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If you don't like guys, girls, furres, sex or love, violence (Not in yiff) or if you're too young (18, 21 in some places, just ask the police "Hey, am I allowed to read sexy bisexual furre stories on the net?") or any of that, CLOSE TEH WINDOW NOWS! All characters are copyright me, Shinkada, and are used with my permission, with the exception of Coda, who is copyrighted to Coro, and used with his permission, and Venter, who is copyrighted to Max, and likewise used with his permission. This story is a bit mushy at times, so if you don't want lurve, buzz off. Anyone who bugs me "OMG MORE YIFF PLOX" will get castrated by Okhami himself. I put in enough of it already to get you off AT LEAST once per every few chapters. If you're still not satisfied take a cold shower. ***'s represent a change of scenery or time. ---'s represent a non-critical yiff scene, fan service to shut up the wailing masses. Please, sit back, relax, and enjoy the story without whining about it. It's a good story. I like it. A sidenote; if you'd like to write a story set in the same universe as this, by all means, feel free. As long as you give me credit for it, as long as you inform me that you're going to do it via e-mail ([email protected]), and as long as you don't try and mess with my, Coro's, or Max's character/s, I don't mind. In fact if someone good writes a story I'd be quite honoured. Just make sure you tell me first, and don't mess anything up. I'll be making a few 'Gaiden' chapters myself, little off-branches in the story, perhaps mini-sections in between bits of the main storyline of unrelated furres and their stories. I've already got a few in mind, but I want to really get the main storyline set up before I do that. The gaidens will mostly be fap material, or sad little tragic bits that I wouldn't be able to do with Okhami himself due to certain complications that happen to the characters of said gaidens (Sickness, depression, personalities, death), so if you need some quick relief, it's best to just skip to a gaiden. They won't have any spoilers, so feel free to just skip to them, or if they're not your thing, skip them entirely. I've made a lot of changes over time. Those who read from when Ch1&2 were first submitted will probably be kind confused by them. Most of them revolving around Drake. In Ch2, Drake's intro, I decided he should be a feline. Somewhere during Ch3 I forget this, and spontaneously decided he should be a fox. I then forgot to edit this, until later. The other problem was that in Ch1-4 his name was Blake. I changed this in ChG1 and once again forgot about it. So, to clarify, his name is James R. Drake, and he's a fox. This must be pretty confusing for those who read from the start, so, sorry about that. -Hugs for all of you-. Also, apologies to the Mods who keep receiving my stories for editting. I usually write late at night (Which for me ends up being about 4-6am) so occasionally my mind fumbles ideas. Thanks for... Well, having the Edit feature there in the first place, heh. (Sorry about the lateness of this edition for all who care. I blame everything except myself. I'm just an ass like that.) -Shinkada (Edit: And now I forgot to add the damn disclaimer. Sorry Mods. -Hugs for you too-) * * *

LiQUID METAL

• * * ***CHAPTER 6: Behind Closed Eyes*** "IN LINE MAGGOTS!" I'd gotten a little better at control in even the week I'd been here. I personally found the Captains hilarious, Kit especially, but laughing usually ended up in stupid punishments of some kind. Holding back my chuckles was difficult, but I could just manage it now. Kit was patrolling up and down the line of young troops, spinning her pistol casually. "Now... Who can tell me what this is?" Kit asked the group as she hilted her 1.4 calibur Street Eagle and pulled out a knife; I instantly recognized it and stepped forward, saluting. Kit nodded at me as I did with a lupine grin. "That would be a kunai, Captain," I said in the best military voice I could manage before finishing the salute and stepping back. "Good, private. This is indeed a kunai. First used by the felines and pandas of Japan, the kunai differs from a regular knife with a weight ratio that had combat in mind when being designed, and this handy little ring on the handle. This allows for some interesting tactics, from using a string to hide the kunai more effectively, using them in traps, or even using a string or rope to spin the kunai. Since kunai can, obviously, be used just like a combat knife, they replaced the standard issue military combat knife a few years ago." I mean, it made sense. It was just a better balanced combat knife with more uses. 