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Barracks	By : chayron Category: Dragon Ball Z > Yaoi - Male/Male Views: 16996 -:- Recommendations : 2 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Dragon Ball Z – it belongs to its respective owners. This fan fiction is not a commercial project, and I am not making any money from writing it.

Chapter List
- 1-Barracks
- 2-Part 2
- 3-Part 3
- 4-Part 4
- 5-Part 5
- 6-Part 6
- 7-Part 7
- 8-Part 8
- 9-Part 9
- 10-Part 10
- 11-Part 11
- 12-Part 12
- 13-Part 13
- 14-Part 14
- 15-Part 15
- 16-Part 16
- 17-Part 17
- 18-Part 18
- 19-Part 19
- 20-Part 20
- 21-Part 21
- 22-Part 22
- 23-Part 23
- 24-Part 24
- 25-Part 25
- 26-Part 26
- 27-Part 27
- 28-Part 28
- 29-Part 29
- 30-Part 30
- 31-Part 31
- 32-Part 32
- 33-Part 33
- 34-Part 34
- 35-Part 35
- 36-Part 36
- 37-Part 37
- 38-Part 38
- 39-Part 39
- 40-Part 40
- 41-Part 41
- 42-Part 42
- 43-Part 43
- 44-Part 44
- 45-Part 45
- 46-Part 46
- 47-Part 47
- 48-Part 48
- 49-Part 49
- 50-Part 50
- 51-Part 51
- 52-Part 52
- 53-Part 53
- 54-Part 54
- 55-Part 55
- 56-Part 56
- 57-Part 57
- 58-Part 58
- 59-Part 59
- 60-Part 60
- 61-Part 61
- 62-Part 62
- 63-Part 63
- 64-Part 64
- 65-Part 65
- 66-Part 66
- 67-Part 67
- 68-Part 68
- 69-Part 69
- 70-Part 70
- 71-Part 71
- 72-Part 72
- 73-Part 73
- 74-Part 74
- 75-Part 75
- 76-Part 76
- 77-Part 77
- 78-Part 78
- 79-Part 79
- 80-Part 80
- 10
- 11
- 12
Disclaimer: I do not own Dragon Ball Z – it belongs to its respective owners. This fan fiction is not a commercial project, and I am not making any money from writing it.
Warnings: Alternate Universe. Yaoi (male x male). Goten x Trunks and vice versa. Other pairings.
Barracks
by chayron (lttomb@yahoo.com), beta-read by chibi_vegeta
Part 11
The sun was beating down on the ranks of marching savars. It was a little past midday, but today they were not in auditoriums listening to their lecturers but outside where the heat was merciless. The neat columns of men were passing an arranged platform with an arbor where prominent guests from Longdam’s Officer Training School and officers from Hataro Officer Training School sat in cushiony and comfortable chairs. There were also three representatives from Commissioned Officer Academies. The platform had been raised in front of the barber’s shop between the fifth barracks and the headquarters building.
Goten’s scalp was itchy with salty sweat. He wished he could simply peel the accursed beret off and give it a good scratch. At least the beret wasn’t letting the sweat get into his eyes.
A beret was a part of the official uniform at School but it was only worn at events or when staying under the sun for a long time. Besides, only first-years were required to wear them. Second-years would usually have grown their bushy hair and manes back, thus unless pinned or clipped, it was impossible for any beret to stay on a stack of that hair. Goten could only speculate that berets, as a number of other recent innovations, had been introduced from Earth. Just like the shaving of first-years. Goten had heard that the tradition had been started on Vegeta-sei when people from Earth had complained about lice and other parasite colonies in Saiyan hair.
Marching amidst other first-years, Goten reached the platform. As he kept his eyes trained on the spot above his right shoulder, he could see six tables lined up with rows and rows of wineglasses. Most of them were already empty. There were also plates with posh-looking tea sandwiches on them. Behind the tables there were rows of chairs with seated officers. The majority of them seemed to be much more interested in wine and sandwiches and conversations instead of watching the parade.
