Chapter 8

Chapter 8

YEAR 2046

[Tezuka Kejinto (Falcon) - 20 years old]
[Skylar Lawrence (Nightingale) - 24 years old]
[Ryu Mitsukai (Owl) - 20 years old]

"You're getting married?!"

It had been a year since their first mission in China. The Sunny Wing Squad had been trying so hard to find any kind of evidence that either Japan or South Korea attacked the United States almost twenty years ago. During that time, Ryu, Tezuka, and Sky had nothing to do but often did some kind of difficult training sessions that provided them with any kind of preparation and stimulation of what the territories of their enemies would be like.

"So? Got a problem?" Tezuka asks, crossing his arms with his usual scowl on his face and leaning against the couch. They are taking a break from their recent training where they were searching for one of their stimulated leaders and rescued him in an area of Japan.

"You proposed to Akane last night? I thought you hated Asians?" Sky scratches the back of his blonde-haired head in confusion.

"No, I don't hate them. Why else would I work with Ryu, then?" Tezuka jerks his head toward Ryu, who scoffs in return. "I realized that not all Asians are too bad."

"I am not Asian! I am American!" Ryu yells angrily, making Sky chuckle lightly. "I was born and raised here!"

"But, but, I'm confused," Sky gets the conversation back on track about marriage. He frowns, "Almost every time I visit, you and Akane get in big fights. It doesn't make any sense. How did you propose without a ring? Why are you marrying her then?"

"Don't you think it's a little too fast for you guys to get married? You've only been living together for a year and dating for three months," Ryu says with concern in his tone.

"That's none of your concern," the lavender-haired soldier shrugs his shoulders carelessly. "I asked her to marry me, and she said yes. That's our story."

~*~

LAST NIGHT

"I asked you to do the dishes today. You even agreed to... so why didn't you do them?! Why are they still dirty in the sink?" Akane asks, her angry fists on her hips.

"I said I'd do them, but not when. I'll do the dishes after the game ends," Tezuka stretches out his tired arms and resumes watching his precious HD television.

"You've been watching that football game for the past two hours! Don't you have anything better to do other than just serving your so-called secret squad?!" Akane yells as she does a quotation mark in the air for 'secret squad'. "This is not what I signed up for when I came here with you! Get your ass up and get started with washing the dishes!"

"I respected your wish by bringing you over to my country, even though you threatened me to. Suck it up, woman!"

"I wish I had a gun because then I'd be shooting your ass out of your own house!"

"You are just an immigrant, so you don't have any right to kick me out!"

"I can, and I will!"

Tezuka gets up from the couch quickly and stomps toward Akane, who does not even flinch at all. "If I had known this would happen, then I'd rather get shot by you back then!"

Akane glares at him and does not back away from him at all. "Is it because I am a woman? Is that why you decided to take a pity on me back there?"

“You, a woman?” He scoffs. “I was raised without a mother. I was taught to treat everyone as equal. You think being a woman makes you so special?”

“I saw how you looked at me when you first barged into my tent! I was surprised that you did not take me right there.”

“Why? Did you want me to?” Tezuka gives her a mischievous smirk.

“Why not?” She returns a smirk, wrapping her arms around Tezuka’s shoulders with her forehead on his. “You had done that to other women before we started dating. Sleeping with them and then leaving them on the next day just like that. Yet… you never did that to me. Is it because I’m an Asian? Is it because you regret that you used to loathe Asians and never gave them a chance? Or maybe --”

“Do you want to marry me?”

Akane freezes at the question, completely speechless. After a long minute, she grins widely and then places a light kiss on his lips, “Yes.”

~*~

“What is it, ma’am?” Tezuka crosses his arms with an usual scowl on his face.

“The reason why you’ve been called to my office is very important. Please sit down, soldiers,” Lt. Colonel Danielle Medina makes a hand gesture at three chairs, which tells three soldiers that they may sit down.

After doing so, Sky scratches the back of his head nervously. “You look very serious, ma’am. Something big happened, didn’t it?”

“That’s correct,” Danielle sighs lightly, as she is going through the paperwork. “It’s been crazy for the last few days. It’s rumored that France has joined South Korea and Japan’s sides.”

“France?” Ryu asks in surprise. “It can’t be true. They have been our ally for the last hundreds of years. Why now?”

