat for the first time.

On that nostalgic note, he drove his creation out onto the school grounds.

Standing on the platform, vision somewhat hindered by the Rabbit Suit's eye slots, he felt as if he were bottled up in a tank from the second World War. No. With the exhilaration he was feeling, he took on the vibe of a commander in charge of tanks. This must be how General Johannes Erwin Eugen Rommel felt, watching as his Afrika Corps was about to put to rout the British forces at Benghazi, or how General George Smith Patton Jr. must have felt, on the eve of his historic journey through France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, Czechoslovakia, and Austria.

A strong wind whipped around him, gusting throughout the athletic field, blowing his ridiculous ears this way and that, and ruffling his fluffy white tail. He stood like a warrior on the beach, praying for a divine wind, a typhoon to destroy one of the two of the 13th Century's invading Mongol fleets, each so mighty that they would otherwise have successfully invaded Japan. But, realistically, it was the girls who had to weather a storm. Unless he could make a difference. Once again, the fate of many rested on 'his' young shoulders.

"Let's give it a test!" He fired off a couple of eggs, watching as they splattered on the bricks at the back of the school building. "It fires low right. I will compensate." His next few shots hit where he wanted them too. He also gave the mechanical base a run through, going forward and back, left and right, and spinning in place. He had a good feel for the controls now. Putting to his eyes a pair of binoculars he had swiped from the archery supply closet on the way out, he saw that the battle was about to start without him. "It is not a problem." His arrival, and the firepower that he brought with him, would bring the shock and the awe, once the boy's attention was fully locked on the girls.

He felt the hairs on the back of 'his' human neck go up. There were people behind him. He quickly turned his body, leaving his vehicle still. His concern soon vanished. It was club members, but not sports members.

And, as it turned out, the students… who had received text messages about an assembly growing at phenomenal speed… all sided with the plight of the girls, boys included. He could tell that from their conversations, but did not deign to join in, so not to give away 'his' identity. The movie club members present were split on their feelings of the symbolism they sensed. Some said that the sight of a white rabbit reminded them of the famous Killer Rabbit of Caerbannog, tasked with guarding the cave home of the Legendary Black Beast of Arrrghhh in the film 'Monty Python and the Holy Grail.' Sousuke was fortunate that no one on the boys' side had thought to bring along a Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch. To other movie club members, heads spinning from the unfathomable conflict, and hearts on the verge of 'waking up,' he would seem better suited to be the White Rabbit, a character in 'Alice's Adventures in Wonderland,' serving as a herald-like servant of the King and Queen of Hearts. They should all follow the white hare, the way that Neo did in 'The Matrix,' one boy said.

Another boy countered that claim, saying that they should not follow the whire rabbit, recounting Mako Mori's near tragedy in 'Pacific Rim.' Only one other student sided with him. They both headed back indoors. One girl felt somewhat ambivalent. She willing to follow the will of the majority; but, she had a feeling of foreboding, remembering that the computer file used to shut down the security systems in 'Jurassic Park' was named 'white rabbit .obj'

The sole boy in the Rock Music Club who had not joined the boy's side began singing quietly to himself:

"One pill makes you larger, and one pill makes you small
And the ones that mother gives you, don't do anything at all

Go ask Alice, when she's ten feet tall

And if you go chasing rabbits, and you know you're going to fall
Tell 'em a hookah-smoking caterpillar has given you the call

And call Alice, when she was just small

When the men on the chessboard get up and tell you where to go
And you've just had some kind of mushroom, and your mind is moving low

Go ask…

Go ask Alice, I think she'll know."

"That… over there…" Sousuke heard another voice call out, as more students joined the growing group. "That has to be the hero we need."

"Where?" another voice called out. "Behind the rabbit?"

"No," the first voice replied. "It is the rabbit!"

"You silly sod," a third voice said. "You almost got us all worked up."

"That's not just any rabbit," another voice claimed. "It's the most foul, cruel and bad-tempered rodent you ever set eyes on."

"You tit!" A voice exclaimed. "I almost soiled myself hearing that."