Goten discerned a purple blob which belonged to a body dressed in Hataro Officer Training School’s uniform. The shaii was also engaged in a conversation with an important looking snob who was wearing the guest school’s uniform. A thought that the purple hair made the prince an easy target entered Goten’s head but a few seconds later evaporated together with his sweat. Wishing for the parade to end, Goten passed the platform and continued on.
Finally, there was a command to stop and turn right. With his pants sticking to his sweaty skin, Goten turned to stare at the wall of the fifth barracks. A microphone screeched, and then a five-minute speech by their taisa, Andera Gendian, started. He welcomed the guests and did not forget to say how grateful and honored he was for this opportunity to meet them and that he expected five days of unforgettable sports events.
Once his speech was over, the microphone was passed on to one of the high-ranking guests. A very similar speech followed. Nonetheless, Goten could detect some sort of acidity in those words. He wasn’t sure what was going on but it didn’t concern his wellbeing, thus he forgot it in the next few seconds after the speech had ended.
Goten felt sleepy. He thought he heard his name being whispered somewhere in the neighboring column of the savars from Longdam’s school but this, of course, could not be true and he continued slumbering.
Unlike the second-years, the first-years were hardly excited at all about the other school’s arrival. All of the guests were second-years, most of them elites, which left no opportunity for the first-years to take part in the games. This was a disappointment.
Goten was indifferent rather than disappointed. He had not intended to take part. Besides, what with his recent kitchen duty, late nights at the officers’ club, and the drill sergeant giving additional training, he had been lacking sleep. He had no idea how his friends managed to keep this up, but he had decided to cut down his visits to Matilda. Physical and mental strain usually manifested in migraine attacks. He had had enough of them to wish they never repeated again.
As a final point, their taisa offered a toast to mutually valuable experience. In answer to this, Fuujima Horuisa, the shaii of Longdam’s Officer Training School, gave Shaii Vegeta a meaningful look and expressed his wish for the better school to win. After that, the disturbed first-years were dismissed back to their lectures.
The taisa lowered his empty glass to the table and glanced at his shaii. Trunks felt him looking at him and their eyes met, the lavender-haired youth giving his superior an apologetic look. The taisa shrugged in answer; they had known that something like this would happen.
“Taisa Gendian, sir?”
“Yes?” The taisa turned around to look at Fuujima. The man probably had seen them exchange glances. He chuckled internally – he was not interested in these games. The prince would have to get his tail out of this on his own.
“Sir, I’ve just received a phone call from my taisa: it seems that his daughter’s life is not in danger anymore. Once again the taisa expresses his regrets for not attending the event.”
A relieved smile appeared on Andera’s face. “To hell with the games, the most important thing is that his daughter was saved.”
“This is good news, indeed,” the prince said, walking over to them.
“Yes,” Fuujima nodded, “she was bound to recover – she’s quite a warrior after all.”
“True, true,” the taisa agreed. “I heard once she and her squad attacked and decimated Morawa colony all by themselves.”
At this point, the prince decided to keep silent. Wadara Argo was a first-class superior with a good head on her shoulders but, even if while serving under her he had never questioned her decisions and orders, she had a tendency to exaggerate. First of all, there had been no attack – somebody had done a lousy job and their ship had run out of fuel. The only nearby planet at the time had been Morawa colony. Under fire, they half-landed half-crashed into it. It was pure luck they hadn’t killed themselves. Secondly, there had been no decimation. Something had malfunctioned in the colony’s automatic defense system and two guard towers had exploded all by themselves. The blast had also reached one of their nuclear armories which blew up as well, killing everyone in about a two-mile range. After that, when they had finally managed to scramble out of their wrecked ship, there was not much left for them to do except find the enemy soldiers that were still alive after receiving a fatal dose of radiation. It had been a morbid sight. Finally, all of them had been promoted for their merit to the Saiyan Empire. Personally, he didn’t like to remember that accident and had long ago sold his Medal of Honor. He remembered buying good boots with it.
The prince became aware of the sardonic look the other shaii was giving him. He figured Fuujima knew he had served under Wadara Argo. He probably also knew how it really had happened, the “attack”. Not that it worried him. Besides, Fuujima would not say anything as he would also involve his superior’s daughter and a lot of other now high-ranking people.
“I was thinking, sir,” Fuujima ended the awkward silence, “why don’t we arrange to play Capture the Flag?”
