Day 26: Cafeteria, Lunch

[right-handed.livejournal.com]

Scar felt cold and sick, though more the latter than the former. As he rose from his bed, he didn't quite know which way was up, and the artificial light coming from overhead seemed as hot and as blinding as the Ishbal sun.

His head hurt, but that was nothing new. After all, the last thing he remembered from the night before was fighting a homunculus off of Lust and then having a conversation about events best left forgotten. The man hadn't been his brother. He just hadn't. And if what Lust had said they'd done to her was true...

Scar stood with shakiness that he wanted to attribute more to a bizarrely weakened physical state than a mental one. Had he been knocked out by some kind of lurking monster before the morning had come? He felt as if he had been out for days, being a veteran of such circumstances, though as he took the practiced role of being an obedient follower behind the nurse and orderlies that came for him, it didn't seem as if much had changed.

This place was probably just playing tricks on him again, and he was tired of being the man left out of the loop. He grabbed some food he didn't really care for and sat down, not seeing anyone he knew already seated. On one hand, he wished he had someone to talk to, and on the other, it scared him that he was no longer used to being alone.

He dug his fork into his food and tried to block out any related thought.

Comments

[uruz-vii.livejournal.com]

"Maybe..." Sousuke was, after all, the only person who had successfully operated the Lambda Driver. That would make him worth studying, he supposed. Come to think of it...

"Why do you think you're here? Why would the Head Doctor want to study you?"

[forgot-my-life.livejournal.com]

Takaya blinked, then laughed. It was a short, sharp laugh, almost more like a bark than anything, but it was still a laugh.

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you," he said with a slight grin on his face, amber eyes shining.

[uruz-vii.livejournal.com]

"I have seen some very strange things in my life--"

The Lambda Driver.

"--and there is no reason for me not to believe you. I don't think you would lie to me about something this unimportant. Unless," Sousuke looked at him, eyebrow raised, "It's confidential?"

[forgot-my-life.livejournal.com]

Takaya shrugged and shook his head. "Not really, and you don't look or feel like one, so..." He frowned in thought.

"I'm a four hundred year old warlord from the warring states era of Japan." He grinned slightly. "That's all that I can think of that's special about me."

[uruz-vii.livejournal.com]

"The warring states era..." Sousuke repeated, frowning. "Began in the mid-14th century and ended in the 16th century."

He looked up and nodded, "Then you would be approximately four hundred years old. That's rather interesting. You don't appear to have aged very much," Sousuke said, completely serious.

[forgot-my-life.livejournal.com]

"Give or take." Takaya snorted. "And of course I haven't aged. I'm only seventeen. Well," he looked down and tugged on his shirt. "This body is only seventeen."

He was feeling out of sorts. That was the only reason Takaya could think of for being not only forthcoming, but also so ... calm about it.

[uruz-vii.livejournal.com]

"I see... reincarnation then. I haven't read much on the subject, but I know of several people who sincerely believe in the possibility," Sousuke blinked, "Well, I suppose it's not a possibility anymore, but a fact."

Sousuke suddenly looked excited, "So if you were a warlord, you must have been heavily involved in the military of that era!" Finally! Something he could actually discuss!

[forgot-my-life.livejournal.com]

Takaya shook his head. "Not so much reincarnation as ... um... possession." That was a touchy subject, but Takaya could feel that colder part of him warm to this other teenager.

Wonderful.

He blinked at the sudden excitement. "Uh... yeah. Sort of." In a way. Too bad he couldn't remember much of it except what he'd learned in school and from those flashes of memory. Neither of which was very reliable.

[uruz-vii.livejournal.com]

"I could never understand the poetry from your era, but just reading about the battles the Japanese people fought in the Sengoku Period always held an interest for me. I wish I could have read more about the various strategies used during that period, and compare them to modern-day methods, but unfortunately I haven't come across such records." Sousuke fell back into his element with such ease, he didn't realize he was running his mouth.

"I don't know much about standard military tactics. I was trained in guerrilla warfare when I was a child, and now I specialize in AS operation. I often wonder what it would be like to fight with a blade."

[forgot-my-life.livejournal.com]

Takaya tilted his head. A lot of that went right over his head, and he ignored the way a part of him perked up. "AS? What's an AS?"