"That rabbit looks to have a vicious streak a mile wide." The first voice said. "It's a killer. It would do you up a treat, mate."

"What would he do," a skeptic asked. "Nibble my bum?"

"What are we waiting for," a boy from the ham radio club asked, stepping out from the crowd and advancing beyond Sousuke. "Come on, now. Let's move along. We aren't helping anyone hanging back here." He started marching forward, but not as quickly as his bravado would suggest.

"No," a girl from the theater club said, her hands fluttering. "We should wait. The two sides could work things out. We don't want to force anyone's hands, do we?"

"Shut up!" A pimple-faced boy from the Gournet club said, chewing on some wild boar jerky. "Charge!" It took a few steps for him to get his corpulent body in gear. As the group of boys out on the field began their charge, he stopped, turned around, and yelled "Run away… run a-wayyyy-yyy-yy-y…."

A few joined him, seeing that teachers and counselors were heading further out, and might be inclined to punish anyone they might recognize. Those teachers were overconfident, certain that the students recognized their authority. They would nip things in the bud soon enough!

Unlike the Wonderland rabbit, who had a tendency to say "Oh dear! Oh dear! I shall be too late," Sousuke Sagara, in Kaname Chidori, and in cognito, would be right… on… time. He had been watching as the two groups of combatants began their initial moves. The first steps of the Waltz unfolded in aa expected and somewhat orderly fashion, a false front for the mind-blowing chaos that would soon follow. The boys had moved en masse, and had stopped in a great long line, three boys or more deep. The were brandishing baseball backs, bowling pins, tennis rackets, and electric guitars. They were holding them aloft, shouting and calling out taunts. If there had been torches and pitchforks available, they would have grabbed them, too. The girls gravitated into small groups, huddling together, crying or calling out for help. A large number went to hide in the dugouts. One had taken her bra off without removing her shirt, and was waving that undergarment like a white flag, a move that only served to fire the boys up more.

The boys' motivation was clear enough. Many carried a motherload of misplaced anger and a feeling of hopelessness and helplessness. A good number felt a need for dominance, an urge to have power over something or someone. Not a few wanted vengeance or revenge against a certain girl or certain clique. Their plan was simple enough. In the old days, it would have been frogs down blouses and pigtails in inkwells. But, this was the modern day. They had grabbed athletic gear, prepared to harass the girls in any way and every way possible… not averse to sneaking in a grope or two, or accidentally falling and pulling down some bloomers, just like in manga and anime. Their expectations were universal. Every boy in the army of aggressors was certain that the girls would offer no resistance, and would instead cry and plead for mercy. They would be easy prey.

The baseball Captain had three aluminum bats in hand. He struck them against one another, repeatedly.

"Girls… come out and play. Gir-rrl-rrls… come outand play-ay-ay. GIRRRLLLSSS… COME OUT AND PLAY-AY-AYYYYY-YYYY-YYY-YY-Y!"

The resemblance to an iconic scene from 'The Warriors' was striking.

"Wait for it," Sousuke said to no one in particular, as he watched the boys run towards the girls. 'The Battle of The Jindai Fields' had begun. "Wait for it." With his training and a proper strategem, the ladies might be able to win the war themselves; but, he wanted to finish things as quickly as possible. There were a myriad of different reasons for that sentiment. He selected an area he expected the first significant impact between forces to take place, and slowly crept in that direction. "The clever combatant imposes his will on the enemy, but does not allow the enemy's will to be imposed on him." He searched for the ring leaders, the rude and rambunctious boys from his class. They would be his primary targets. Break them, and he might break them all.

"Stop!" One girl cried out, holding up her palm. "We'll tell the school officials."

"We'll text your parents," another girl said. "Or call the police."

"Boy's rule!" Boys called out in response, closing in on the girls. "Girls drool!"

"Guys rock!" More boys shouted, waving their guitars and drum sticks. "Gals suck _." That last word was drowned out by a huge mass shout.

"A-T-T-A-C-K!" That singular shout could be heard blocks away.