“What’s that?” the taisa wondered.
The prince felt a headache coming. “It’s a game from Earth, sir,” he explained in a mumble, reaching out for one of the filled glasses on the table. “The aim is to capture the enemy’s flag.”
“Yes, the winner must take the defeated side’s flag to his base.”
The taisa cast a quick look at his shaii who rolled his eyes. The prince was clearly annoyed but it didn’t seem that he would mind it much. “Sounds intriguing,” the taisa said. “Why don’t you two explain the rules to me in detail?”
The prince took a gulp from his glass. Absentmindedly, he listened to Fuujima’s explanations. The man could hardly suppress his eagerness.
“I see,” the taisa nodded. “This kind of game would surely increase the competitive spirit of our savars.”
It has surely increased my headache, the prince thought.
“So we need five capable savars from our side…” the taisa summed up. He looked at his shaii. “I’ll leave this to you, Shaii Vegeta.”
This was his punishment. The prince suppressed a tortured groan and nodded. “Certainly, sir.”
“How about arranging the game for the day after tomorrow, sir?” Fuujima asked. “Let’s not forget that we still need to reach Korama woods.”
“Alright,” the taisa nodded. “Then the men from both sides will be picked up tomorrow evening and transported there. And the game will start on the next morning.”
“Then I’ll be off, looking through our lists of savars, sirs.”
Fuujima’s face hardened as the prince saluted them, filled his glass and left their table without further ado.
ooOoOoOoo
“You are not required to take the examination on sword fighting.”
Surprised, Goten stared at his drill sergeant. But the man did not seem to be kidding him. “Uhh… What about the tomorrow’s theory, sir?” he asked the sergeant’s back as the man had not waited for his reaction and was walking further along the row.
The drill sergeant stopped walking and turned around to give him a hard glare. “It seems that nobody gives a fuck about your theory part either. Now shut your trap and go help disassemble the platform!”
Goten saluted. “Sir, yes, sir!”
While running towards the platform, which was being gradually dismantled, Goten realized that it must have been the shaii who had given the order. He wasn’t sure about the motive behind this. Was this the man’s way to apologize for cutting him during the swordfight? But he had punched the prince back then. Something wasn’t right here.
Goten scratched his stubbly scalp nervously - he had a bad feeling about this.
ooOoOoOoo
A knock echoed and the prince came in carrying a portfolio. “I’ve picked the men, sir.”
Interested, the taisa held out his hand for the portfolio. “Well, let’s take a look at them.”
The shaii held out the portfolio. He watched his superior pushing the documents he had been reading aside. He liked the man. Andera Gendian was from an older generation of men who were content with life even though they had no illusions about it. He mostly let life lead its own course but, from time to time, would steer it with an iron hand.
He was bulky, with the face of a country man and a touch of graying hair. He was a head and a half taller than the prince and taller than most Saiyans. He created an impression that to reach his post he had just walked through walls and sat down behind the desk, which seemed somewhat too small for him.
But then…what illusions more were there to have if one was already a taisa? When one has already reached the goal he had been aiming at? One had to know when to stop and just be content with what one had instead of striving further and further to the top until no peaceful nights were left. Except maybe most Saiyans did not want peace.
The prince pondered on that. He did want peace. But he was only a half-breed, what the hell did he understand about Saiyans after all? From time to time he felt estranged on his own planet; some people looked at him as if he were a bred monstrosity. What he knew was that, with the advance of his own career, it would be a pity to remove the man from his post.
Curiosity and concern sparked in the prince when, as soon as the taisa opened the portfolio, his face seemed to acquire a painful expression. He watched his superior stare at Goten’s biography.
“Sir?”
Leaving the portfolio lying on the desk, the taisa leaned back into his chair and dropped his arms on the armrests. “Have you already announced the players to Fuujima?”
“Yes, sir.”
The taisa lifted his right arm and started drumming with his fingers on Goten’s profile. “Nothing to do, then.” He sighed. “I hoped he would stay unnoticed.”
“Goten Bardock, sir?”
“Yes, Goten.”
“The shyu came to me when our people started changing his records.”
The taisa took another look at Goten’s photograph. “I suppose I should have just told him, in which case it wouldn’t have reached you.”
