Bloodstained Rose

Epilogue

The stars over Nojiri had been blotted out by the flames from the destruction. Most of the townsfolk had slowly started to migrate back towards town—many were lost in the battle. The town would forever be stained by the destruction. With the Nojuro Temple still burning in the distance, a shared sense of somberness had greeted the people of Nojiri. A few yards away from the base, a large bonfire had been constructed from some of the ruins.

The surviving Liberation troops had gathered with Tetsu and the rest to celebrate. The fire roared, lighting up the gathering and offering warmth to contrast against the cold valley air. Such a small group had next to no chance of defeating the G.E.I. and one of its primary weapons. Despite the odds, the team had plunged straight into Hell and come out the other side. Tetsu and Rei had sat over near the pyre with Nomad and the rest to try and recuperate from the intense fighting.

Kismet had been stuck in her own zone with Kona, gleeful to be able to pet the animal again. Rei found herself feeling anxious from all the extra attention—something she was never accustomed to in the old village. As they all sat, Nomad looked over to her and shook his head in astonishment. He had been old enough to remember what Mizumi looked like and was startled by the resemblance.

“So, you’re Rei, right?” Nomad spoke up, causing her to turn to him.

“That’s me.” Rei replied softly.

“You may not remember me, but you were a baby,” he held his hands apart in front of his chest as he continued, “you were about this big.”

Megumi started to slide up next to him with a smile on her face. She gave him a quick jab with her elbow, causing him to flinch.

“That’s a pretty big baby,” Megumi snickered before adding, “dork.”

“Maybe my dimensions are off,” Nomad replied before returning with a playful shove. “It was a long time ago.”

“I was too young,” Rei said, softly returning with a smile. “I don’t remember anything. I didn’t even know who my mother was until a month ago.”

“Did Hideo ever tell you about us?”

“No.”

The cold reply had caused some concern. Nomad started to continue his exchange, hoping to give Rei some more closure about the old days of Kashmir. As they continued, Tetsu started to tune them out. He had been fortunate enough to learn that Tomo, Kagome, and Minoru had slipped away with Junichi before the battle. The family was already being treated at the Mobile Carrier. The massive vehicle had been parked closer to the town following the battle and had since been turned into a medical bay.

With what he had witnessed, a piece of him had been nervous going to see his brother again. He was still trying to wrap his head around the many events that had occurred today. In just a mere twenty-four hours, he had been shot, watched his father die, and been stuck in a hellish battle to defend his town. Now, he had wanted to be left in his own thoughts. Rowan had watched him sit silently by himself and decided to try and break through. She had taken notice of his wound and took the opportunity to finally reach out.

“Hey Ninja-Boy,” Rowan said to him before giving him a nudge with her fist. “We might as well get that shoulder looked at.”

Tetsu let out a quick pfft at the gesture and looked back towards her, saying, “I think Minoru did a good job.”

“Yeah right,” Megumi blurted out before kicking her foot out to him. “Get to the Mobile Carrier, dickhead.”

“Get moving little guy, we need you in good condition,” Nomad said. “Let Control work her magic. We won’t party too hard without you.”

Tetsu tuned them out and stumbled to his feet. Rowan then joined him and then started to guide him over towards the Mobile Carrier. She slowly extended her hand towards him, fingers gently grazing the air to make contact. Tetsu could feel the warmth of her hand nearing his, but a sudden rush of bashfulness overcame him. Apprehensive, he withdrew and looked away from her and back towards the rubble of the Nojiri Temple. Rowan could feel something more than the chill in the air, but respected Tetsu’s response.

“You’re the luckiest man alive to come out in one piece after all that.” Rowan said as she folded her arms.

“I think it was a little more than luck,” Tetsu replied arrogantly as he lifted his good arm to brush his nose. “I think that was skill.”

“Yeah, I guess so.” she laughed back.

Tetsu had seemed to walk a little taller after the battle, impressing her to see his spirits still high. Many men in his place would not have been able to survive such a fierce exchange. She had seen people broken by war in the past but could not see that in Tetsu. He had been unfazed—the fact he had been able to save his family and most of the town gave him hope. The two finally arrived at the Mobile Carrier to see Paxton standing out front with a cigar clenched in his teeth.

He stood alone in front of a small tent watching the two while he puffed away. Behind him, Mezrich and Chris had been bandaged up from their wounds. The inside of the tent had been filled with several other troops, each one still trying to recover from the battle. The doctors inside were working overtime trying to help get everybody back in action. Tetsu had made eye contact with Paxton, feeling the tension starting to rise as he stared back. He pulled the cigar from his mouth and give Tetsu a silent nod, not saying a word to the two.