The boys expected that battleshout to have girls peeing their panties. Instead, it had the girls' anticipation growing, as groups of boys split away from the whole, to rush towards the various small groups of girls. The lasses would be patient. The counteroffensive would start any moment now.

The sound of music filled the air. The remaining healthy members of the Band… with the remaining intact instruments… were not going to take sides. Instead, they began an impromptu soundtrack for the escalading encounter. The first piece was their version of "Moonlight Densetsu" from the famous magical girl anime series of the nineties, 'Bishōjo Senshi Sailor Moon.' Those who had no instrument began dancing in their trademark style, choreographed by band members themselves, inspired by the "Burn the Floor" ballroom dance show.

"WHYYYYY-YYYY-YYY-YY-Y?"

The club advisors and teachers had moved in between the two groups, only to be bowled over and trampled by the adrenalin-crazed boys.

Attracted by all the noise and motion, left-over dog packs rushed to nip at anything that moved. The History teacher, Hirofumi Ienaga, too slow to be among the trampled teachers, shouted out "Cry 'Havoc', and let slip the dogs of war!"

"This'll do!" A gang of yanki had come to the school, looking to cause trouble in response to the day's earlier events. They would attack anyone who caught their fancy. It would have served them better to stay home. Ditto for the actor from Mr. Balls, who had decided it was a good time to strike back at that towel girl, if he could find her. Who could see what he did to her in this mob? The delinquent youths and the grossly inappropriate adult crossed paths with some school officials, without knowing. Students blocked their views, as the limping Vice President came on the scene, followed by the bandaged Librarian. Even Mr. Kogure joined in, having just been released from his administrative leave. He dragged boy after boy off, nearly stretching their ears in the process. He hoped that Sagara would be out here, too. He would give him special attention, despite his recent admonishment. A wave of boys from cram school ran onto the field as well, hurrying to shield the girls. They sped past a group of guys on the sidewalk wearing their Monks colors. Licking their lips, the gang members thought about playing with a pretty girl or two. Thinking back to a particular blue-haired girl, they quickly changed their mind.

The boys had expected powder puffs, and had found buzzsaws. They were shocked, as the dainty fluttering butterflies turned into blood-crazed harpies.

"GIRL POWER!" Maya scouted.

That was the signal to act. The girls in the dugouts rushed out, heading after the nearest groups of boys who had split off from the herd. The Amazons, daughters of Ares and Harmonia, a nymph of the Akmonian Wood, were brutal and aggressive, and their main concern in life was war. They would have taken notes, watching those girls that day. But, there was an even fiercer group out there now. Whether it came from the boredom of waiting… the stress from the telethon… or simply from their various municipal rivalries… the mascots tore into one another with a brutality that would have left a Roman legion with the shakes.

Paiko, the bird with huge breasts, slapped Marimokkori, the green algae-man with a bulging penis, to the ground, and dropped an atomic elbow to his head. Momiji-kun, the pink deer with a shotgun bull-rushed the strange-eyed Reruji-san, and put him in a vicious leg lock. Airplane and eel hybrid Unari-kun knocked down the creepy Okazaemon with a flaying tackle, then proceeded to whack him with her wings. Pink ninja Shinobi-chan pummeled the ghastly Meron-chan with her sword, before tripping him with a leg sweep, and jumping up and down on his groin like it was a trampoline. Enema penguin Kan-chan bowed serenely and politely to Akkuma, the purple alien bear holding a guitar. Then, unleashing a fusillade of swear words that would make a dockworker cringe, she steamrolled her adversary, and played his head like it was a drum. The unpredictable Chi-tan ran about attacking random mascots from either side, always ending with the 1,000 year of pain finger jutsu.

Then, there was Gloomy Bear.