[uruz-vii.livejournal.com]

Sousuke had almost forgotten--not everyone here was familiar with the AS. "AS stands for 'Arm Slave', which is a shortened term for Armored Mobile Master-Slave System. Basically, it's an operating unit that is piloted by one man. For all intents and purposes, it's a large, humanoid robot developed through the use of Black Technology. There are several models,"

He opened up his journal and began sketching quickly. "This is a M9 Gernsback (http://www.full-metal-panic.com/images/hangar/gernsback/gernsback01.gif), which is the AS that most civilians know about. The types used most by the Soviet Union are the Savage (http://www.full-metal-panic.com/image.php?file=images/recon/mecha/misc/savage01.jpg) and the Shadow (http://i111.photobucket.com/albums/n158/animeshinobi_images/fullmetalpanic/profile_shadow.jpg). My partners, Sergeant Kurz and Sergeant Major Mao pilot M9s, and I..."

His pen finished the sketch before he could stop himself. Technically this was classified information, but since he had no access to the machine now, it was a moot point, he figured.

"I pilot this. The ARX-7 Arbalest (http://www.tdd-1.com/img/ss03.jpg)."

[forgot-my-life.livejournal.com]

Takaya frowned and considered the drawings. Looked like something out of a comic book or something. Weird, but it wasn't like he didn't believe him or anything.

"Do a lot of people, uh, pilot these things?"

[uruz-vii.livejournal.com]

"Most military personnel pilot them. For Special Response Teams and Primary Response Teams, they are a must. The countries of the world are constantly racing to develop the best equipped, fastest AS possible. My organization exists to keep the power balance in check, as well as dispose of terrorist organizations and drug factories."

Sousuke sat back, tapping his drawings thoughtfully with his pen. "I've spent the majority of my teenage life in cockpits. Being sent out for mission after mission. The AS almost becomes a part of you, after a while."

[forgot-my-life.livejournal.com]

Takaya nodded, slightly impressed. "That sounds pretty cool. A lot more exciting then what goes on back home." And a lot less annoying too.

"Yeah, I think I understand what you mean about the missions though. A soldier's work is never done..."

[uruz-vii.livejournal.com]

Sousuke nodded. "Even when I was going to school, it was still part of my mission. I was guarding Kaname, the whole time. Even now, my self-given mission is to escape this place and return to my post." He shrugged and gave Takaya a half-smile. "I live from mission to mission--I don't know any soldier that doesn't.

"Do you have experience with that lifestyle too?" Sousuke asked.

[forgot-my-life.livejournal.com]

Takaya returned the smile, and pointed at himself. "Warlord. I think that counts a little, right?"

[uruz-vii.livejournal.com]

Sousuke nodded, "Of course, but surely you don't experience that in your day-to-day life anymore... especially since Japan doesn't have a military." The young sergeant looked confused.

"Do you remember what it was like to be a Warlord? Or...?"

[forgot-my-life.livejournal.com]

Takaya frowned. "Oh, I get lots of pratice..." Much as he hated it, it was a job that had to be done. "I'm not the only person from that time era running around."

He tilted his head and thought. "It's... a bit fuzzy now. But I can remember bits of it." The truth.

[uruz-vii.livejournal.com]

"There are OTHER warlords possessing people?" Sousuke looked as though Takaya could have knocked him over with a feather. "How intriguing. So you have opponents trying to defeat you all the time, then?"

Sousuke was fascinated by Takaya. Such a man was the stuff of legend--the kind of thing every soldier dreamed about meeting. And for the first time since he came here, Sousuke felt as though he could talk to someone on even ground--soldier to soldier.

[forgot-my-life.livejournal.com]

Takaya shrugged, looking slightly uncomfortable. "Yeah. There's a bunch of us running around."

It was odd how much that part of him seemed to enjoy talking to this weird guy. He wondered if it was just because Kagetora hadn't had anyone he could otaku with when it came to history and battle. The other Kanshosha were out, as there was too much history there between them. This guy...

The intercom dinged and Takaya slumped. "Fuck." He looked at Sousuke and grinned. "We should meet up and chat again. When you have time, of course."

[uruz-vii.livejournal.com]

"Certainly!" Sousuke said, returning the grin with his own. It was probably the most emotion he'd shown in quite some time. "I have no other plans!"

"Come, Mr. Inoue!" His nurse hoisted him up by his collar. Sousuke was dragged out of his chair, nearly tripping over the legs of it.

"Please come find me whenever you want! I would enjoy talking with you again!" The sergeant called as he was escorted away from Takaya. He felt very content with the past conversation, even confident! If he could talk to an ancient warlord, he could talk to a civilian.

"No problem," He muttered to himself, smiling.