'Trust the Japanese to come up with things as good as that,' I thought to myself. "So, let's get you pups used to these. There are enough training kunai for all of you in the storage cabinet over there. They're identical to real kunai, only with soft leather covering the blade. They in all ways act like a regular kunai, including their weight, but we can't have any of you dying just yet," Kit said with a grin as the students rushed to grab a kunai and start practicing. Coda and Ash took each other to practice on, leaving me looking around for someone. I was about to ask Kit if she'd help me out, before a paw tapped me on the shoulder. I turned to raise a brow at who'd tapped me, finding myself face to rubber with the training kunai of another furre. I jumped back as fast as reflexes would allow me, narrowly dodging the impact of the training weapon, before jumping back again to avoid any follow up attacks, and allowing me to get a view of the attacker. Standing in front of me was a typically black panther, wearing a standard military uniform and crouched in a battle position. I stared at him for a moment before smirking, crouching down a little to get in a ready position myself. There was a moment of silence as we both took defensive stances, before he lunged at me. Panthers aren't exactly known for patience, and this one was no exception. Now, the thing about knife fights, is that they're exactly like a fist fight. I've seen some people using knives before as if they were a sword, trying to parry the opponent's blade. That's not going to work. Because knives are small and light, they're very manueverable. You really shouldn't try to parry, because the opponent can very easily just avoid your blade and strike down in an instant. As soon as he was close enough, I rolled, literally underneath him. The lunge had left enough space for me to dart under him, and I took advantage of it. As soon as I was on the other side, I blindly spun and slashed at whatever was in front of me. I heard a paw pad fall near-silently beside me, but not silently enough, and I was given just enough warning to be able to roll out of reach of the panther's kunai in time. The panther's back was to the wall now, and as I ducked low to the ground I saw the opportunity and threw the kunai. The movement caught the panther off guard, not expecting me to disarm myself, and he only just managed to avoid the weapon. As the knife bounced off the wall and into the air, I jumped up, making a wide leap for the wall, using one foot paw to boost myself a bit further and just catch the hilt of the knife, before shifting my weight and throwing my arm out to spin in mid air, slashing down. The movement was sudden enough to catch the panther off guard completely, and the kunai smacked him across the top of his head before he could react. I landed with a skid, almost losing my balance but just managing to keep myself upright to show off. The panther stared at me for a moment, before bursting into laughter and spinning his kunai in a paw, the blade down, to show he was no longer hostile. He offered me a paw, which I stood up and took, almost stumbling due to dizziness from the mid-air spins. "The name's Tero. That was one hell of an impressive move," the panther said in a deep voice that suited his build and look. "Heh.. Thanks. One of the techniques my dad taught me. Name's Okhami," I replied with a smile as I shook his paw. "Man, that put some wire-fu movies to shame. Must've taken a while to learn?" "Yeah. But I had a lot of time, and dad worked me hard," I replied as I stood back a bit, shaking myself out from the complex attack. "But I won't fall for it again," the panther said with a challenging grin. "Rematch time." *** Me and Tero ended up to be a pretty even match. We were trading blows most of the time, although neither of us was counting so who knows who 'won'. By the end we were both panting, grinning and sitting against a wall, chests rising and falling almost in synch. Kit was nice enough to let us rest; she'd risen to my second favourite Captain within the first class, and the blowjob had pushed her just ahead. 'After all, even Drake can't compete with oral sex,' I thought to myself with a wide grin. I looked up a bit and noticed Kit strutting towards us with her usual pole-dancer-esque walk, hips swaying. Me and Tero both stood up slowly, giving the best salute we could considering how worked we were. "Hey you two. You've gone through training before, huh?" Kit asked, eying us; Tero especially, I noticed. We both nodded simultaneously. "Thought so. You're both a fair bit ahead of the class. I'm going to go over some basic knife combat techniques with the class, you two are welcome to... 