Chapter 12
Tetsu had watched his niece go from being barely able to breathe to already running circles around him in a short span of two days. Despite her healing, the town seemed to wither even further towards famine. He had tried his best to reason with what people he could, but the anger built up towards him and his father was something he could not quell. In the short time Tomo had recovered, he had already noticed the groups by the gate had dissipated. The number of drones continuously patrolling overhead had started to diminish as well.
There was a lingering thought that his encounter with the crew aboard the Mobile Carrier had been fruitful. He could not know for certain if the G.E.I. were getting ready to withdraw from the area. Junichi had been gone for days, and whatever he had been planning behind the scenes puzzled him. It was getting close to noon and Tetsu had already taken refuge back on the second floor. He could see Kagome staring off towards Tomo as she continued to frolic about the bottom of the Temple. For just a short time he could finally take his mind off the supply lines and the situation unfolding to see his family filled with joy. On the opposite side of the floor, Lord Nojuro had stared out the front window still entranced.
He was not sure if his father had ever left the town like he had months earlier or if he had other dreams that had been blown away by his responsibilities. The most he could do now was try to keep everything to together and hope the G.E.I. would help keep order. He knew the town had grown to despise them, but after meeting Nomad and his crew, Tetsu had not shared the same level of hatred. If anything, he had hoped that they would be able to help the others just as they had helped him.
While they all remained deep in their thoughts, Tomo had taken notice of Lord Nojuro sitting motionless in his lonesome. She started to creep towards him with her fists balled up. After getting near him, she leapt forward with her hands extended and clenched onto the sleeve over his right arm. Lord Nojuro was hardly alarmed and only returned with a bright smile.
“I got you!” Tomo shouted, still tugging at his arm.
“My heir hath come to strike me down and take my place.” He replied, trying to remain playful.
There was a subtle tremor in his hands as he tried to maintain an air of confidence during the interaction. Tetsu could sense the internal struggle within. There was an unspoken understanding among them that the situation was far more dire than they dared to admit.
Tomo started to rock her body against him, quickly saying, “You’re going to be king forever.”
“That would be something,” he muttered. As he tried to maintain his composure, Kagome too started to take notice of something brewing beneath the surface.
“I hope you’re not sick too, papa,” she said to him while trying to gain her footing. “I’ll make Tetsu go and have them fix you too.”
“I’m fine,” Nojuro replied, still fighting to keep a smile on his face. His eyes started to wander back towards the window while she approached him. “I’m very thankful that Tetsu is being more responsible. It’s more than I could hope for at this point.”
“We can work on the kleptomania next,” Kagome said quickly before finally approaching Tomo and pulling her away from him. After finally lifting the child and pulling her up into her arms, she concluded, “But, I think his head is in the right place at least.”
“It always was. I trust that he and Junichi will be able to help us. You all have far more potential than I.”
Tetsu listened from above, smiling as he felt stability starting to return to the house. Hearing his father’s praise had caused his heart to ignite, raising his spirits further. He leaned onto the railing, continuing to eavesdrop as Kagome and his father continued to speak. During their conversation, he had taken notice of a few of the guards starting to make a dash towards the front door. As soon as they made it up the front steps of the castle, they had stormed into the front, forming into ranks before Lord Nojuro.
“Sire, there is word that some of the carriages from Aiga are enroute to the market now!” the first guard addressed them after taking a bow.
The news had brought Tetsu to his feet and taken a heavy weight off his mind. Before they could continue, he grabbed hold of the railing and leapt over the other side. The jump was something he had done many times before. After landing on the bottom floor, he curled his legs to minimize the impact. The sounds of his feet striking the wood caught Kagome off guard.
She turned towards him and shouted, “I’ve told you not to do that!”
“This what we’ve been waiting for,” Tetsu finally spoke. He started to hurry towards the guards, excited at the news. “Junichi must have reasoned with somebody. It must have been him!”
“Let us keep calm,” Lord Nojuro declared with his usual booming voice. He kept his bearing and started to rise to his feet to give the next order. “Try to get to the market before the townsfolk. We cannot risk anymore chaos unfolding. The people are hungry, and it is in our best interest to maintain order.”