“But it has, sir. I am very interested to hear what is going on here.”
The taisa raised his head. A few firm notes in the lavender-haired man’s voice indicated that he was asking not as his underling but as his prince. He liked the youth. When he first had been informed that Trunks Vegeta was coming to work as a shaii to his base, he was half-ready to meet a pup who was used to ordering everyone around. The ordering around part came out quite true, but the pup appeared to be a grown-up fighting dog.
“I’m afraid I don’t know much. But before his arrival here I was requested to make sure he would not get himself killed and would successfully finish this School.”
“No doubt it proved to be difficult as he’s the sort to get his tail broken on the very first day.”
The taisa laughed softly. “That boy has a hell of a lot of a spirit.”
“Whose orders were those?”
“Veden Grendal’s.”
The shaii’s lavender eyebrows rose in surprise. He knew the man, had met him a few times during official banquets. Veden was a high-ranking officer working for National Security. “Why would a man like him be interested in some third-class?”
“I was told that Goten is a part of an important project. It was not explained any further and, naturally, I did not ask.”
The prince nodded. “Of course.”
“I’m afraid that’s all I know. I’m sure you will be more successful as your connections reach further than mine.”
The prince ignored this. He watched the taisa’s attention return to the portfolio. Five minutes later the man lowered the portfolio to the table. “For some reason I thought you would be more serious about this,” he said. “However, you not looking seriously at his challenge is going to piss Fuujima off even more. Maybe it’s a good idea to show we don’t give a damn.”
The prince cleared his throat. “Actually, sir, I am pretty serious about this. Well, more or less anyway,” he added.
The taisa gave him a surprised look. “Is that so?” He scratched his chin thoughtfully. “Then why are they all second-class? I’m not so sure about Goten yet, but he seems to be only a third-class.” He pointed his index finger at the portfolio. “And what the hell is with this squad title?”
ooOoOoOoo
“You’re lucky,” Ranvera grunted into his glass. “I wish I didn’t need to take the test tomorrow either.”
Goten sipped his beer. “Yeah. Good luck with that,” he mumbled drunkenly.
“So who did you sleep with in order not to take the examination?”
Goten didn’t rise to the bait. He gave Toharu the finger and continued sipping his beer. “Ah,” he suddenly said, remembering. “I wanted to say that from now on I’ll come to Matilda only on weekends.”
“Huh?”
“If it’s about money-” Toharu started.
“Nah,” Goten cut him off, shaking his head. Then he started nodding. “Well, yes, that too. But I’ve been feeling pretty tired recently.”
Ranvera shrugged. “I see. Then probably I’ll cut down on drinking too.”
“Well, I don’t have much money to spare either. I come only because you two come,” Kyon said. “So I won’t be coming either.” He gasped as Ranvera elbowed him in the ribs to keep him silent.
Goten turned to look at Toharu but his place was already empty, as well as Ario’s.
“I think they only come because they like fucking in Matilda’s toilets,” Ranvera said.
“Yes, it’s true,” Kyon agreed. “I also like them better than any of our barracks’.”
Ranvera gave Goten a sideways look. He hoped that Kyon would finally shut up and that Goten was smashed enough not to make connections in what drunken Kyon was blabbering.
Goten sighed at Ranvera’s pitiful attempts to cover for him and Kyon; the two of them couldn’t be more obvious. Ranvera, the idiot, even didn’t realize that he knew about the two of them, and that Kyon knew that he knew about the two of them. But did Kyon know that Ranvera didn’t know that he…? Goten’s eyes rolled up in his head. This was too difficult to comprehend. He put his elbows on the table and rested his chin on his hands. He stared at his nearly empty mug then yawned. Probably it was about time to go to sleep.
They turned their heads upward as a shadow loomed over their table. The friends scrambled to their feet and saluted.
“Sir!”
“At ease,” the prince said, taking a place beside Goten. He waited for them to sit down as well. “I have a piece of news for you but let’s wait for the other two to show up.” He motioned for the bartender to get him a drink. “Last time I heard them they seemed about to finish,” the shaii said in an annoyed voice.