Tetsu returned with one of his own, trying to avoid a confrontation. He continued to think of the destruction and deep down put much of the blame on Paxton. It was not clear what would have happened if Liberation never intervened, but for now he continued past him. He knew one day he was going to be forced into a clash with him, but for now he had relished the victory. After entering the Mobile Carrier, the two made their way into the medical bay.

Inside, Control had already been booted up to work with the troops. Kagome’s face had lit up once she caught sight of Tetsu again, relief washing over. Tomo had rushed past her and towards Tetsu with unbridled joy. Her laughter had cut through the somber air as she approached, causing Tetsu to crouch to her level. Rowan could not help but smile seeing them embrace, feeling the scars of conflict start to fade as the family gathered.

While they started to exchange words, Junichi had been laying on the bench across the room. He looked over to them, still feeling some regrets about his decisions. Watching them only caused him to become reclused in his own thoughts and the many mistakes. He was relieved to know they had all survived, but still filled with grief after watching Lord Nojuro get cut down. Tetsu’s smile had started to droop once he finally looked over to him. The tension began to thicken the air. However, Tetsu swallowed his pride, and chose to take the high ground.

“I’m glad you made it out.” Tetsu said sternly.

There was much he wanted to say to Junichi. The events of the day had brought much strife, and he did not want the peaceful moment to be shattered. Junichi took a deep breath, trying to put the pain of his decisions behind him.

“It took a lot of courage to do what you did,” Junichi replied. “I didn’t want any of this to happen.”

“I believe you,” Tetsu interrupted him. “I’m just glad you’re safe. We don’t know what would have happened.”

Kagome reached down to Tomo, giving her a small tug to pull her away from the two. She then reached out to Rowan and started to guide her towards the exit. After they left the area, Tetsu shifted back to them and reached his thumb towards his mouth to take a nibble.

“If I had a chance to do this all over again, I don’t know if I could have changed this outcome.” Junichi said somberly.

“There’s a lot of things I wish I could have done better,” Tetsu replied. He started to walk over towards the bench to slowly take a seat on the floor, facing away from Junichi. “I wish I didn’t run off when mother died. That was very selfish of me, and I can’t undo that.”

“I can’t blame you for that.”

“Honestly, if I didn’t do that, I might not have met Rei. I don’t think I would have made it through this without her.”

“Who’s that,” Junichi let out a soft chuckle and turned his head to look down at him. He reached over and gave him a nudge with his fist. “Is that your new lady friend you brought with you?”

“Not her,” Tetsu laughed back, returning with a soft punch. “She’s somebody else I met.”

“Ah, multiple women. Dad would be proud.”

Tetsu shook his head, letting out of laugh of relief. He could not remember the last time he and Junichi had been able to laugh or have a friendly conversation together. The not so familiar feeling of being able to bond with his brother put him at ease.

“I’m glad to be home.” Tetsu said after the quick scuffle.

“Me too,” Junichi softly replied before repeating, “me too.”

The Litvyak had not moved from its grounded position outside of Aiga for days. The restrictions around the town were starting to loosen with the construction of the reactor nearing completion. Vic was still awake in his private quarters on board, spending the last few hours in several teleconferences with the command back home. As he started to wind down, he began to think about the operations going on in Nojiri.

While he awaited the report, he started to think of Megumi again. It had been a few days since he sent her for an evaluation and was eagerly awaiting an update. In his recent conversations with Melora, he tried to avoid bringing up her name. Melora’s praises of Megumi was not something he wanted to ruin by telling her of her performance in the field.

He started to prepare his quarters for a small nap, taking a moment to remove his trench coat. While he started to drape it over his chair, he looked over to a mirror posted on the wall to see himself staring back. His arms had contained a grid-like pattern, covering every inch from his shoulders to his hands. With each enhancement, he felt himself becoming less human. His battle spirit and abilities to tap into the Deep had remained unhindered, but his body continued to degrade over the years.

There was going to come a day when he would no longer be human, and every moment forward could not be wasted. He started to unlace his boots and get ready for a few hours of downtime. The pyrazine capsules in the coat seemed to glare at him, forcing him to fight the urge to retrieve one. A sudden rush would interrupt his sleep schedule. Once again, he thought of Megumi pestering him about his habit.

