Chapter 11 (1/2)

Chapter 1: To Come Home One Day

“Well then, I’uns fro all around her In this very world, the an to appear

Froaoka Renge, Natsuu

The usualcannons What a sound to wake up to “Good ht to myself

Outside, a large bridge spanned across Tokyo Bay An armored train ran across the tracks laid on top of it Its wheels shrieked as the train ran, and its attached revolving turret in Actually, no… To say it was about to begin was incorrect— the battle had never ended

The war constantly dragged on Soldiers fought before I went to sleep, fought as I dreaht as I woke up This conflict really had no foreseeable end It was a conflict where war couldn’t be distinguished fro used, and where the chi who it was for

The snipers headed towards the battlefield— their war cries echoed with the gunshots A single voice in the ed to the leader, still young in age, and perhaps the sole reason why there were so irls in the troops The voice was filled with ambition, but also had a tint of complacency From the tone of her voice, they probably did not lose the battle However, they did not win it, either It was a never-ending war to defend against the capture and recapture of the city and the sea

The enemies were called <unknowns> They were huo driven humans to the brink of destruction Encounters with these creatures always ended up in conflict— there was no compromise These conflicts were so routine now that they seeame, rather than be rooted in reality

In fact, only the sounds from the battlefield were realistic The ah the air These sounds were so perfectly orchestrated on the battlefield that if judged froet a full score However, there were a few reasons why that ht not be the case: One was that this battlefield really didn’t need to be orchestrated Another was that the sounds were all over the place Most importantly, however, was that the real battlefield wasn’t in the front lines, but rather at the back with the logistics ofall the weapons and ammunitions

“Hey…” he said as he tried to getThe continuous sounds of phone rings, email notifications, and computers seeusa, you know…” he added on, trying to get my attention

I instinctively gave hi called, and turned towards hiht in front of his desk, but he was sitting down in front of me with his arlasses In the background, I could hear the s clattering because of the wind There was another source for all the clattering, though It was not the sound of hiine, but rather, it was the sound of his foot tapping against the floor I suppose that this is what’s known as the restless leg syndrome

He kept prodding, “Are you really listening?”

“I really am,” I responded, exhausted

With his thick voice and at this distance, I absolutely had to have heard hihed deeply at my response He exhaled, and his slender build becalasses and raised his eyebrows As he did, I was able to see the scar above his right eyelid and his nose pretty clearly From what I could see, his nose didn’t look out of place His face as a whole, actually, was relatively sy, and his alh they were a bit cold However, his twitchy eyes showed his nervousness, so his manliness was toned down a notch

His fashi+on sense was relatively good as well Tight collars popped out of his black jacket, and a gold watch peeked fros pierced his ears as well If he were in his tank tops, not only would his biceps show, but also his proud tattoos that were a cut above the rest He was also the epitohts In any case, his description was so of that nature He was smart, yet at the same time, wild If I had to describe it in a phrase… it would be soster

“Hht?” he said as he shook his head “You were only listening But I’ whether or not you understood what I just said?”

So that hy he looked displeased Reading between the lines was pretty hard, and I wasn’t one for compassion

“Look, I’ this just because I want to, you know” Urushi+bara took off his glasses, and started wiping the lenses with a cotton handkerchief He got straight to the point “Yesterday I told you to report the results of the outer businesses to the section chief, right? Even today you haven’t done that at all, Chigusa”

“You were keeping an eye on me, huh…” I responded Why would he do that? Was he one of , then do soruave me a sharp look

“Hahh?” he said, looking confused

“It’s nothing…” I responded, quickly A threat froster was really scary…

“Why haven’t you given your report yet?” he said sharply “I won’t get mad, so tell me”

I felt that whenever people had to say that they wouldn’t get mad, they were already plenty mad

“I did email my report earlier…” I murmured, but he wouldn’t have any of it

“Well I wouldn’t know about it if you eht? I never did say to only send it to the section chief We do things as a team, after all,” he explained “Why, then? Why just only send it to the section chief? Did you think it was okay not to tell me?”