'Leisurely'... Practice at your own pace," Kit finished with a wink. Anyone fresh from highschool could translate that to 'bludge'. Both me and Tero saluted with a sly smirk, as Kit returned it and walked away to call the other maggots together. Tero stood up to stretch a bit and I noticed a door slightly behind us. "Oi, let's get some fresh air," I said and fluidly rose to my feet, pressing the button as the elevator doors opened. I waited until Tero lazily stepped in, and pressed up, taking us to the ground. The doors opened and we were hit by a near-perfect breeze just as we stepped out. *** Tero and I ended up having kind of similar histories. Like me, he was trained in the ways of the military from a young age, only his father had concentrated on sniper skills. When I told him Ash was a friend and roommate, Tero clamped up a little. I couldn't help but laugh. It was obvious he didn't like the hyena due to his insane skills as a marksman. Although Tero wasn't far behind, he'd only gotten a few shots off center of headshots, Ash's dead-on forehead hits for every shot probably would be a military record, if Lance wasn't too stubborn to admit it. "So," Tero said as he leaned over, nudging my shoulder with a closed paw. "Got your eyes on anyone on the campus? There's a lot'ta cute girls runnin' around here, y'know," he asked, closing his eyes with a smartass grin. I honestly had to think about that one for a second. Coda only lasted one date. I was free now. Normally I'd be chasing girls around like nobody's business, but ever since the bi revelation... "I saw a draconic girl the other day. Phewwww! Knockout and a half!" Tero said, looking over at me. "Oh? I haven't seen her about," I replied honestly. "I think she takes a bunch of tech courses. She calls herself a mechanic. Maybe she works on sabers or something," Tero said with a shrug. "But who -I'M- after... Who I REALLY wanna get to know better... Is Kit," Tero finished as he nodded, closing his eyes again. I almost choked. "Kit? As in, Captain? Teacher? Instructor?" I said, raising my brows as I did. "C'mon man, look at her! She's the most gorgeous girl I've ever laid eyes on! And talk about filling her uniform, phew!" Tero said as he laughed, shaking his head. I grinned a little and couldn't help getting the urge to gloat. "Y'should go after her," I said simply. "What? Man, she's the Captain. I mean, I'll drool over her, but go after her? No way, she'd have me kicked out'ta here in a second." "Ohhh, then you didn't hear the rumour?" "What rumour?" "Well," I began with a grin, my mind working to fabricate a story. "Rumour is she half seduced one of the students... A few people are saying she's slept with a few students in the past, and... Well, you've seen the way she dresses," I concluded, and began to whistle softly, studying the back of my paw as if it were the most interesting thing in the world. ".. You're serious?" Tero said, and I could hear the hopefulness in his voice. "Why would I lie man? I say go after her. She'd be quite a catch, and worth it." "Hm... Maybe I will..." *** Me and Tero talked for a while longer before heading back down. Tero was a casual guy. Really down to Earth; something you don't see often. He wasn't overly dramatic. He wasn't anything too much out of the norm. He was just a standard guy. Completely real. Not a single thing fake about him... And I looked up to that. Even I can admit that I'm a fake sometimes. Sometimes I just like being dramatic; I like feeling like there's something more sinister going on than there really is, or that something above is pulling the strings when it isn't, taking things too far and acting like a wise old elder. Makes life more fascinating. But Tero didn't try. He was just... Himself. That's it. It's a quality I admire, although I wouldn't pick it up myself. Life's too fun when you act like there's more to it. We returned to class and had a few more rounds with the kunais, before class finally ended for the day. *** Monday night wasn't too eventful. A bit healthier of a dinner, and Ash kicking my ass in Guilty Gear X4. Tuesday was another case, entirely. *** In Basic Blade Skills, we mostly just practiced a whole lot more. Drake taught us a phew nifty tricks, like exactly where to hit to disable your opponent's saber, and a bit of practicing some basic acrobatic manuevers like back and forward flips. I remained to be the best student in the class, as demonstrated by my growing confidence in Blade classes, although some students had obviously been training hard, and gave me a fair bit of trouble. I was made to duel Drake again as he demonstrated some more little techniques, such as throwing your saber into your opponent's at an angle so that it ricoched upwards, allowing you to jump, catch it, and slash down; almost identical to what I'd done against Tero in Survival class, and even Drake was a little shocked when I did it flawlessly 'first try'. A few hours down the track, we were let out, and I met up with Ash