“Ugh,” Goten grunted and lifted his mug to his mouth to finish the last of his liquor. “This piece of information was not necessary, sir.”
Kyon nodded, agreeing, but Ranvera shot Goten a warning look. It seemed that Goten had really drunk a few too many and was once again starting to act too familiar towards their superior.
“What’s not necessary is them daily fucking at Matilda’s,” the shaii pointed out matter-of-factly.
Goten shrugged. “I don’t think there’s a wide range of places to choose from, sir.”
“Library is just as good,” Kyon mumbled.
The prince’s head turned towards him. “Really?”
Unconsciously, Kyon glanced at Ranvera before nodding. “Yeah, tested and approved, sir.”
“I see,” the shaii nodded politely. Then he gave Ranvera a meaningful glare.
Ranvera ruffled through his re-growing hair nervously. He realized that, first, both Goten and Kyon were unpredictable – gods knew what they were going to say next. Secondly, based on Goten’s lack of reaction, he didn’t need to worry about Goten finding out about him and Kyon – currently Goten’s brains would not be able to tell a chair from a table. And thirdly, for some reason the shaii seemed to dislike him.
“Thank you, sir,” Goten said.
The shaii indulged in his freshly-brought mug of beer. “Hmm? For what?” he asked after taking a good gulp.
“For releasing me from the swordfight examinations, sir.”
The shaii looked at Goten’s face. Goten was not yet drunk but positively buzzed, his large defenseless eyes giving him an open look. Goten had a handsome face with regular features, the re-growing hair starting to frame it. Soon he would look just like in the picture in his profile. The prince realized that he was looking forward to that. He took a swig out of his mug again. “You helped me out with training the savars, so I figured I could do something to show I appreciate your efforts,” he said.
“That’s nice, sir.”
Ranvera swallowed his beer nervously. When a superior was nice to you, it meant trouble. There was no reason for the shaii to like Goten after he had caused this much mess; Goten was in danger.
Kyon reached out over the table to clap Goten on his shoulder. “You were right – he is a really nice guy. Well, apart from the time you said he wasn’t.”
“Told you,” Goten said, taking a gulp from his mug. He gave the shaii the heavenly smile of a drunken idiot.
The prince felt somewhat guilty after receiving the grateful, unsuspecting smile. Goten was such a simple and honest lad, with a seemingly simple life and seemingly simple choices. Goten was one of those who were content to go with the flow. Additionally, he also had resolve not to allow others to disturb his swim. People liked and respected this and gathered around him. It was quite simple when one thought about that. You liked him, he liked you back. You didn’t like him – as long as you didn’t get in his way – he didn’t care.
Interested in Goten’s reactions, the prince returned the smile. Goten’s smile widened up to his ears. Incredulous, the shaii rubbed his chin; it seemed that the youth really did like him. This pleased him for some reason. But probably Goten’s smile was not for long.
“Hey, you two! Ario and Toharu!” The shaii waved for them to approach the table.
Toharu and Ario, who, after having noticed the shaii at their table and had been about to sneak out of the door, approached. They saluted.
“Sir!”
“Sit down. I have some news.”
“So,” the shaii started as everyone was finally seated, “do you know Fuujima Horuisa?”
“Isn’t this the shaii of the Longdam’s base, sir? The daddy of the punk who was kicked off the base a month ago?”
All heads turned to Ario.
After a pause, the prince cleared his throat. “I see that you’re well-informed. So you do know the situation.”
“What situation?” Goten asked, utterly confused.
Kyon and Ranvera were equally uncomprehending. Not sure whether they needed to say anything, Toharu and Ario gave the prince careful glances.
The shaii rolled his eyes. “Yes, he’s the father of the elite you beat up. After that, he and his buddies wrote a complaint against the three of you but his behavior was unacceptable and I excluded him from the base. Now his daddy is back and here we have this idiotic challenge of Capture the Flag.”
“What’s that, sir?” Goten wondered.
“A game where soldiers have to capture the enemy’s flag.”
“I like games!” Goten declared joyfully.
The shaii grinned at him ominously. “Oh good. Because you’re in. All five of you.”
This made Kyon sober up in a blink. He didn’t like situations where his life could turn unpredictable. “Sir, we are in where?” he asked for specifications.