"You believe that the strong exist to cull the weak," Hiroshi said inside the costume. "To use them as food. But you are mistaken... the strong exist, not to feed off of the weak, but to protect them!" Fighting for the girls, naturally, he was a force of nature, thanks to his powered exo-skeleton. He was leaping here and somersaulting there. His hand pieces could rotate. He was using the 'reverse blade' claws, playing the role of Kenshin Himura. Mascot after mascot went flying, head pieces and costume attachments bouncing and rolling along the grass. He surged into a pile of adversaries like a bowling ball into a full set of ten pins, blasting them skyward, their shouts and cries unheard in the din. "You can use whatever technique you like, but now that I said I will beat you... your defeat tonight has been assured!"

While the bear might be a tornado, Sousuke was a typhoon. Moving forward, with club members stalking behind him like infantry behind a tank, he unleashed hell. He had initially wished that he could use Bonta-kun, but soon changed his mind.

Bam… bam… bam… bam… bam… bam… bam… bam… bam… bam… bam…

Remarkably, the tennis ball machine fired with metronic precisions, launching its eggy projectiles with vim and vigor. The impacts were the stuff of legends. One shouting boy took an egg straight in the kisser, spitting up chunks of egg and an incisor in an explosion of white and chunky yellow. Another raider took an egg to the ear, leading to intense pain, vertigo, and temporary deafness. He was stunned. What the hell had just happened?! Two other fighters were struck before any of the bullies had an inkling that something had gone very wrong. One, preparing to swing a lacrosse stick, had two eggs bounce off of his nipples, left stinging beneath his uniform. The other, about to toss a bowling ball as a deadly projectile, took a wicked shot to the testicles. Before keeling over, he dropped his heavy load on his foot. Exploding egg bits filled the air, like a thick snow mixed with yellow blossoms. Finally clued-in, boys with tennis rackets, baseball bats, and cricket bats began defending themselves and their comrades.

Originating among German Lutherans, the Easter Hare originally played the role of judge, evaluating whether children were good or disobedient at the start of the season of Eastertide. The young operative had no doubt which side of the fence the massed boys fell on. He felt qualified to play judge, jury, and executioner.

"Uncommon valor is a common virtue," Sousuke said, watching the girls as he waited for more clear targets. "When the enemy's men were united, good generals managed to keep them in disorder." He began firing again when a group of boys gathered together, to form a bulwark against advancing girls:

Bam… bam… bam… bam… bam… bam… bam… bam… bam… bam… bam…

Those girls were wonders to behold. They had initial control of the battleground; they and their allies from non-sports clubs and cram school. The boys that they fought against had arrived on the scene eager to antagonize and demoralize, but not to penalize in any physical way. Thanks to 'Kaname's' tutelage, the girls had no such qualms whatsoever. As an example, girls were honoring Kaname Chidori's iconic past by throwing every softball and baseball base they could lay their hands on, along with everything else in dugouts and equipment racks that wasn't bolted down or held in place by concrete. For the discombobulated boys, it was as if they had stepped into a Circle of Hell that Dante had neglected to mention, or had been too afraid to venture into. They were hit with embarrassing combos, like something out of 'The Three Stooges.' They were overwhelmed by machinegun fast slap attacks that would have left a veteran MMA fighter weak in the knees. They were the recipient of every conceivable way to use animate and inanimate objects to strike the groin area, gluteal region, or to introduce face to elbows, knees, and ground.

Mr. Watsugi, the Classical Japanese Teacher watched, spellbound. He was a big fan of battles, real or celluloid. The girls efforts had his spirit soaring, as if he were watching the thrilling helicopter attack scene from 'Apocalypse Now;' the graphic and realistic Omaha Beach landing in 'Saving Private Ryan;' the stunning Battle at Helms Deep in 'Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers;' or the opening battle scene in 'Gladiator.' No. It was greater than those. It was like being on the set of the 1970 movie 'Waterloo,' where fifteen thousand Russian troops were hired as extras, and the French charge against the British formations had thousands of soldiers in a single scene. "Far better than CGI," he mused. Watching the boys had him feeling somewhat embarrassed for his gender. Their efforts reminded him of the battle of Endor from 'Star Wars: Return of the Jedi,' where a bunch of overgrown teddy bears with makeshift weapons defeated the Empire's frighteningly efficient professional armored troops with modern weapons of all shapes and sizes. That, and another Star Wars clunker, the Battle of Naboo from 'The Phantom Menace,' whose overall sin was to prompt feelings of 'who cares,' and whose greatest failure was to leave Jar Jar Binks alive. Impressed he called out: "You girls are good… real good…." His words might bring to mind Masai, from 'The Warriors.'