and Coda again. We'd gotten really close over the last few days, to the point where we acted like family. Coda had lightened up incredibly around us, and was easily bearable now. Ash had gradually dropped the faked hyena attitude, and was pretty normal now; and likewise, I'd all but entirely given up the brief period of rebellion of my teenage years. Coda waved with a smile as he headed off to his intel class, and me and Ash continued cracking jokes at each other as we headed to Sniper Skills. *** This time we were down in one of the training rooms. A mountain-style area, above a large forest. We were on a cliff overlooking the whole forest, and if Lance hadn't have been groaning about life then I probably would have been awed. "Alright you pathetic excuses for recruits. Today we'll be working on moving targets. Hopefully none of your pathetic minds will get confused and shoot at someone. But then again, that could end up good if you shoot someone worthless. A sniper's best position is from above. Secreted, of course. No use being above if you're in plain sight. It's common knowledge like this that you morons need to try and remember, since anything logical is what you're likely to forget," he half-grunted as he lit up a cigarette, rifle slung over one shoulder. "Husky boy, you're up first. Try and not make an ass out of yourself or the sheep might follow." As per usual, I was tempted to fire at Lance, but instead put the hate into the gun, pretending the targets were foxes. This was an unusually difficult area for such an early training session, but I managed to go pretty well. The targets were slow moving but they only occasionally came out from behind the trees. 20 targets, 20 shots, simple enough. I managed to knock down 14 of them, which ended up being a good effort. "Meh. Good enough I suppose," Lance said as he reset the targets. I growled a little, handing the rifle to the next person. 14 was damn good for such a difficult course. *** Next person up who I knew was Tero. He managed to hit 19, missing the last target by a tiny margin when Lance coughed loudly. "If you can't deal with distractions then you're not much of a sniper. Next," he said, resetting the targets casually. I thought Tero was about to shoot Lance, before he grudgingly passed the rifle on. Tero took his sniping seriously, and 19 ended up being the best score of the day. I was ready to go off at Lance for being so damn harsh, before Ash finally stepped up, confidently twirling the rifle. "Alright hotshot. You think you're so good, let's see how you do," Lance taunted as he sat back. I sat apart from the group a bit, staring Lance directly in the eyes. He raised a brow at me, giving a smartass, smirk, but I just continued to glare at him. I knew he was going to try something, and I was right. As soon as I heard Ash fire, Lance pressed the remote to reset the targets, making all the targets go back behind the trees. I growled, angry more than usual that he'd so openly try to make Ash look like a fool, and I heard Ash spin around. "If you're going to challenge me Fox, I'd appreciate if you didn't fumble with those clumsy fingers of yours," Ash said as he brushed the front spike of his hair from his face. Lance began to growl loudly at his paws being called clumsy, a soft spot for most snipers since someone with a clumsy paw was a useless sniper. Ash smirked and turned around, taking aim again. He shot two targets in rapid succession, each hitting in his near-trademark between the eyes spot, before going for the third, Lance resetted again. "Do you think this is a game, Captain? I thought you were meant to be teaching us, not antagonizing us like a pup?" Ash said, getting fed up with the childishness of the situation. The other students were looking around uncomfortably, well aware of what Lance was doing. Lance smirked that he was getting to Ash, and waited another shot before resetting the targets a third time. Ash growled and stood up, facing Lance. "You know what? Fine. If you're not going to let me snipe my targets, I'll go Rambo on them," he said, before jumping back and beginning to slide down the steep cliff. The class began to laugh loudly and crowded to the edge to watch Ash. Lance jumped off his seat, growling so loud he almost drowned out the students' laughs, and shoved a few furres aside to get to the edge. "Waste ONE more second of my time you damn nigger, if you don't climb right back up here within 3 seconds, then you're cut from the group!" Lance screamed, fuming. Even I'd never seen him this angry. Ash was grinning widely - I could almost see it from the top of the cliff - As he darted between trees, shooting the targets at point blank. "THAT'S IT!" Lance screamed at the top of his lungs as he pulled his rifle off his arm and rested it on his right