“You’re in the game. The one with the flags.”
“Sir?!”
“But, sir, we-”
The shaii shook his head. “The arguments are pointless as Goten has already agreed.”
“Why does Goten decide for all of us, sir?” Ario protested. “Besides, he’s drunk out of his head.”
“Well, this is because he’s your newly appointed squad leader. And he’ll sober up by tomorrow anyway.”
Goten raised his hand. “Sir?”
“Yes, Goten?”
“Not to mention that I’m completely sober now and that I’ve never agreed to the game and that I have no wish to be a squad leader… Sir, does this have anything to do with a German shepherd?”
“A what? Oh, you’re still on about that. Uhh…”
“Because, sir, this kinda sounds as if I’m…Hmm…” Goten tried to explain but his fuzzy mind lost the thought.
“Oh, I like your thinking,” the shaii nodded. “You’re right. All of us are someone’s dog. It’s a good metaphor!”
“A what?” Toharu wondered.
“Never mind. Now, stop drinking, all of you, and go back to your barracks. Tomorrow, as soon as you are done with your kitchen duty, come to my office. That’s all, dismissed.”
ooOoOoOoo
Fuujima raised his head at the knock on the door.
“Sir.” His shyu entered their temporarily office, which used to be the officers’ meeting room. He was carrying a portfolio. “I’ve gathered the information sir requested.”
“Good, good.” Fuujima reached out to take the portfolio.
“Four of them are second-classes,” the shyu said, watching the shaii open the portfolio and begin to read the first profile. “The last one is just a third-class.” Nervously, he fidgeted with the buttons on his jacket. He was waiting for the explosion of anger but when it didn’t come, he raised his eyes to look at his superior’s face. Fuujima was red with rage. Silently, he watched his shaii leaf through the documents in jerky movements. He skimmed angrily through the first two profiles then read Kyon Hikaru’s, Toharu Amatachinna’s and Ario Krameran’s profiles. These seemed to be the most serious opponents even though they were only second-classes.
The shyu noticed his superior startle as he opened to the last profile. The shaii read through the personal information of the third-class thoroughly.
“I was also surprised to see a third-class on this base, sir,” the shyu started, hoping to breach the ominous silence. “After all it’s-”
“Does the surname Bardock ring a bell?”
The shyu hesitated. “It sounded somewhat familiar, sir. Mmm…Gohan Bardock?”
“It’s his brother, Goten.”
The shyu gave him a shocked look. “What is he doing here?”
“Probably the same thing Gohan was doing on Hyon’s base.”
The shyu was silent for a few moments. “He might be a serious hindrance in the game,” he said finally. “Should I do something about him, sir?”
Fuujima leaned back in his chair. “No, don’t touch him. It’s too dangerous to get entangled with him. He’s too valuable a project.” Fuujima tossed the portfolio back onto the table. “Besides, he shouldn’t have reached his full potential yet.” He laced his fingers behind his head and leaned into his chair. Now he wasn’t sure whether Trunks was openly disregarding his challenge or hoped that Goten would manage to beat his men on his own. Probably a bit of both.
ooOoOoOoo
“Am I really the squad leader?” Goten asked, just in case he had dreamed it all up at night. He shifted in his seat nervously. Not counting a few demonstrations of accidental leadership, he had no experience in leading men. Goten was responsible, he liked being responsible, but only for himself and his own actions. Being responsible for other people was something he didn’t like and always tried to avoid. Now he was trying to calm himself down by telling himself that as long as this was a game and not war, he would somehow manage. The worst that could happen, after all, was them…losing a game.
Ranvera snorted. “You heard the man.” He tried to smooth out the creases in his uniform then gave up and straightened in his chair, giving the opposite wall a doleful look. He felt he just had to resign to his fate.
Ario scowled. “He knows shit about being a squad leader. We still haven’t covered that in our studies.”
Something pricked him and Goten lowered his head to inspect the right armrest. A piece of wooden splinter was protruding from it. “Stop demoralizing my men,” he muttered, tearing it off. On his side, Ario huffed something incomprehensible. Most likely an insult. Goten examined the splinter then threw it onto the floor.
