Minor Problems

"Your leg is not looking good," said Gina. She didn't realise his injury when Takahiro came back to the bar. Perhaps because of this reason, her victory celebration didn't last long.

Takahiro had a fever. The adrenaline during the conflict masked how bad the situation was.

"Where's Shin?"

"He returned back to Japan. Actually, JGSA called you back from the mission too, but Shin said that you won't want to leave the battlefield before you get everything done."

"He's so damn right."

"But I think you should-"

"No."

"Why? We both know nobody gonna be a hero after this job."

"It's not about being a hero, it's not some kind of superhero comic, it's reality."

"Then why?"

"Because I don't want to wait for my death in a hospital room. If I'm going to die either way, I would rather die on a battlefield."

"You won't be able to fight."

"Oh believe me, it's not the first time I'm doing this."

Gina didn't say anything. Takahiro realised he had overdone it. His communication skills were not the best, yet he was smart enough to understand when he made a mistake.

"Well look-"

"I understand, Lieutenant. Sorry for misjudging our relationship," grumbled Gina sadly as she got up from the chair.

'Now you've done it, Takahiro..."

Takahiro stood up and caught Gina's arm. As he moved abruptly, he whined in pain.

"Just have a seat for a second."

Takahiro laid down on his bed again.

"Well, I know that I'm an asshole sometimes. But still, I understand your worries. The thing is, I grew up on the battlefield, that's who I am. And I only once left the job incomplete. You probably know which one it was."

Gina nodded. She was listening carefully.

"Before accepting this job, I was scared of going through the same experience. So I decided to work on the table, not on the field. But now I'm here, in front of you, because I accepted doing it alone. I never expected to accept anybody with me, to be honest. But we ended up together in this job." Takahiro took a breath, talking that much was hurting his throat.

"What didn't change is that I sweared to my dead brothers, whom I left on the battlefield that day, that I would die on the battlefield just like them. It's never gonna change. If not today, not tomorrow, one day I'll die like them. Otherwise I can not forgive myself."

"And nothing will be changing your mind, right?"

"That's true."

Gina stood up and saluted Takahiro.

"Then I'll accompany you until the very end, Lieutenant."

"That's a pleasure," smiled Takahiro and closed his eyes. "Now I'll be sleeping for a while. Please wake me up if something urgent happens."

"Sure thing, Lieutenant."

Takahiro wasn't sure if it was the right decision to leave the relation he had with Gina unclear. But it wasn't the right time to confess his love to her. Grizzly was gone forever, but without taking care of the main brain, this mission wouldn't be over.

The next morning, Takahiro received a call from Shin.

"How's your leg?"

"Looking bad. I'm using the support prosthesis that JGSA sent to me. I can't run, but I can walk. Pain is the only problem right now."

A support prosthesis is a military-grade therapeutic tool produced by JGSA. Basically, it helps support the injured limb. It allows the person to use their injured limb during the recovery.

"How is your shoulder?"

"My bones are uh, severely crushed. The pain is bearable, but I need surgery as soon as possible. But no matter what, I think that's my retirement from the field."

"I see. Well, we should consider ourselves lucky to be alive. It would be too early if we had died in that hotel."

"Yeah, you're right. You still-"

"I still have a wedding to attend. I didn't forget."

"That's good. I'll be waiting for you and Gina there."

"Oh give me some break." They laughed together. "Let's finish this job first. Then I'll have enough time to confess Gina."

"You finally decided to follow your heart then, huh?"

"Not yet, but I will."

"Fair enough. Good luck on the mission, Lieutenant. Let's finish this once and for all."

After Shin hung up, Takahiro went down the stairs. This time, Gina was behind the bar and serving the guests. There were only a few drunks speaking loudly about what happened yesterday. Takahiro took a seat, his prosthesis was hidden under his pants.

"Give me a coffee, please."

"Oh come on, son. Are you drinking coffee in a pub?" said one of the drunken men.

"I just don't like alcohol."

"Then you're not really living your life," laughed the man with joy.

"Neither you are, pal."

"What did you mean by that?"

"Nothing, just enjoy your drink. I'm buying you the next glass."

"Oh, that's kind of you, sir."

As Gina brought Takahiro's coffee, she got closer and whispered to him.

"Was that necessary?"

"Nope. I just can't stand drunk people."

"Please don't scare my guests."

"It's actually ours, did you forget?"

"I hope one day."

As Takahiro took his first sip of his coffee, one of the JGSA soldiers entered the bar in civilian clothes. He took a seat next to Takahiro, but far away from the others. He carefully handed a letter to Takahiro so as not to be noticed. Takahiro took the letter and put it inside his jacket.

As he finished his coffee, he headed back to his room and opened the letter. There was a picture of Takao Yuuichi meeting with Grizzly a few hours ago.

As the bar got closed, Takahiro went down the stairs once again.

"Is that true?"

"It is, sir."

"How's that possible?"

"We're not sure, he's definitely gotten shot in the head. It's not common to see people survive from that kind of injury," answered the soldier.

Takahiro was foaming with anger. He and Shin almost lost a limb because of Grizzly.

"Where's that picture taken from?"

"Behind the casino."

"Good, gather up everybody. I'm gonna destroy the whole place."