“I’m sorry…” I interjected

He still looked stern “It’s not like I want you to apologize I just want you to tell ain in the future, okay? Tell me”

I looked at him, amazed “Umm… I mean I did cc you in that email…”

“No excuses!” he shouted

The hell was he talking about? I responded with my reason just like he had asked, but he continued to scold me

“Why won’t you just take responsibility for your ize and reflect a bit and I’d be fine with it”

What the hell? Didn’t he say earlier that he didn’t want an apology? Wow, this guy… Not only were his words usually different than his actions, but right nohat he said was different than what he meant Well, this does happen froet to me I neednto be more of a smartass, I think Like if I was asked, “Is the food ready yet?” I would respond with a smile and say, “Wow, you already ate last !” In other words, I need to give off a snarkier is would be quite different

“In any case, I don’t reeted with his antique colasses and blinked two, no three tilasses back on with a really unpleasant look He sighed deeply, perhaps just for show “I mean, since you were so close, why didn’t you just tell me directly? Did you not think that maybe I could have overlooked the email? Haven’t you learned the proper way to report and consult? We ? Do I make sense?”

I couldn’t answer— he was indeedsense… now that was a bit strange

“Are you listening, Chigusa?” He was stillfuss He loosened his already loosened necktie even more and cracked his neck

Wait a second, I thought This can’t be happening Last tiot about it completely, and we ended up in an endless debate of whether or not I reported it That’s why this time I sent it by email… after all, he was the one who ordered me to do it this way!

My thought process was interrupted after he hit his desk with a bang and shouted, “Chigusa! Chigusa Kasumi!”

“Yes, I’,” I listlessly responded

He continued on “Then, why didn’t you respond to ht? It would then be proper to respond, wouldn’t it?”

Yes I understand Roger that Acknowledged Certainly Will do… NoUrushi+bara would keep at it until I answered in a way he deemed acceptable That’s why it’s the same whether I answer or not

“Yes,” I finally ended up saying Even knowing all that, I answered anyway, out of courtesy There’s be a , so I wanted him to finish up quickly Urushi+bara, however, seemed to want to talk to me even more

He pleaded, “Please It’s already been half a year since you caht?”

“Yeah,” I responded, but in my view, it’s been only half a year

“I don’t kno they did it in the s now is unacceptable,” he continued

I quickly corrected him “Um, but I wasn’t even active in the military…”

He looked unfazed “Well, that’s no surprise You probably dropped out early, huh,” he said as he sighed heavily again He shook his head and gave a tsk “In any case, since you are in our branch, you need to do things our way”

So he says, but I don’t recall even being told how they do things here Thanks to this ), I was thrown into the workplace without an ounce of training They assigned , toldwhat others did Despite Urushi+bara only saying things like, “Don’t think, feel!” I would soe to complete my work He would also make me stand at attention in front of his desk and scold o

Because of that, this becaht around here No one really cared at all, though Even now as things heated up, no one really paid us any attention The office continued to be filled with the sounds of phone rings and e at their desks would go, “…………… Hah… tsk” They would repeatedly press their keyboards with a click clack, then sigh and sether repeatedly

“My apologies I’ll ies I’e somehow Yes, yes, I’h, since they were holding their sto their already sweaty foreheads

Suddenly, I heard another voice “The person in charge on your end said it couldn’t be done, but if you’d hear me out, that’s a lie Even if he says it can’t be done, just do it And once you’ve coht? In other words, he’s lying,” he said, grinning I bet he thought he said soht out After all, he would often say things in that way to me as well He looked old, and if I remembered correctly, his name was Watami

Everyone was frantically doing their oork that nobody see scolded at the corner of the office Ughh… Looks like nobody’s cohtothers, as this workplace desperately needed some assistance

In fact, the ones who needed the most assistance were probably the few people who seeing in soht now on a tray, was one such person She probably made some tea for both me and Urushi+bara to help soften the tension between us After all, she did look quite worried while she listened to Urushi+bara talk She nervously walked as if she had lost her bearings