"THE BEST!" Shiori shouted in return, echoing Swan from that film.

Bam… bam… bam…

Sousuke had to stop firing, temporarily. He couldn't keep watch on threats to his own position, if he put his full attention into selecting possible targets. But, he wanted to be certain that the primary antagonists were singled out and given appropriate punishment. How? Oh. That might work. "You there, boy!" He called out to Shinji, who was running around filming everything as he had been told to. The mild and meek boy was gleeful, seeing that the recorded events would shame the bullies no end. "Come here! Now!" 'He' had to disguise his voice, so his friend would recognize Kaname. "Spot for me!" He tossed his binoculars to him. "This is your chance to payback your tormentors."

"Oooo-ooo-oo-o.," Shinji said. "I'm so happyyy-yy-y." He put the fieldglasses up to his spectacles and began directing fire. This was like being in the military. If only there were Arm Slaves involved. There were a few episodes of friendly fire; but, he was doing his best. The combatants from both sides were mixed together, with a smaller number of girls somehow surrounding a larger group of boys, who were growing more and more frantic by the moment. Things were definitely not working out the way that they had foreseen. "Two degrees right… mid field range…."

Bam… bam… bam… bam… bam…

One of the baseball ringleaders took solid hits from four eggs, leaving him disoriented and an easy target for the nearest girls. One notable projectile carried the words 'Audie Murphy rules!'

"Thirty degrees left… far field….." Shinji continued. "Next to that creepy guy trying to fondle Rumiko."

Bam… bam… bam… bam… bam… was followed by Bam… bam… bam… bam… bam…

A boy from the soccer club doubled over in pain, just before the actor from Mr. Balls did the same. Neither would be standing up or singing naturally for a good while. One of the eggs bore a Sharpie tattoo that read: 'Hate is the real Cancer.'

Fifteen degrees near field, a cluster of five," Shinji said in a rush. "Fire at will!" One of the boys was named William, coincidentally. "Six more. Let them have it!"

Bam… bam… bam… bam… bam… (pause) Bam… bam… bam… bam… bam… (pause) Bam… bam… bam… bam… bam… (pause) Bam… bam… bam… bam… bam… (and so forth and so on).

Boys from all manners of clubs and activities were peppered with eggy projectiles, exploding with enough egg parts to feed the entire school breakfast for the next morning. One noteworthy egg was inscribed: 'Mardukas sucks!'

"Keep firing!" Shinj shouted, something catching his eyes. "More hostiles! Fire… fire… fire!"

Bam… bam… bam… bam… bam… (pause) Bam… bam… bam… bam… bam… (pause) Bam… bam… bam… bam… bam… (pause) Bam… bam… bam… bam… bam… (etc.)

Sousuke concentrated fire on the opportune targets that had wandered into his field of fire: the group of vengeful yanki who had joined up with an equally angry group of motorcycle gang members, whose comrades had been taken down in gruesome and ungodly fashion earlier that day. They too would eventually find their own way to any number of hospital Emergency Rooms.

"Hold your fire!" Shinj called out. "Fiendlies… sort of…."

Bam… bam… bam… bam… bam… (pause) Bam… bam… bam… bam… bam… (pause) Bam… bam… bam… bam… bam… (pause) Bam… bam… bam… bam… bam… (etc.)

Souuske kept firing, old grudges still roosting in his heart. Most of the shots struck the Vice Principal while missing the nearby Librarian. A few shots also struck Mr. Kogure, when Sousuke 'accidentally' moved the machine turret a bit to the right.

"FRIEND-LEES!" Shinji shouted. "MORE FRIEND-LEES!" He added "I guess."