The guards quickly snapped to attention, giving a nod in response to the order. Tetsu rushed past them and towards the front door before turning back to Lord Nojuro.
“I’ll go with them!” he exclaimed. This was something he had wanted to see with his own eyes. He began to make a dash towards the exit and to the market.
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The scene at the marketplace was already starting to devolve into a frenzy. The townsfolk gathered around the first and only carriage. A sizeable portion of the populace had already watched their final rations starting to diminish for the past few days. By the time the first payload arrived, it had been eviscerated. Before Tetsu could show up, the supplies had already been bought up or snatched by the onlookers.
Minoru had been completely overrun before getting too far into town. From the front of his carriage, he tried to hold on while the crowd had gathered around. Dozens of hungry villagers had blocked him from being able to move any closer. He was losing control of the situation.
“We need to make sure we split these up right, not everybody has food!” Minoru shouted to them as he stood over the people.
His words failed to land. The hunger and anxiety of the townsfolk continued to surmount. By the time Tetsu had reached the edge of the crowd, he could feel the rage emanating from them. Each attempt to try and go in would be met with a strike.
“Everybody, calm down,” Tetsu screamed as he started to find his way around them. The carriage had rested near a stack of barrels that had since been drained. He grabbed a hold and tried pulling himself up to stand over them. “There will be more, we can’t let ourselves go like this!”
Tetsu tried desperately in vain to try and pull their focus away. He finally propped himself atop the stack below and shouted, “Please, listen to me!”
A voice had called out, “It’s one of the Nojuro!”
Initially, much of the crowd had ignored the calls. Tetsu shouted out again, finally managing to get the attention of the others. Just below his feet, a few of the citizens had started to gather around him.
“You sold us out to the invaders!” one had called out.
Tetsu had turned to the source of the cries and felt the barrel beneath him shake as the mob began to strike. All at once, he found himself clawing towards the air as the crowd knocked the barrels out from under his feet. The hay and the barrels beneath him had barely managed to cushion his fall. He rolled over onto his face, noticing that the crowd was approaching. Before the mob could descend on him, he pushed himself up to his feet.
The first of the group reached out towards his shirt, tugging away just as he took off into the town. The chase was on. The buildings around him had flown past as he rushed deeper into the town square. Each time he found himself getting further away, another person had been alerted. Nimbleness would only be able to get him so far with the avenues of escape diminishing each passing second. His feet had carried him to the desolate marketplace. In just a few moments, the inside of the market had begun to fill as the mob started to close off the other exits.
There must be another way, he thought while analyzing every possible escape route between him and the obstacles ahead. One of the men from the mob had gotten close enough to attempt a dive towards Tetsu’s feet.
In one swift movement, he leaped over the man, causing him to crash into the dirt. Tetsu sailed through the air towards a stack of crates to his right. Just as he planted his feet on them, he pulled himself up the stack—high enough to reach the roof of a nearby building.
Down below, the mob was already starting to try to topple the stack. Tetsu gently rested his eyes. The panic only made channeling from the Deep more difficult. His feet shook, but he knew he had to move. A few more townsfolk had started to push against the crates beneath him, slowly knocking him off balance. The Deep had started to slip away from him. What little control he had was used for one final leap towards safety. The few feet of space had hardly been enough to get a running start.
While in flight, the platform beneath him had finally taken a tumble. The crates smashed into the ground below, leaving him to scratch at the air as he jumped towards the building. In a stroke of luck, he grabbed over to the roof in front of him, just barely managing to get a hold of the ledge. Every muscle and tendon from his core up had started to burn as he struggled to pull the rest of his body up.
From below, one of the villagers had taken a leap towards him while he pulled the first half of his body up over the ledge. Tetsu ripped from his pursuer, pulling himself further up the roof. The man behind him only managed to keep his grip for a few seconds. A few of the shingles had given away, finally being dragged towards the ground with the attacker. From the top of the roof, Tetsu could see very few escape routes.
