Chapter 15
Nojiri was a lively scene, hundreds of towns folk brought together in high spirits with Junichi’s election. The center of the town where the stage loomed was geared up for a ceremony. Paxton and members of Liberation were already gathered and preparing for the transfer of powers. Tetsu watched from the outskirts of the crowd, as far from the stage as possible.
He was draped in an old cloak, filled with rips and tears from its many years of use. While among his people, he did not feel that animosity that once graced him, but still never could shake the fear of being vulnerable to such a situation. He kept low, near some of the shops that miraculously evaded destruction, watching the stage.
In the next few hours, Liberation would be leaving with their ships. With them, that would include Nomad and his friends, and most importantly Rei. There was a drive for him to take a risk and go that was only clouded by that anxiety of leaving his family behind again. It was his brother’s biggest day; one he could not miss.
However, with the departure coming, he found that his mind was already made up. He was going to depart, but he could not face his family.
I owe them something.
There was some movement on the stage, followed by some activity in the crowd. First some shouting, then some applause, and then Junichi took the stage. The moment he graced the crowd with Paxton flanked at his side, the crowd exploded in an enthusiastic roar. Even in his duress, Tetsu found himself in awe, applauding along with the crowd.
The energy of the people around him lifted a weight from his shoulders. Junichi standing before the crowd nearly brought Tetsu to tears. The next generation of Nojiri was set to begin. Tetsu was realizing the reality of the situation and accepting that he was not going to be part of this chapter.
He looked back up to Junichi, getting one last glance at him. In the final moment, he could notice a quick change in Junichi’s gaze to one of perplexity. Kagome was not at his side, nor Tomo. Tetsu looked through the audience once more and let out a sigh as he tried to swallow his guilt.
He later joined the crew at the Mobile Carrier, getting one more look at the inside. Nomad and Rowan gathered to help prepare the ship for the people of the town, ensuring that there would be no possibility that the G.E.I. would never be able to operate the craft again. It was to remain in Nojiri as a trophy for their victory among many other things.
While they operated the controls, Megumi was finally conscious, and able to roll herself around by wheelchair. Every word and movement caused her to wince. While she made the final preparations, she seemed to appear melancholy while looking at the deserted interior of the vehicle. Its metallic scent and cold walls would serve as a reminder of her time on board with Nomad and the others. Her final decision to change sides and join Liberation was made here.
“I think I might miss this stupid thing, oddly enough.” she remarked.
“Not me,” Nomad chuckled. “I hated spending the night in this little coffin.”
“It wasn’t all bad, think of all the fun we had.”
“Fun in a terrible not at all fun kind of way, I guess.”
Megumi cracked a smile before gritting her teeth as the pain in her stomach started to light up again. She clenched her abdomen once more before leaning into her chair.
“You should have gone to the ship already,” Tetsu called out to her as he watched her groan. “Just because you can roll around, doesn’t mean you should.”
“You guys need me.” she said before letting out another grunt and adjusting herself in her seat.
“I’m surprised you decided to stick around,” Nomad said. “I figured you would be with your brother for that big victory celebration.”
Tetsu shrugged it off, not bothering to reply to him. He wanted to help Megumi and the others as best as he could. They had a little under an hour before they would be loading up and heading to Asiana.
“You’re not worried about saying goodbye or anything?” Rowan asked as she placed her hand on his shoulder. The gentle contact made him flinch.
“I don’t really know how to tell them I’m leaving again,” Tetsu said to her. He looked back up to her, barely making eye contact. Nervousness filled him, only causing him to look back down towards the floor before he continued. “When my mom passed away, I sort of ran out. It really hurt. Honestly, I don’t know if going with you all would be the right decision. Now that dad is gone, and the town is in this transition period, I’m afraid I’ll just hurt them again.”
“I don’t think there would be any hard feelings if you stayed,” Nomad said. “You have a long life ahead of you. There’s nobody forcing you to go.”
He looked back over to Nomad and started to trail off in thought. During their chatter, the control panel started to light up once more, this time revealing some activity outside of the ship. Nomad turned over towards it to see a small rectangular video feed begin to digitize across the screen. Once the image became clear, it revealed Kagome and Tomo both walking towards the side hatch.
“Well, speak of the devil,” Rowan said aloud. She gave Tetsu a soft punch to his arm, causing him to wince. “Trust me on this one, you’re going to want to say something if you’re going. You have an hour.”
“I don’t think they will like it.” Tetsu replied.
“Well, you won’t know until you say it.”