After mustering through the addiction, he started to notice some footsteps making his way to the outside of his quarters. There was a loud and powerful knock from outside. He signaled for the person to enter and sat up on his bed. The door opened to reveal Yuri, looming over Vic with his tall, lanky figure and bright red hair. He prepared his report with his usual cold stare—something usual for the A.S.B.’s. His sapphire-colored eyes shined unnaturally in the light, causing Vic to turn his eyes towards the floor.

“Commander Yuri,” Vic spoke. “Why isn’t Yulia with you?”

“She has not reported back from Nojiri yet.” Yuri replied, quickly twitching after speaking. The reply caused some concern, but Vic’s face remained unfazed as usual.

“Have there been any reports from Nojiri?”

“Negative, all communications from Nojiri ceased around three hours ago.”

“What do you mean,” Vic’s said back before pushing his hands in to the bed and rising to his feet. “Don’t sugar coat this, report.”

“Our intelligence reports that Commander Yulia and the Delta unit have been destroyed.”

The weight of the information pressed heavily on Vic, causing alarm to grip him. For the first time in years, he had started to become filled with panic. The implications of this defeat would have been devastating for the operation, and enough to put a deathblow on his career. While Yuri continued to report about the several troops who had been killed in the battle, Vic’s concern started to intensify.

“Megumi,” Vic interrupted him, still trying to deal with the thoughts racing through his head. “Where is she?”

“My reports,” Yuri started to twitch again, his head violently shrugging to the right before continuing. “She went to the Mobile Carrier in Nojiri, but she has not reported back.”

“Why didn’t anybody tell me she was still there? Why hasn’t there been a rescue?”

“She was not high priority.”

“She was high priority to me,” Vic shouted back to him, finally starting to break his bearing. A surge of fear and anxiety gripped his still human heart. Thinking of her being dead or missing continued to scratch away at him, and he struggled to comprehend the enormity of the double blow fate had dealt him. The once familiar and secure world now seemed like a fragile illusion, shattered by harsh truth. He took a deep breath and asked, “Do we have any reinforcements to send to Nojiri?”

“Those were our reinforcements, sir.”

Vic reached towards his face, only feeling the prosthetic limbs brushing against his bare skin. He felt his legs start to buckle, sweat poured from his face. At last, he started to walk towards his coat to reach for the pyrazine tablets. The pressure only left him begging for one of the tablets to ease his worried mind.

Upon retrieving the plastic tube form his pocket, his eyes started to water up. The hints of weakness he had thought he once managed to overcome started to return. The feeling of tears on his cheeks had caused his sadness to slowly bubble into rage. As he held the pyrazine tube in his hand, he started to clench his teeth thinking of Megumi’s pestering of his habit.

“If we go to Nojiri, we risk endangering the entire operation.” Yuri spoke again.

Vic clenched his fists, smashing the plastic tube in his hand and throwing it aside. After striking the wall, a small cloud of powder plumbed from inside of the tube and onto the mirror. He stared back at his reflection again, feeling the anger inside of him mounting as he looked at his teary eyes.

“Leave me,” Vic declared, trying to keep his voice from cracking. He reached towards his eyes once more, trying to carefully wipe away the tears before facing Yuri. “Continue operations, I’ll report to Melora in the morning.”

“Yes, sir.”

As he left the room, Vic stared back into the reflection of himself. The mechanical enhancements had left him with a figure that barely resembled the man he once was. Seeing his own tears was the only reminder of the human that still lay beneath. The powder speckled over the mirror caused his urge for the pyrazine to nag once more. Every weakness he had removed through Melora’s technology had only magnified his inability to overcome them on his own.

The addiction to the pyrazine could easily be corrected as well. However, knowing that his daughter had been ripped from him while he continued to shave away pieces of his humanity only brought him more despair. For once, he had truly felt powerless to correct his issues. The sensation started to bite once more, forcing him to lash out.

He swung his fist into the mirror ahead, punching his fist straight through it. The shiny sparkles of glass sprayed across the room while the wall let out a loud screech. The mirror had been shattered into pieces while his hand remained planted in the wall. The feeling of his prosthetics striking the metal caused him to flinch—a reaction his body would have expected in preparation for the pain.

However, he had felt nothing. Feeling pain in his limbs was something that had since been eradicated. He pulled his hand from the wall, seeing that it was undamaged by the attack. The enhancements had made him nigh indestructible, but there was nothing to repair his misery. Every piece that had been cut out only left him hollow in exchange for power. He stared at the shattered mirror distraught as his exterior resembled what he had felt inside.