“Tetsu, over this way!” a familiar voice shouted to him from across the way.
It was Junichi. Just a few houses over by the old library, he had been posted atop the roof with a few others. By Junichi’s side was a few men with utility uniforms, unlike anything Tetsu had seen before. The shock of seeing them pulled Tetsu out of the clutches of dread momentarily and into a state of delirium.
Junichi shouted again, “They’re going to kill you!”
“Yeah, no kidding.” Tetsu muttered at last.
The only thing connecting the roofs between them were numerous sets of clotheslines. Each had barely been a half inch in width and made of thin metal wires. He bent over to grab hold of the closest, giving it a quick tug. The linen draped across flapped about. Each of the lines had been looped around a pulley system that barely provided a few feet worth of space between them.
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Tetsu reached his other hand out, securing his grip. He hesitantly lifted his first foot forward, placing it on the first. The pulleys next to him had started to spin from his shifting weight. The wire beneath his feet started to wiggle out from under him, causing him to struggle as crossed the gap.
The crowd had gathered below. Tetsu clung on, using his legs to shift the weight of the pulley system. With each push, the ropes slid further across the opening below, getting him ever so closer to the only exit. At the same time, Junichi climbed across the roofs connecting to the library and hurried to the line to assist.
“Pull me over already!” Tetsu screamed finally after securing his legs to the rope.
Junichi grabbed the lever next to the large metal wheel and began to force the rusty mechanism. The ropes spun, bringing Tetsu closer to safety.
“Come on, we don’t have long.” Junichi said to him, extending his hand.
Tetsu reached forward and grabbed hold in a frenzy. As he pulled himself up to the roof, the crowd began to move through the streets.
“Where the hell have you been?” Tetsu asked after taking a moment to catch his breath. Junichi shook his head, giving him a nod to follow him and the other troops. The brothers carefully navigated the rooftops, avoiding the rest of the crowd below. During the walk, Junichi had been reluctant to answer any questions or even speak. Tetsu asked again, “Did you know that Tomo was sick?”
Once again, Junichi had continued ahead without a response. He and the other troops had approached the library through the interconnected rooftops. Tetsu crossed over towards them, being mindful to not be spotted by the mob. On the top of the library was a door that had led to a small enclosing. Junichi grabbed hold of a small metal handle on the door, causing it to squeal he pulled it open.
“Hurry up.” Junichi said, ordering Tetsu and the others inside.
Upon entering the enclosing, Tetsu had been greeted to what looked like a whole command center. The attic of the library had been lined with a few tables containing everything from communication devices to firearms. Further up, a small topographical map of the area hung on the wall with several marks across it. Paxton and Mezrich had been seated over an improvised model of the town that had been set up on the floor. In several areas surrounding it, miniature flags had been stabbed into the surface. The other troops started to take their position by Paxton’s side.
“Is this our new recruit?” Paxton asked.
His accent was unlike anything Tetsu had ever heard. Junichi rested his hand in between Tetsu’s shoulder blades, gently pushing him forward.
“Potentially,” Junichi replied as he reached back into his pockets to warm his hands. “He isn’t in the loop with the other townsfolk yet. I had to keep him from getting torn apart.”
Paxton gave him a nod and said, “Fair enough.”
“What’s happening here?” Tetsu asked, observing the contents of the room again. Although the library was mostly deserted, he could tell that there were once far more people inside. While he continued looking through the room, Paxton quickly fumbled his hands around his chest, trying to find his pack of cigarettes. After a few pats, he turned to Mezrich.
“You got one?” he asked.
“I don’t smoke, sir.” Mezrich replied.
“Christ,” Paxton had been holding out for a few hours for a burn. He had foolishly left his back-up carton on board the Kerrigan before taking the mission. After a quick grunt, he looked over to Junichi and Tetsu. “Alright, no smokes for now.”
“Sir, I think my brother can help the resistance!” Junichi exclaimed.
Tetsu had been just as bewildered hearing his brother call another man ‘sir.’ Even more so, he had never expected Junichi to speak highly of him in front of a stranger. Paxton clenched his teeth, giving a crooked grin to the two.