shoulder, right eye staring down the scope. The vein in his forehead was ready to explode, and all of a sudden a single image flashed in front of my eyes. The image of the large scar across the neck of the feline who worked in the cafeteria. I pushed a few furres aside to try and get to Lance, but I was too far from the Captain to get to him in time. Time stopped. Completely. All at once, I saw everything that happened. I saw Lance's finger pull the trigger back. I saw the steam pelt from the chamber of the rifle. I saw the bolt fly, completely straight, through Ash. And I saw his eyes. His eyes that showed, for once, powerlessness. For all the time I'd known him Ash had been in control of situations. He'd always known what was going on. He'd always been ahead of others. And he'd always been lighthearted, even when he was serious. But right then, there was nothing but fear. The small child he'd never been, coming to the surface for one brief moment. Out of my own body, I heard a few small screams, and three large ones. One from me, one from Ash, and one from somebody else. When I came out of the reverie, I was halfway down the cliff face, sliding rapidly. I almost tripped when I sprinted off the dirt, sliding to a rest right next to Ash. There was a massive hole right in his chest, more blood than I thought a furre should have being pumped from the wound. Smoke rose from the wound, and most of his insides were heavily burnt. Before anything else happened I tore my jacket off and wrapped it around Ash, as tight as I could. It was just big enough to cover the wound. "I... Guess I should have listened to you..," Ash said, barely audible. His lungs had been punctured, and the blood welling in his mouth was making it hard for him to talk. I tried to make him stop, but I was clogged up with every known emotion at once. "I suppose I can... Make an example of myself now... This is what happens... When you aren't yourself... When you rebel..." Ash's eyes were, as usual, filled with emotion. They were the most emotional part of him, and right now, they were filled with two things. Pain, and relief. Why these, was obvious. Anyone who's had to bottle up themselves so much that they take on a persona different to their own knows about this. "Take care of Coda... He needs it..," Ash said with a small smirk. "Stop talking like it's final, bro," I just managed to choke out. Realization was setting in, and depression was rapidly making it's way through the other clog of emotions as tears instantly welled into my eyes and slid down my cheeks. "Nah... Look at me... No hope..," he said, still smirking lightly. "I may as well say... Something useful in my life... So... Be yourself... And... Don't let this keep you back, too much..," Ash half choked out. All's I could do was stare. Sit, and stare. "Bah... I can't think of anything good to say... Just... Be yourself... You're one of the coolest people I've met... And I guess our date for this weekend's off..," he said with a laugh. "I was going to ask you... But... Oh well..," he said, coughing up even more blood. It wasn't red anymore, but near black. I knew what this meant. "Take care of yourself, huskyboy... You taught me a fair bit considering... How little we knew each other for... I hope I did the same... So... Sayonara..," Ash finished. I leant down, kissing his lips, not caring about the blood, as a goodbye. He smiled a bit, reading it for what it was, and just as I blacked out, my head collapsing onto his chest, I heard Ash take his last breath. *** I woke up, screaming, sweating. Cold sweat. I was drenched. 'J-... Just a dream,' I tried to assure myself, but even if I hadn't have known the truth already, the nurse rushing into the room confirmed it. "Mr. Hibana, are you alright?" "Ash..," was all I could say. *** "So, this is it... The end... The big finale'... The curtains closed... And all those other cliches. Hm... Eternal thought. This could get boring pretty quickly. Did I live my life? I suppose I should think about something like that, but I already know the answer. I enjoyed life, so yeah, I lived it... Hm... Yeah, real bor- Ah. Wait, there's that light cliche. I guess I should walk towards it. The meaning of life. The secrets of the universe. Everything anyone could possibly ever want to know, and then some. All on the other side of this door. Why am I not that excited? Okhami... I hope he doesn't get stuck up on this. Not doing anything with your life is one thing, but holding up someone else's is infinitely worse. Maybe I can haunt him for a day and tell him not to worry. Hell, I'll probably be hanging out with Clinton, Cobaine, Gates... Doesn't sound too bad to me. Or I might be in hell... I wonder if Lucifer's cute..." *** "I can feel him... Okhami... I can hear him breathing... I can hear