“Like I said, it’s a rumor,” Lt. Colonel Medina rubs her throbbing forehead. “However, Colonel Alvarez insisted that we check it out there.”

“We are going to France?” Tezuka asks, somehow holding back the surprised tone.

“Yes.”

“What is it exactly what we are supposed to do while we are there?” Ryu asks.

~*~

PLOUGONVELIN, FRANCE

“Have you found anything yet?” Tezuka is holding his binoscope to his eyes, trying to find at least something on the ocean. 

“I think I found it!” Sky exclaims loudly only to get a loud shhh from Ryu and Tezuka. “Sorry! One o’clock right there! I think it’s an island or something.”

“He’s right,” Ryu flashes a big grin.

They have been lying on the highest hill they could find ever since the nightfall has begun. The city of Plougonvelin had been abandoned for the past decade due to the economical collapse. So, all there was left was ruins and abandoned buildings. 

Except a possible French fort that may be still standing by.

“So, how do we get there, Falcon?” Sky asks, as he glances at Tezuka.

“Hmmm,” Tezuka rolls over and takes out the map. “I see. That place is called Fort de Bertheaume. We have about 2 km to walk. It may take us at least half an hour to get there. The real question is…”

“How to get there when there is no bridge, yes?” Ryu puts down his binoscope with a quiet sigh. “It was destroyed a few years ago, so there is no way to get there except a boat or helicopter…”

“We swim, then.”

“I knew you’d say that,” Sky almost complains. “Do we really have to?”

“Yes, you blockhead,” Tezuka snaps at him. “We sneak into that fort, but we have to be careful. There may still be lost citizens around. The ones who never left this place after the fall.”

"Yeah. Falcon is right. Someone may sneak on us and attack us just for the sake of surviving. They may either want money or food. Or even worse," Ryu places the belt of his sniper rifle over his shoulder and carefully gets up from the ground as if he does not want to be seen. "Shall we go, then?"

~*~

"Seriously though... do we really have to swim?"

"Night..." Tezuka presents a warning in his tone. "What are you so afraid of? Water?"

They are standing on the empty beach with loud waves crashing every five seconds. Tezuka is tapping one of his feet on the wet sand impatiently.

"Actually..." Sky scratches the back of his head nervously, trying to avoid the eyes of his comrades. "It's not that I'm afraid... It's just... I can't swim."

Ryu cannot help but burst out into a loud laughter, which is then angrily shushed by the leader. "Sorry," He mumbles, not even looking apologetic at all.

"If you can't swim, then why didn't you say so?" Tezuka rubs his throbbing forehead. "We can't abandon our mission like that."

"I had no idea that the base would be on the sea!" Sky almost exclaims. "When they said France, I thought we were going to, you know, like the mainland or something like that. Like... Paris!"

"You're such..." Tezuka stops himself from completing his sentence and turns away from the blonde-haired idiot. "Why did they even hire an idiot like you -- oh right, you're our medic, after all."

"Well, he IS our medic. What do you suggest, Falcon? You are the leader of the squad, aren't you?" Ryu says. "It is none of his business though. We would never have thought of the French military base being on the sea either."

"Well, then... Night is staying. I'm going to barge into the base alone. I'm the assailant, after all."

"No, you can't do that, Falcon."

All three soldiers almost jump startled at a sudden voice speaking directly into their ears from their radio devices.

"Hummingbird, you scared the crap out of us," Ryu says.

"Sorry," Lt. Colonel Medina almost giggles but resumes being serious. "Falcon going to the base alone is not the option. It is way too risky. You've been training for a couple of years, and we can't afford to lose anyone at all. Make a better strategy, but make sure that it is more careful. We almost lost Nightingale last time, remember?"

"Whose fault is it?" Tezuka crosses his arms with a deep scowl on his face.

"Why are you always picking on me?!" Sky whines.

"Falcon, you are the leader. I suggest you make the best decision in order to minimize the risk. After all, we need all three of you," The Lt. Colonel says.

Three soldiers glance at each other with questioning looks on their faces.

"Fine." Tezuka gives an annoyed sigh. "I suppose I can come up with another plan."

"I know -- We all swim. Night has to learn one way or another," Ryu says, followed by Tezuka nodding his head in agreement.

"No!" Sky cries. "What if I drown?!"

"We all float, right, Owl?" Tezuka asks and receives a 'yes' nod from Ryu.