“Yeah, that’s what I figured,” Paxton said with a hint of distress. He pressed his feet against the floor and began to slide his chair away from the table. “I hear you’re the stealthy type too. Does that about sum it up?”
Confused, Tetsu shook his head and asked, “What are you talking about?”
“I’m talking about you helping us find the enemy outpost. We need a stealthy guy to help us spot out all the belligerents,” Paxton stretched his legs out to help get to his feet. As he pointed the terrain on the table he added, “We know they have a few guard points in these few areas.”
“Why do you want to know where they are?” Tetsu pressed back. He started to think of Nomad and Megumi back aboard the Mobile Carrier and quickly began to deduce what was in store for them.
Paxton jubilantly cracked a smile at him and tilted his head before saying, “I wanna tell ‘em how good of a job they’re doin’.”
“Tetsu,” Junichi interrupted them. “The guards watching the temple report to me too. We know that you had contacted the enemy forces, and we have a lot of men counting on information you have.”
“You don’t need to go after them. They helped us out, the fight isn’t with them,” Tetsu started to puff up as he raised his voice. “Father is working out a deal with them. If you guys try to interrupt that, it could be dangerous!”
“I ain’t worried,” Paxton said to Tetsu. He slowly dragged his fingers through the few mounds of dirt on the model, creating a series of trenches. “We got the numbers to deal with ‘em. I just need you to point out on this here map I got, to the best of your ability, where the Mobile Carrier is.”
Tetsu froze in place. Junichi and Paxton may have pulled him out of a sticky situation, but he could not bring himself to give them that information. He thought of Nomad and Megumi as people worthy of redemption. Paxton lifted his fingers from the soil, giving it a flick to clear the soot from them. Very coldly, he continued to rub his fingers together while locking his sights onto Tetsu.
“Alright kid,” Paxton said softly. “My name is Major Rutherford Paxton and I’m the commanding officer of Liberation. I’ve been in this fight for a long time, and I’ve lost a lot of men too. I’ve made a lotta friends, and a lotta enemies. Right now, the enemy is outside the town and if we don’t act fast, we’re gonna be in danger.”
“We’re already in danger! The town is going insane from some foreigners setting up camp and now you’re wanting me to help you,” Tetsu had tried to hide his disgust. He turned back to Junichi, “Why are you trying to undermine father to help these guys?”
“Because father isn’t doing anything to help us! He let those bastards just walk in here!” Junichi shouted back to him.
“You’re mad about some foreigners taking over but now you’re answering to this guy,” Tetsu’s hands started to tremble as he spoke. “We don’t even know these people!”
“Yeah, you’re right, you don’t know us. So, how can you trust us?” Paxton replied.
“That’s exactly what I said.” Tetsu snapped back.
Paxton shrugged at the gesture. Still keeping calm, he slowly shined his teeth at him, revealing his pearly whites in his devious smile.
“I mean, if you had to choose between us and the guys currently starving your village to death, I’d say there’s no contest.” Mezrich said aloud.
“Yeah,” Paxton quickly shot back. “We only came here to get them out of here. In fact, soon as you tell us where that Mobile Carrier is, the sooner we can clear out.”
Tetsu pushed back once more, “I’m not going to do that, they helped Tomo. This is a tricky situation, but I’m not going to turn my back on my father or my friends.”
Paxton and Mezrich both cracked up in unison, cackling at the comment. Tetsu clenched his fists, standing tall against them as they continued.
“Yeah, your friends have been raisin’ all kinds of hell across the continent. Your friends wiped an entire village just because the guy running it used to fight for us,” Paxton uttered with some more intensity in his voice. He had towered over Tetsu. Everything from his rugged clothes to his middle-aged face had made Tetsu’s chest feel tighter. He stood fast while Paxton steadily crept over to him and continued, “Now, what do you think they’re going to do to the whole town when they find out your brother and I have been collaborating? Think smart kid.”
“Tetsu, just point it out already.” Junichi commanded.