Sousuke held his fire, going through a heated mental debate. Tsubaki and the Karate Club were serving as agents of justice, rushing from one group of girls to another, to offer their assistance in the most heroic and exaggerated manner possible. They all froze, seeing the bouncing boobs of a couple of girls whose natural enhancements were more than their sports bras could contain. Slack-jawed and drooling, they were viewed by one group of girls as perverts, and were soon the victims of their displeasure.

"Oh no… Tsubaki…." Mizuki ran to the karate boy's side. "You need mouth to mouth resuscitation." She could clearly see that he was conscious.

Sousuke had Misuki and Tsubaki in his mental crosshairs, but held his fire. A sudden rush of motion caught his eyes. A group of boys had identified him as a major threat, and the tennis ball machine as a potential game-breaking weapon. They ran at him full tilt.

Bam… bam… bam… thnn… thnn… thnn…

Three eggs had an equal number of boys tripping, falling, and cartwheeling. But, after those three successful shots, the egg hopper was empty. Thinking quickly, Sousuke dismounted and moved into action, a speedy white blur as Shinji dropped the binoculars and brought his video recorder back to his eye.

"Kick asssss-ssss-sss-ss-s…." Before he knew it, Shinji was filming Kyouko photographing the New Night of the Lepus. Then, he was filming Kyouko photographing him. Caught up in the camera duel, the two of them forgot everything else for a while, victims of their own habits.

Shinji was knocked over by a group of boys running from a larger group of girls. Kyouko was bumped aside and almost flattened by a pair of battling mascots. She was rescued by Ono-D, who grabbed her arm and tugged her to safety. She slumped in his arms, but not before snapping a photograph of his serious face. "Don't worry," Ono-D said, energetically. "It is my duty to keep you safe from harm."

"Shit!" Shinji said. It wasn't because he was in any kind of pain. It was because of how cliché and corny his friend sounded.

Sousuke, rabbit ears thrown back by centrifugal force, performed a martial arts move that looked like break dancing to everyone watching. The onrushing boys were stopped dead in their tracks and sent flying, ass over tea kettle. He borrowed Kaname's suplex move again, to put one boy out of everyone's misery, and then used a pile driver to finish off another.

Sitting on 'his' rump, he stared quizzically, seeing a small cat scamper past, followed by a small boy. "Please come back, Hideki!" That boy was Momotaro, of course. Following close behind the boy, having promised to help him catch his furry friend, there was a line of men dressed in black mourner's robes, with large red sashes.

Just as the marching band switched songs, taking up 'A Cruel Angel's Thesis' from Neon Genesis Evangelion, the young soldier jumped back on his steed, and set the treads spinning. He hurried back inside to gather up the remaining eggs.

His absence almost proved costly for the girls. The hardcore sports boys were not dissuaded by the opposing gender's gender in the slightest. No, it was quite the opposite. With no thought of chivalry or political correctness, they viewed the girls' violent actions as a blueprint, and as provocation and permission to truly cut loose. Bats… soccer balls… shinai… badminton racquets… and more were used as weapons, as was ink from Calligraphy club… fresh fruit and vegetables from Cooking club… and an entire full-length net from the volleyball court. The Wrestling team even carried out their largest competition mat, and began performing tried and true moves on the opposing girls.

Not growing any moss, Sousuke rushed back on the scene, replenished. In too big of a hurry to get back in the action, he neglected to scan the surround for possible threats. Two groups of boys converged from either flank, looking to knock him hard from his commanding perch. They would have succeeded, if not for the timely action of a bruised and brave collection of young men. Ironically, not knowing who the Rabbit might be, the members of the Kaname Chidori Fan Club did to the other boys what they had failed to do to Mr. Ciocio.

"Thank you for your service, citizens." Sousuke put his tracked vehicle into full gear and began a roving attack. Things had spread out enough to have given him avenues to roll down. As he watched, he realized what had caused the wide gaps in the fight. Ren had joined neither side, and had become trapped by both. Frantic, she awaited her doom, until a knight with shining glasses appeared. Walking slowly, as if he were the only one on the field, Atsunobu strolled towards the frightened girl. As he walked, the crowd parted as if they were the Red Sea, and the boy was Moses with his staff. He took off his coat and put it around her, to keep her safe from harm. They slowly made their way back to school, and the avenues filled in again.