"It will be alright, Night. We will save you if you ever drown," Ryu gives him a big grin. "We have to complete the mission no matter what --"

They turn their heads fast toward a high-pitched scream. Almost automatically, they take out their own pistols and aim them at wherever the voice came from.

A woman is screaming and sliding down the sandy hill. With a soft thud, she falls on her bottom with a loud 'ow'.

"Show your hands!" Tezuka demands loudly.

"Falcon, it's just a woman," Ryu says but has not put away his weapon yet. "We should let her go."

"Akane almost killed me. Well, she could have done so if I never agreed with her deal," Tezuka tightens his grip on his gun. "Don't ever underestimate anyone. Not even a woman."

The woman begins speaking in French nervously, but as her instincts tell her, she raises her hands in the air.

"She speaks French. How are we supposed to tell her to go away?" Sky asks. "Or what are we supposed to do?"

"I... Owl, do something," Tezuka jerks his gun toward the woman. "Scare her away."

"Er, ok?" Ryu begins making his steps toward the frightened woman. "Hey, can you leave? Just... pretend you never saw us.”

She gives him a concerned look on her face, as if Ryu was going to attack her or worse.

“Shoo! Shoo!” Ryu makes a gesture that tries to tell her to go away. “Can’t you understand me, ma’am? You have to go.”

“Um, good morning,” she says nervously. “Mon nom est Rosa Labelle. Quel esta votre nom?”

Ryu turns to his comrades and shrugs his shoulders. “Should we leave her alone?”

“Tell her to forget what she saw,” Tezuka yells back.

“Ok…” The black-haired soldier turns back to the woman, but before he says so, he takes a few seconds to look up and down at how thin she is. He wonders if she has eaten anything for the past few days.

“Rosa,” the woman tries again as she points at herself.

“Rosa? Is that your name?” Ryu smiles at her. “What a beautiful name.”

“Ryu!” Tezuka yells angrily.

“Can’t we just take her with us?”

Tezuka and Sky both share the same confusion on their faces.

“Did you just hear what you said, Owl?” Sky asks.

“Why not? Falcon took the Chinese woman with him,” Ryu shrugs his shoulders.

“She is different! She was a soldier, but that French woman is not. We… We are on the mission. We can’t just take whoever we want!” Tezuka says.

“But she seems to be lost!”

Tezuka gives him a hard stare. “You want to take her with you? Fine, then. Take her back to the United States and tell your superiors that you were not able to complete the mission!”

“Falcon, wait!” Sky cries.

Ryu scratches the back of his head, in his own deep thoughts. He only recently met the stranger, let alone a woman. He could have left her alone and focused on his mission.

But that does not feel right. That is not how he was raised and taught. He was always told by his mother about how his father led the elite squad to the victory against Planet Volesmash by just following his own heart.

“Well?” Tezuka crosses his arms, one of his feet tapping impatiently on the sandy ground.

“I’m sorry, Falcon,” Ryu shakes his head, avoiding the eyes of his leader. “I’m staying with her, but --”

“That’s a brilliant idea!” Sky exclaims, interrupting him suddenly. “You know he is the sniper so he can stay here! The island isn’t too far, right? Can you shoot at this long range? Right, right?”

“Oh!” Ryu is almost taken back by such a great idea. “Night, you’re a genius!”

Tezuka sighs lightly as he is rubbing his throbbing forehead as usual. “How sad. Such a blockhead saved your sorry ass. Fine. Night and I will go to the island. You go with the woman to the highest ground you can find.”

“Great, thanks!” Ryu exclaims. He turns to the lady and reaches out his hand. “Come with me, Rosa, okay?”

Rosa smiles at him and takes Ryu’s hand.

~*~

“Rosa, make sure to stay with me the entire time, okay? I can’t keep an eye on you for the entire time,” Ryu says as he lays down on the wet ground next to the sniper rifle that was already set up.

Receiving no response, he glances at the cute woman. “C’mon,” He waves his hand as if he wants her to come closer. “Sit here,” He pats on the ground on the other side of him.

“Sit?” Rosa asks as she sits down.

“Yes, sit,” He flashes a big grin at how cute she is with a French accent. He turns back to his rifle and begins to adjust the scope, trying to find the island.

Suddenly, something cold on the back of his head makes him freeze.

“Rosa?” Ryu softly says, not turning around yet. Immediately a second later, a loud bang makes him fall to the ground.