Before Tetsu could continue, the side door on the Mobile Carrier started to come to life. The inner mechanisms of the vehicle started to whir, letting out a grinding sound as the side hatch started to glide to the open position. Before the door could open, Tomo squeezed through. Her eyes lit up with excitement seeing Megumi and the rest of the crew together.
“Hey little one, how are you feeling?” Megumi asked with a warm smile on her face.
“I’m sick.” Tomo replied, slightly stumbling over her words.
She was already able to run circles around her mother and barely had any difficulties breathing. It was still a complete 180 from her condition just a week prior. While she started to make her way over towards Megumi, Kagome made her entrance. Tetsu quickly rose to his feet, trying to mask the struggle within.
“Did you skip out on the ceremony too?” Tetsu asked.
“I have been overwhelmed, it’s too much for me.” Kagome replied.
“I was never a fan of the noble lifestyle.”
“We know,” Kagome tried to keep a smile on her face with the cold delivery. Even with the developments of Nojiri and the current situation, Tetsu knew that she was still bitter about him having walked out the first time. However, Kagome cast her gaze on him and continued, “I hear the outsiders are leaving soon.”
“Yeah, they are.”
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“I heard you were going too.”
“I am,” he was hesitant with the reply. Deep down he could sense some nervousness hidden behind her composure, but he had to give her his reasons. He tried with every fiber of his being to keep his thumb from his mouth and to try to reflect his determination. “I know that’s not what you wanted to hear, but I have to do this.”
“Tetsu,” she replied, her voice was steady. “I understand. You have a strong will, a strong sense of duty, and I think mom and dad would be proud that you’re standing up for something.”
Tetsu knew that he was walking out again. As he continued to speak of his departure, he noticed a fleeting glimpse of discomfort in her eyes—a subtle shift in her demeanor. Even for a fraction of a second, he could see a subtle break in her usually steady composure. He reached out to her, gently placing his hand on her shoulder.
“I’m going to be ok. Liberation needs all the help they can get, and I don’t think there’s anything they can throw at us that they haven’t tried already.” He assured her.
“I know,” Kagome managed a small, forced smile, masking her concern as she spoke. “Just promise me you’ll be careful out there. I don’t want to lose you too.”
He nodded solemnly, appreciating the understanding between them. At last, he pulled her close to give her a hug. There was no shaking the weight he put on her shoulders from his decision. Tetsu tried to hold back his tears before finally going to say his goodbyes to Tomo.
“Well, little one, I’m going to need you to take care of mom for me, ok,” Tetsu said after leaning down to Tomo. “I need you to take good care of Kona too, she’s your dog now.”
The young girl only nodded back to him and raised her arms to him to accept his embrace, for what they hoped would not be the final time. Megumi felt some tears starting to bead up in her eyes, and gently brushed them onto her hand.
“Tomo,” Megumi spoke aloud, getting her attention once more. She turned towards the control panel of the Mobile Carrier as she remained steady in her chair. “If there is anything wrong, you and your mom need to talk to Control. If you help take care of her, she’s going to take care of you.”
Tomo smiled, giving her a nod of excitement finally knowing that she had access to see the onboard AI assistant. The crew all prepared to leave, finally getting ready to embark for the mainland. Once Tetsu stepped out into the forest again, he got one more look at Tomo and Kagome, thinking of Junichi back in town.
“I’m going to meet you all at the ship, I have something to do.” He called out to them before turning back towards town.
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Junichi could not find himself alone in his new position. Each moment was spent with one of his appointees or one of the many noble guards. Now, he was overseeing the next project in Nojiri, the reconstruction of the Nojuro Temple. He found himself in the library, finally taking some solace in being able to see Liberation and the outsiders vacating Nojiri. Two of the townsfolk gathered with him, both engineers, to help oversee the construction. He looked down at the new blueprints, drawn completely on papyrus with a pine-based ink.
“How long would it take to build this?” Junichi asked, trying to show them his attention, but still finding his thoughts wandering.
Looking at the new design felt surreal. He was slowly starting to feel overwhelmed, finding himself thinking of the many struggles ahead. More so, he still felt himself dealing with the weight of his actions. Just like Tetsu, he did what he thought would ensure the survival of his people. For better or for worse, the town was still thriving with high spirits. Before the engineers could continue, the library doors opened once more, revealing Tetsu.
The moment Junichi laid eyes on his brother, he rose from his seat. The weight slowly began to come loose while Tetsu approached him. With a quick wave, he ordered the two townsfolk away, leaving Tetsu and Junichi alone.
“I thought you were already with the others?” Junichi inquired, maintaining a bright smile on his face.
“So you’ve heard,” Tetsu replied, turning away from him to hide his shame. He started to wander around the table, slowly glancing at the new designs for the Nojuro Temple. “I didn’t know what you were going to say, so I was afraid to tell you.”