Tetsu started to think of the crew at the Mobile Carrier and the looming danger. The situation continued to get worse—the people of the town were turning against him, and the only people that had been willing to help him were in danger.
“You can’t do this.” Tetsu declared, shaking his head as he looked down to the floor.
“The hell we can’t. Listen up kid, you have two options,” Paxton raised his voice again. “Cause we’re gonna start our attack very soon. We’re going to find that vehicle sooner or later, and whether you want to help will not change that.”
“I can’t do it, they helped me,” Tetsu’s voice started to crack. He started to step back from Paxton to plan his next move. “I’m not going to let you hurt them.”
“Let me tell you your options then; You can lead me there, and I’ll make sure nobody gets hurt. If you don’t, I’m going to find it and I can’t guarantee anybody’s safety,” Paxton said as he started to fold his arms, crossing them over his chest. He concluded, “The fate of the village ain’t sealed yet, son. You’ve already crossed the point of no return. Once the battle starts, you are gonna have to pick a side. Which is it gonna be?”
Tetsu could barely keep his eyes on Paxton as he laid out his demands. This was not the way his father would have wanted this to go. He very painfully turned back to Junichi, in disbelief.
“Are you really going to do this?” Tetsu asked finally.
He looked at Junichi’s face and could sense that he was trying to hide his embarrassment. He knew that this situation was getting messier and knew that Junichi was desperate to put an end to it. Junichi was a man who never answered to anybody, and at this point he was at the mercy of Paxton and his men.
“What choice do we have? Just help us and we can let things go back to normal.” Junichi said after placing his hand on Tetsu’s shoulder. Tetsu pulled back, releasing himself from his grip.
“Time’s up kid, take your pick.” Paxton said firmly as he stared him down.
Tetsu’s mind raced to make a sound decision. He knew that his father would lose control but had been indecisive in trusting Paxton. He knew that Nomad and the others were willing to help, but Paxton on the other hand was a wild card. He had no idea where he came from, why he was here, or what they had planned with Nojiri after the battle.
“Having to betray my friends so your battle won’t be messy isn’t much of a choice.” Tetsu said to Paxton, keeping his eyes fixated on Junichi. He had to make sure he had space to make an escape.
“Well, consider it more of an ultimatum. Last chance.” Paxton repeated himself once more. Tetsu took the time to channel into the Deep.
“Use your head, Tetsu. We can save the town and keep our family in power.” Junichi added.
Tetsu smiled and finally returned, “Power is nothing. The greatest possession you can have is your people.”
A plume of black ash rose from the floor beneath Tetsu as his body started to transform. Paxton had been taken off guard by the technique, wrenching back in fear as Tetsu started to sink into the floor.
“Tetsu, stop it!” Junichi shouted.
On the floor, a lone shadow had formed where Tetsu had once stood. Just as soon as it gained its shape, the mass flowed over towards the exit. The door swung open, allowing the shadowy mass to pass through. Paxton and Mezrich had been overwhelmed by the display and started to move towards the doorway.
“What the hell was that?” Mezrich immediately asked aloud, trying to make sense of what he had witnessed.
The two stepped outside onto the roof, scanning the surrounding area for any signs of Tetsu. Further down the road, Paxton had noticed Tetsu had already reverted to normal, only causing more dismay.
“You said he was stealthy, but why didn’t you tell me he could do that?” Paxton asked Junichi after stepping aside for him.
“I’m sorry,” Junichi replied. “I didn’t think about it.”
Paxton winced as he started to reach up towards his ear. He pressed his finger into the small metal earpiece wrapped over it and said, “Alright team, keep an eye out. We got one of the elder’s kids making a mad dash across the town, follow him.”
“Copy that,” a voice buzzed through the lingering silence. “I’ve got an eye on him.”
“Good work.”
The confirmation had made Junichi’s face start to turn pale. Once Paxton turned to face him, beads of sweat started to roll down his forehead.
“Pax, please don’t hurt him.” Junichi pleaded.
“Please,” Paxton replied with a laugh, stroking his moustache. “What kinda monster do you think I am?”