his heart beating... I can feel his emotions a little, I think... I think he's adjusting... That's good... I can almost open my eyes... Maybe if I try I could come back? But, no... That'd be screwing with fate... No, it's my time to buzz off now... I've interfered with all this enough... It'll be nice to sleep, anyway... Goodnight, Okhami..." *** '... Smiling... He's... He's, smiling.' That one thought alleviated so much. Ash looked completely at peace. His eyes were closed, the nurses had done up the wound to be presentable, and he was smiling. Not a big smile. Not his grin that, to this day, I miss. But smiling, gently, content. Pure silence filled the room. Not a heavy one, but a light one, as if there was nothing else in the room but Ash himself. I leant down to plant a kiss on his cheek, tears welling in my eyes again. My mind was a blank. A hundred percent empty. There was nothing in there, at all, but the soft beating, and very quiet whimpers as I supressed my tears. Ash's family was around us. They were all crying, or at the least looked wracked with emotional pain. "Stop this, guys..," I said, not looking up from Ash. Most of the family stared at me. "That smile... He enjoyed his life, I think... Just remember... We need to mourne him... But don't go over the top... That's what he'd probably say, anyway..," I said with just the tiniest bit of emotion regained in my voice. Ash's mother cried just a little louder, and his dad smiled sadly at me, happy for the words. His sister nodded a bit, and the rest of his family sighed, and did the same. "A few days of mourning, enough to honour him, then moving on. That's how Ash would want it, I know." *** I stayed with him overnight. I just sat there. I could almost hear him. I think when I slept, I communicated with him a little. I dreamt of him. He told me not to worry and that he was happy. He said he was talking about business with Bill Gates. I laughed at that. At least, I think I did. No one minded my staying out. I awoke the next morning just in time to hear the door open behind me. As I turned, my vision faded to red. It's said by some that when a creature of wolf origin becomes angry enough, it's encased in something similar to a bloodlust. A pure rage that increases their abilities tenfold as they completely give into the rage and fury as an emotion in their purest forms. That day, I realized it was true. As Lance walked into the room, he stopped dead as he saw me. I lost control, at that moment. My fangs were bared and had elongated in offense, fur sticking up on end and looking like iron spikes covering my body. Everything I saw was just shades of red, and I could see, smell, and even taste Lance's horror as he saw me. I've never known anyone, especially myself, to be any more primitive, bestial, than I was that moment. Bloodlust. I pounced off my chair, sending it sprawling across the ground, fangs bared and claws going right for the neck, before blacking out again. I awoke only to see Lance half-cowering in the corner, bloody claw and fang marks covering a large portion of his body, as two security guards held me back. I fought against them for a moment longer, wanting, NEEDING to see Lance's jugular torn open and blood spray from the wound, needing to bathe in it, before blacking out yet again. *** "We have to. We have no other choice. The kid's going into seizures, fits, you name it." ".. What's the success rate?" "32.43%." "And the survival rate?" "84.64%." "I don't want to lose him." "We either lose him right now, or we take the risk of saving him. With all due respect sir, we have a great chance of saving him, and even if we don't he'll die right here. It's now or never, sir." "..." "We're running out of time, sir." "... You're right. Very well. Use him." The figure nodded and rushed over to the unconscious husky. Monitors surrounded the table, showing various life signs. The stress of the events of the last few days had been too much for him, and he was going into just about every side effect possible from stress, depression and pressure. The person beside the table picked up a needle, and injected it directly into the chest of the husky. As soon as the liquid was injected, he swiftly pushed a button, sending the table, and the husky on it, over into a large, cylinder-shaped machine that began to hum softly. He left the room again, joining the figure from before, overlooking a large, green room into which the cylinder had desposited the body of the husky. He was lying there, on a raised table as a swarm of small machines scanned over his body, injecting various fluids into different places, scanning, sewing, just about everything. The shorter figure, the one who had stayed in the room, sighed, looking on on the husky. "Now's the perfect time to perform the experiment