“It’s your choice to make. You’re a man now. I’m glad that you were enough of one to tell me.”
Tetsu smiled back at him, replying, “I appreciate your kindness. I was worried about leaving until I saw your ceremony.”
“You were there?”
“Not for the speech,” he shook his head, some regret reflected on his face while he spoke. “I saw them cheering for you when you walked up. It reminded me of father.”
Junichi could feel the sincerity in Tetsu’s words. He could not respond, only instead feeling frozen at the sight of Tetsu’s new transformation.
Tetsu continued, “I thought with everything that happened, you were going to fail us, but here we are. I thought we were going to be torn apart, but instead they embraced you, they chose you. You’re the new leader of Nojiri and I am sorry I will not be there for that.”
“Your purpose is greater than this.”
Tetsu nodded, eyes starting to glimmer as tears began to form. He stepped over to Junichi, finally reaching out to receive his embrace. Junichi would do his best to ensure that Nojiri became stronger than what it was and knew Tetsu’s future was out of his hands now. As Tetsu pulled back, Junichi look back towards the opposite wall, hearing more commotion starting to begin.
“They have to be leaving any minute now.” Junichi said.
“I know,” Tetsu replied, finally taking a deep breath and standing strong before him. “Until we meet again.”
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Rei found herself still reminiscing over the countless memories she had inside the valley. She knew that Nojiri was always an option, but deep down her heart burned to finally resume her pursuit of Vic. After being defeated by Susumu, she knew that there was much she needed to learn. Following Susumu’s attack, she found herself slowly beginning to reestablish her connection to the Deep. The thought of going into the battle with Vic without that power only raised her anxiety.
However, she was confident that she would be able to become stronger. The legendary Hideo-Jin bloodline flowed through her veins. With her newfound clarity from the battle, she was certain that once she was back in shape, she would be a force to be reckoned with. There would be no mercy for her next enemies. Susumu’s words still haunted her, only reminding her that she would have to be as ruthless as the people who once tried to kill her.
“You about ready to go?” Paxton asked as he stepped towards her with another cigar in hand.
“I’m as ready as I will ever be.” She replied.
“Are you excited?”
“Just a little,” she shook her head, still feeling anxious. There was a whole new world out there, and more importantly she continued to think of finally seeing her mother. “What’s my mom like?”
“She’s something else, let’s say that. I think you two are gonna get along real nice.”
Rei smiled back to him, feeling a sense of warmth with the drawl in his delivery. She finally joined his side and followed him towards the dropship. At the edge of Nojiri, the commandeered dropship along with the Munger awaited their departure. Both vessels were loaded. Their engines rumbled as they prepared for the flight. With the Kerrigan out of commissions and completely stripped of its parts, the crew all would have to prepare for one cramped flight back to the mainland.
It was expected for them to take around seven hours to make it to the rendezvous, and they would have to fly cautiously. Somewhere in the airspace, the Litvyak and Vic were awaiting to intercept. On the mainland, they would finally be united with Mizumi’s fleet. It was unclear what their next operation would be—only Paxton and Mizumi would know what awaited them.
As Rei started to load herself onboard, she immediately noticed Tetsu and the others starting to approach. Tetsu’s gaze filled with determination as he walked proudly towards the ship. Rowan and Nomad were at his flank, helping to roll Megumi towards the ship. As they continued forward, Paxton finally lifted his lighter towards his cigar to finally give it a puff.
“Well, shit-fire,” Paxton barked after lighting the stogie. He pointed towards Megumi and took a quick drag of the cigar, causing his mouth to water up. “Well look who’s back from the dead.”
“I’m strong enough to walk.” Megumi said, rather loudly as she tried to hide her pain.
“Yeah, yeah, get your ass inside.”
Megumi returned with a pain filled laugh once more wincing as her stomach flared up again. Kismet emerged from the ship with Rei once more to quickly aid Megumi. As they finally loaded her inside, Tetsu turned to look back at Nojiri.
“Well, this is it.” Tetsu muttered.
The remnant of chaos slowly gave way to the comforting embrace of normalcy. The town, which was once a battleground, scarred and battered, now held the promise of renewal. The supply lines which provided sustenance for the people were on the mend, gradually stitching the town back together.
His brother Junichi was soon poised to take control of the town, keeping it in the hands of the Nojuro family. Tetsu’s acknowledgement of his leadership, though unspoken, lingered through the air. The engines of the dropship behind him hummed, serving as a reminder of the urgency of his departure. Without a formal farewell, he turned back towards the dropship and stepped inside, finally embarking towards the unknown.