The band wasn't the only group who maintained a neutral stance. The special effects members of the Theatre Club had come out late, but were determined to put their talents to work. What could possibly be a bigger opportunity than this? They set off sonic devices, designed to simulate cannon shots. They launched pyrotechnics, causing greats flashes of light in the sky, followed by ominous clouds of black smoke. They dumped large amounts of dry ice in huge barrels of hot water, producing vigorous bubbling water and a voluminous flowing fog. They moved from barrel to barrel in sequential manner, seeing that the peak effects of any container would last only five or ten minutes. The eerie blanket of vapor spread out over parts of the field, reminiscent of the fog seen in an early battle of 'The Last Samurai.'

"Maintain your line," Maya called out. "Hold your fire until my command!" She turned to look at Shiori, who tried to hide a limp, but couldn't conceal the big welt on th side of her face. "You stay in the rear."

"No disrespect," Shiori replied. "But you can shove that order up your ass!" She stayed by Maya's side. Tomomi and Rumiko walked over and stood at the flanks of that pair.

While those young ladies were staunch companions, that was not true of everyone, especial those girls who were not part of a team, and had never bonded with their club members. Catching sight of the boys in the fog, and seeing them as dread and powerful spectres, they threw their weapons too soon, or turned and beat a cowardly retreat.

"This is a problem," Sousuke said. The ringleader boys moved to drive the girls back. Those girls were quite willing to dish out pain; but, even after their thirty-minute Boot Camp, they were still allergic to cuts and contusions, bumps and bruises. Even with his firepower, he would not be able to drive off or incapacitate enough boys to keep the girls from being seriously stung. That is, he would not be able to do it alone.

He was not alone.

"Here we come to save the dayyyyy-yyyy-yyy-yy-y!" That was one of the Engineering Club members, wearing a backpack with a car battery, and carrying the Dazzler from HAL2000. He and a buddy had been over at cram school.

"There's no need to fear," another Engineering clubster called out. "Underdog is here!" He carried the defense project's Taser gun, hooked up to a battery he carried in the other hand.

"We'll help too!" A girl from the Gourmet club carried a huge metal cannister of red pepper in one arm, and tighly gripped a sizeable plastic scoop in her free hand. The girl next to her carried a similar cannister filled with black pepper.

"And us!" A boy and a girl from the Theater Club carried huge fabric fans atop stout wooden poles.

"Let's ride," Sousuke said, moving at a speed the other six could keep up with. That Magnificent Seven moved into action, with the six new arrivals watching as Sousuke sprayed the ground at the combatant's feet, to get their attention and to keep from injuring any more of the girls. The attack served its function well, causing the boys to disengage from their foes. They formed a defensive line; but, following the teachings of Sun Tzu, the moody military maniac would turn that strength into a weakness. Standing still resolutely, the virile boys merely presented an easier target for their strange opponents. They thought that they could simply dodge the eggs, the same way they would dodge a ball or dodge a wrench. They just might have been able to accomplish that feat, had the Rabbit been alone.

"Now, fan boy and fan girl!" Sousuke's command rang out. The boy and girl began moving their fans in great sweeping arcs, blowing huge amounts of air towards the boys. The boys laughed, finding the breeze quite nice.

"Pepper people!" Sousuke called out another order. Bot girls began scooping up spices, and threw them in front of the fans. Clouds of spices travelled like a colorful sandstorm, surrounding the chuckling boys.

"What the fuck!" each boy said something similar, eyes watering and bodies racked with coughs and sneezes. The spreading cloud kept the girls and their allies moving further and further back, out of harm's way.

"Geeks," Sousuke bellowed. "Go! Go! Go!" As the Dazzler went off once, twice, and thrice, and the taser gun fired five times in succession, Sousuke unleashed another punishing barrage, point blank. He had to pull up short. "Move, dammit! This is not your fight! You are aiding the enemy!" A number of newcomers, modern day Good Samaritans, had wandered into the field of fire, continuing a self-important rescue mission they had started while out of Sousuke's view. No real man could watch women being assaulted and do nothing about it.