sir. He meets all the pre-requisites. He's under incredible emotional strength, and if he's still in the lupine bloodlust as we think he may be, even in unconsciousness, then he's at his maximum strength. You shouldn't worry yourself," the taller said, as if comforting the other. "I hope so. He's a promising student even without the experiment. Would hate to lose him." "Just remember, sir. We have to let him learn on his own, and learn slowly. We can't tell him what's happened just yet." "Yes, I know, I've been briefed on the process. We'll have him escorted to settle back in as soon as the process is complete." *** My head was spinning. I could barely see. Everything fell faint on my eyes and I was having trouble walking at all. The doctors told me I'd had it pretty bad when I was passed out, and that I'd made Lance lose enough blood to put him in a coma for a little while. That made me smile, at least. As I stumbled into my room, I was practically pounced by a wailing Coda. He was crying, hard, and was obviously taking this even worse than I was. Although, Coda's Coda, so that made sense. I shushed him softly, trying to calm him, as I caught a new face. Sitting in the back of the room was a panda. He was pretty slim for a panda, had the usual black and white colours, and was wearing really casual clothes; blue jeans and a loose shirt. His face was oddly familiar. He walked up to me as I shushed Coda, who finally began to cry softly. "Hey," he said quietly, in a soft, and sad tone; his Japanese accent was heavy. "Sorry to come in on such a sensitive note. This poor one's been crying all day. I'm Mairu, I suppose you're Okhami," he said, still with sympathy in his voice. "Yeah, that's me," I said, ruffling Coda's hair a bit. Coda sniffed as his crying finally began to die down. Mairu simply nodded and, as if anticipating my next thought, smiled sadly and left the room, to give me and Coda some privacy. "Coda... Listen. You knew Ash as well as me. Would he want you to be like this?" I asked, still hugging the dog softly. I felt him shake his head against my chest. "Would he want you to get all down for too many days in a row about him?" Another shake. "Would, at this very moment, he say, 'Cheer up, s'not all bad'?" A final nod, as Coda stood straight, wiping the tears from his muzzle, and nodded his head with a forced smile. "We need to honour Ash... To grieve for him... But not in a way that sets us back. I'm going to hold a small 'Going Away' party for him this weekend. Invite his old good friends and such. Drake said I could use the training halls," I said as I petted Coda gentle. "We're going to celebrate his moving on, and you're going to be there. Then, we mourne, with loud, raucious cheers, and obnoxiously loud music," I said with a light smile, and had it returned. I shoved open the door behind us, and Maira raised his brows to see Coda cheered up, and me smiling. "Now, we need to meet our new roomie properly, so let's go get some of that pizza from the cafeteria." *** "Well, my name's Mairu, as you guys know... You've probably met my sis, apparently she served you when you came to our restaurant," Mairu said as we ate our food. 'Ah. That's where I recognized him from,' I thought to myself. "Um... I'm 21, I'm a complete gaming nut, I'm here doing a mix of intel and piloting... I'm here out of choice, and... That's it, I guess." *** Mairu had a pretty calm nature. One of those kind of people who believed that if you left something alone for long enough, it would fix itself. Everything should be looked at calmly, slowly, and everything should be thought out logically. He was a nice balance to my own nature of often running into things without thinking, always wanting to do things on the go, and Coda's ability to sometimes underthink due to shyness. But as far as I was concerned, Mairu never replaced Ash. To this day, I remember Ash. That huge grin, the glasses, I remember perfectly well the first time we met, how I knew something was odd. It's one of the only times I've caught on quickly to anything in my life. Me and Ash just linked that well. His voice, his demeanor, his faked voice, and of course his lips. Even now I sometimes still cry into the night as I think of him. And even now, I've never quite forgiven the fox that killed him. *** "Alex, you'll have your first lesson with him tomorrow. You up for it?" "Yeah, I'll be fine. I won't let you down, dad." ***NOTE: I really tried to 'install' the same feelings Okhami had at a lot of points of this. How overwhelmed he felt during Ash's passing, how at peace the mood was in the hospitol, the sick feeling when he returned to the dorms, etc. So some feedback on that, in particular, how you, yourself, felt when you were reading the major parts of this, would be especially appreciated.***