Watching the exchange of wills, Toharu scratched his head. Both Ario and Goten were inclined to leadership. Ario’s build alone inspired confidence. He was somewhat patronizing as well, and also good at quick decisions. Goten, meanwhile…heck knew why he inspired people to follow him, but they did. And got beaten by Goten’s enemies. Wondering about the phenomenon, Toharu shrugged dismissively. “Who the heck cares? All of them will be elites; we’ll lose anyway.”
“Yeah,” Kyon seconded him. “To win would require too much effort. We might also get shot or beaten. Let’s just surrender as soon as the game starts.”
“Not a bad idea at all,” Toharu agreed. “We could let them bribe us and then surrender. Oh, why not arrange stakes for the winner? There are bound to be idiots who’d bet on us winning!”
Ario slapped himself on the forehead. “You…”
Goten stared at the door that led to the shaii’s office. They had come a little too early and the shaii was not in yet, thus the five of them were waiting for him in the dark corridor. Goten gave Toharu’s plan some thought. It was logical. If one had to lose then why not lose with profit?
“The problem is,” Goten concluded, “that I’m sure that in case we lose, he’ll punish us. He will rule out the possibility of us wanting to lose.”
“Man,” Toharu groaned. “And it was such a good plan! With lots of income, too!”
“He’s an aberration,” Kyon muttered.
“Who’s an aberration?”
The savars jumped to their feet to salute the shaii who had just appeared at the end of the corridor.
“Sir, my roommate, sir!”
“Ah, I suspect you’re talking about Goten?”
Kyon threw an apologetic glance at Goten, who just showed him a resigned face, telling Kyon to just get on with it and accuse him of the evils of the entire universe. “Yes, sir!”
“Why do you think so?” the shaii asked nonchalantly while approaching the door. He opened it, making the light from his office rush into the corridor. He motioned for the savars to follow him.
Kyon thought frantically. “There’s always bound to be an accident whenever he shows up, sir.”
“Hmm,” the shaii drawled thoughtfully while sitting down at his desk, “that’s so, but I’d rather think him your good-luck charm.”
“Sir?” Goten addressed the shaii while they were filing into the office.
“Yes, Goten?”
“I’m not much interested in being anyone’s good-luck charm, sir, so could sir dismiss me from the position of squad leader? I assure you, sir, I’m absolutely not qualified to be one.”
Seeing Goten’s desperate eyes, the prince fought hard to suppress his smile. He suddenly realized that this was exactly what he had been looking forward to when choosing Goten. For some reason Goten’s awkwardness and protests were giving him a lot of satisfaction.
“None of you is qualified to be one,” the shaii said. “So I figured you’d be the closest call as you like being in the spotlight.”
“I assure you, sir, I don’t li-” Goten started.
“Alright, so about tomorrow’s game,” the shaii continued, not paying him any attention. “Today at four o’clock you come to the flagpole and from there you’ll be taken to Korama woods. The game starts tomorrow at nine o’clock.” He opened one of his desk drawers and fished out five folders. “Here are the rules of the game,” he said, tossing them on his desk for the savars to take. “Any questions so far?”
Shaking his head, Goten looked at the file in his hand then opened it. It wasn’t thick, just a few pieces of paper. It would probably take about ten minutes to read and digest. “Sir?”
“Yes, Goten?”
“What do we get if we win, sir?”
“Ah, you mean what would happen to you if you don’t?” the shaii interpreted. “If you lose, you get a month of latrine duty.”
“I see, sir. So, if we win, we don’t get a month of latrine duty.”
“You’re unbelievably smart, Goten.”
Mirthless, Goten glowered at the file in his hand. “Thank you, sir. Sir?”
“Yes, Goten?”
“What’s with our squad’s name, sir?”
“Oh, you mean WIMPS? It’s the acronym of Wondrously Invincible Mighty Prince’s Squad.”
Dumbstruck, Goten stared at the shaii for a few seconds then forced out a smile. Was the man an idiot? “I see, sir,” Goten stuttered a few seconds later. “Very…original.”
The shaii nodded. “I thought so. So if you don’t have any further questions, you’re dismissed.”
Silently, the savars saluted and left the office.
“Is he fucked up in the head?” Ranvera muttered. “What the fuck is with that title? He’s just making fun of us!”
