Ghosts and Reunions

After a Year

I eventually received my 'ticket' to the OSA after a year of rigorous physical training. I was traveling to my destination in a YASDF C-130H Atlas. There was only me in the empty cabin.

I was lying on a bench with my heavy rucksack acting as a pillow and a favorite manga covering my face. My typical Type III Flecktarn YGSDF Combat Uniform was on. My name, rank, and unit patches were missing, but it did have the Hi no Maru flag patch on the shoulder to indicate where I was from.

Actually, I wasn't sleeping. I was considering if I would ever return to Yamato. I had a mother and a sister to look after, but no wife or children. My thoughts strayed to our most recent encounter.

I was playing video games with my sister in my living room a few weeks prior to my departure for the OSA.

"Happy! I triumphed once more. After defeating me in another Mario Kart race, Nee-chan cheered.

"Is that the hundredth time I've lost?" I asked, sounding bored. I don't enjoy racing games; I only enjoy role-playing games.

"Haru-kun, hurry up! Are you not passionate about defeating me? She smiled.

Simply, "No, I don't," I replied. "I lost it around my sixty-ninth defeat." Strange number, I know. "Besides…" As she inserted her hard drive into my military-issue laptop, I gave her a quick glance. "Can you stop putting anime on my laptop, Nee-chan?" My tone was extremely flat as I asked.

Innocently, she said, "Oh, I can't?"

"You can't, of course! The inability to use it for personal files is a common problem! Your manga, figurines, and posters already fill my room. "Not even my laptop!" I shouted. I apologize; when it comes to my sister, I can be a little out of character.

She smiled and said, "Hehe, don't be like that, Haru-kun," "You need something to help you relax after all your hard work."

My mother said, "Chiyoko-chan is right," while carrying a laundry basket from the restroom. "You need to have fun to relieve your stress." She started to arrange the clothes neatly. "Besides, you have a long deployment coming up, right?" Her violet eyes looked tenderly at me. "I was informed yesterday by Colonel Tanaka. You might not return for a year, he said. Is that accurate?

I gave a nod. "Yes…" I muttered.

"You're actually going to... "Haru-kun?" Nee-chan spoke in a sincere tone of sadness. Over her eyes, her hair fell. I was aware that she was making every effort not to cry. We've been very close since we were young, even though she irritates me a lot. In all honesty, I adore her—as my sister, naturally. Nee-chan was aware of my destination and the extreme danger of my mission due to the WMDs.

I gave another nod. "Nee-chan, I know you'll feel lonely, but My orders are in. It's what I do. I must follow orders from superiors without question because I am a soldier. I gave her a shoulder pat. "My job is to protect everyone in this country, including you."

Her face remained unchanged. "Then…" Her expression abruptly returned to the happy, obnoxious one, but I could tell she was acting. "Let me defeat you a thousand times before you go!" For the next race, she hit the button.

I grinned. "Not at all. I'm the one who's going to beat you this time." I said, keeping my eyes on the TV.

My mom sat next to me and said, "Hey, kids, I want to play too,"

"Oka-san too?!" Nee-chan shouted. I haven't spent much time with my family since I joined the YDF. I began to long for my early years once more. But I decided to go into the military. Whether I like it or not, I have to deal with it as a man. As my father said.

Until midnight, we continued to play.

I had never experienced such a precious moment with my family. One day, I hoped, I would be able to have another. I had to finish this mission and live because of this.

Over the radio, the Atlas's pilot crackled. "Look out, LT! We're nearly there.

I put the manga down and coughed. We reached Horizon Airbase, also referred to as the notorious "Sector 7," a short while later. Somewhere on the base, according to conspiracy theorists, there is a UFO with alien corpses hidden inside. But I wasn't here to learn Orion's secrets; I was here to be transported to a different world.

All I saw when I got off the plane was a typical military installation in the middle of a desert. There were GIs in desert BDUs everywhere. I couldn't help but wonder why the desert was so closely associated with the Orion military. Why did they fight nearly all of their battles in desert towns or deserts?

I was scanning my surroundings when someone approached me. "Are you… Haru?" How did he know my name, even though he was obviously an Orion? I turned to see a familiar man pointing at me while wearing a desert camouflage BDU. On his uniform, I saw an OSA flag, a Sea Dragon Trident, and a random patch that said 'So You Wanna Be a Frogman'.

"Noah?" "I said." He gave me a big smile and a hug.

"Hehe! It's been a while, friend!" He let me go and examined me. "How are you? Still intact?"

I said, "Yeah, I'm good," in my typically stoic voice. This man was Nolan Vance, an old friend of mine. One of the few gaijin people I knew and thought of as a friend was him. He served as our guide at his school during a middle school excursion to the OSA. His family later relocated to Yamato, where he happened to attend my high school. Apart from being a weeb and a nerd, he's a great guy, though he can be a bit rude. When I last heard from him, he had been with Sea Dragon Team 4 for five years before joining Unit Six. It appears that I will be collaborating with him.

He laughed idly and remarked, "Man, you haven't changed a bit after all these goddamn years," Captain Thorne, our CO, is waiting, by the way. Let's avoid making him wait. I followed him as he began to walk toward the barracks. "Oh yeah, please call me by my codename, Bard."

Bard? Why is everyone I know so dependent on otaku culture, I wonder? At least he prefers idols to fantasy. "My rank, friend, is Ensign. He smirked and added, "So you can't pull the rank card on me."

Bard, whatever you say.

The trip to the barracks took roughly ten minutes. The airbase in Yamato was the size of a village. Three bunks were in our room when we walked in. I observed a man sharpening a cutlass while wearing multicam. His eyes were maroon and his red hair was buzz-cut.

"Yo, Cap," said Noah. "I found the new guy."

After giving me a brief glance, Captain Thorne put his cutlass away. "You're "You mean Lieutenant Arc?"

"Yes, sir," was my response.

He laughed. "Cutter, Special Projects Group is the name. Good to meet you, friend. I shook the hand he held out.

"Nice to meet you too, sir."

"How are you doing, then? Did they retrain you specifically for this operation during the entire bloody year?

The answer was, "Pretty much, Captain,"

"What's with the stone face?" He looked at Noah. "You know anything about it?"

"Negative," Bard replied, swallowing a piece of bubble gum.

I said, "It's natural, sir," in a flat voice. Since I was a young child, I have always spoken in this manner. I have reasons, but I'm not going to tell you.

"Okay, then, come together," Cutter said. "There's a chance that the wind or a late chute deployment will separate us once we drop on the other side of the wormhole. We'll use two passphrases for security. 'How is the Texas stadium?' one of you will inquire. "Very bright with some clouds," will be the response from the other person. He clapped his hands as we wrote it down. "All right, that concludes our day. Guys, get some sleep." Following the briefing, we retired to our bunks and put our equipment away.