Eggs splattered on an open umbrella, or ricocheted off, hitting friend and foe alike. Many other eggs were sliced into perfectly equal slices as they flew. Some were hacked into misshapen and broken bits. A few were pierced by well-placed bolts.

"I-" Masatami Hyuga was taken aback; but, his three stalwarts understood the lay of the land. Washio, Sammy, and Hyodo led their master off to another part of the field. They had been out looking for imagawayaki and kakigori vendors after finishing up at the hospital.

The Seven Samurai resumed their advance, whittling down the core group of boys two or three at a time. The girls ran out of spices, just before the couple manning the fans ran out of strength. Both batteries ran low. The final egg fragmented on a forehead.

"Fall back!" Sousuke called. Without weapons, the other six were vulnerable, and a weakness. They could be held as prisoners, not that such a ploy would stop him. It would simply make his life more difficult, and he had had more than his share of difficult for one day!

As he thought that thought, he heard his cell phone ring. "Crap!" The phone was inside of his bloomers, which were inside of his borrowed costume. "This… is…" He pulled an arm down through the rabbit's arm, slid it down his body, and reached inside his clothing. "Really… awkward…." Now he had to maneuver it up to his mouth, hoping he would be able to hear the caller speak. He could guess who it was. He had heard the same ring tone on Tessa's phone. "Sagara here," he said, not loud enough to be heard outside of the Bunny suit. He eyed the boys, making certain that no one was planning on charging at him.

It was the DaDanaan radio operator on the other end of the line. Politely, he asked Sousuke to hold, as he handed the headset over to someone else. It was Tessa, who hadn't been back onboard for long.

"Sousuke-" Tessa began. "-Are you still at school?" She hadn't walked past the ship's GPS log.

"Affirmative," Sousuke replied. He moved his head, abruptly dodging a kicked soccer ball.

"Great!" Tessa said in return. "That's where Arbalest is headed. The rocket should make delivery in a minute or two." Much like during the A21 encounter, the ARX-7 had been in a launch silo, just in case it might be needed in Tokyo. With the latest events, the best guess was that the Amalgam A.S. would strike at the school. With the black hair dye gone, Kaname Chidori was probably back on their radar for kidnapping. Leastwise, that was the possibility that she felt most compelled to cover for. She had no idea that she had chosen the right action for the wrong reason.

"I see," Sousuke said, emotions churning. The field was never going to be the best landing site during after school activities. That was a million times more certain, now. He would need to get on Arbalest anonymously, hoping it didn't flatten dozens of combatants when it touched down. If he had to fight, he would fight near his school, in a crowded neighborhood, during rush hour. Whatever he needed to do, he would have to do it in Kaname's body.

After hanging up with Tessa, he dialed a number and listened for a reply. Holding one hand up in front of the costume's eye slots, the glove now removed and in the Rabbit's mouth, he looked at one finger in particular. He noticed that the ring was a good bit more black than yellow.

An Onmyōji walking past the school looked up at the sky, a paper hitogata clutched in his hand. Reciting a swift prayer, he moved quickly from the vicinity, but not before offering a polite warning to a bedraggled-looking Boy Scout troop, one of whom began swearing up a storm.

"You're not a pedophile, I hope." The woman caught the wise man by surprise, both with her presence, and her words. "But… if you are… I hope you wear a condom!" She carried a paper sack filled with pamphlets describing safe sex practices. "If you don't, Auntie Iwasaki will punish you!"

The convergence of so many people that had crossed Sousuke's and Kaname's path could have been a happy coincidence, a sign that things were finally going to go their way. Could have been.

This is Sousuke and Kaname we are talking about, after all.

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The pot, filled to the gills with ingredients, finally came to a boil. But, that's hardly the finished meal. The main course is rolling in, inside a big metal cart. Can Sousuke finish with that, and make it back to the lab in time for dessert?

Tune in next time….