Irritated, Goten shook the file in his hand wanting to just slap it down into the dusts on the ground. Instead he kicked at the soil fruitlessly. He snorted. “Not of us. Of that idiot’s father. But it’s just as bad. The purple-haired bastard. I want to punch him good!”
“You already did!” Kyon snapped at him. “Remember? And that’s why all of this is happening! He hates your guts! And now he hates us too!”
“Oh, shut up, you baby!” Ranvera snarled at him. “Run to your mommy!”
“Don’t you dare mention my mom, you overgrown asshole!”
“We won’t even be taken seriously with a title like this,” Goten spat, ignoring them. “It’s already set. We have simply been thrown in to create some amusement.”
“And then we’ll get a month of latrine duty. You know, I also want to sock him good,” Ario growled out. “Cut it out, you idiots!” he roared at Kyon and Ranvera who were still bantering.
“Boys, boys, calm down,” Toharu shushed them, clapping Goten’s and Ario’s shoulders. He smacked Kyon and Ranvera over their heads, making them yelp. “Now listen to me. Nobody expects us to win, right? So we lose and nobody complains. And those who do, we punch them good. And a month of latrine duty will pass pretty quickly. Relax. Let’s go drinking.”
“You and your drinking!” Ario glared at him.
“Well, such a squad name is a definite reason to get drunk,” Kyon agreed with a sigh.
“We have an exam today, remember?”
“I don’t!” Goten grinned.
“I’m gonna punch you one,” Ario threatened him.
Goten ruffled through his re-growing hair, sighing. “Let’s go back to the lectures. I don’t want any more trouble. Then you pass that exam and then we go read the instructions on the game, pack and wait at the flagpole.”
“Sounds good to me,” Ranvera agreed.
ooOoOoOoo
When Goten woke up, it took him a few seconds to remember where he was. He checked his wristband. Someone farted. Goten looked at the other four sleeping-bags further in the tent. He yawned then started crawling out of the tent. He was just in time to avoid being caught in a cloud of stench.
Goten kicked an empty bottle he had discovered on his way further over the grass. Then he found a nearby tree and marked it by getting rid of a wine bottle’s worth of liquid. Once done, he leaned against the same tree and took in the scenery before his eyes. Even if they were going to lose and get latrine duty, being here was nearly worth it. He had never seen so much greenery in his life. A huge field of grass spread as far as his eyes could see. There were a few shrubs and lonely trees. He turned around to look at the forest behind him. There was a slight wind which ruffled at his khakis and T-shirt lazily. This was the first time he could hear the trees soughing. And the air – he breathed in a lungful – was fresh and crisp and damp with morning dew.
Suddenly, ear-splitting snores echoed in the tent and Goten’s head turned to look at it. They still had an hour until the beginning of the game. After coming here yesterday, they had a short briefing then were given a tent. They should have gone to sleep at once, but Toharu had brought a few bottles of booze with him. Toharu insisted they had a party. He was of opinion that, since they were going to lose anyway, they should make the most of their time here. Strangely enough, Goten, after having a glassful, found that he could not resist Toharu’s iron logic.
The tent rustled and Ranvera’s head appeared. Groggily, he muttered a greeting and went to mark the same tree Goten had.
“Well?”
Goten turned to see him doing up his pants then he leaned against the tree next to Goten. Goten shrugged. There was not much to say.
Ranvera yawned. “Nice scenery, isn’t it?”
“Yeah. I was thinking it was worth coming here just to see this.”
“Hmm… You’ve never seen a forest before?”
“Nope.”
“I see.”
“There were a lot of rocks and sand, though. I mean, where I was growing up.”
Ranvera’s eyes settled on Goten’s face to see him smiling. Ranvera chuckled. “Haven’t we all seen our share of them?” Before Goten could turn his concentration back to watching the forest, Ranvera nudged him slightly. “How about a quickie while everyone’s still asleep?”
“Is that the only thing you ever think about?”
“Well, not really. I also frequently think about how to break into the School’s database and pass all the examinations at once.”
Goten laughed. “Good luck with that.”
“I’m pretty serious.”
“Oh.”
Goten looked surprised and Ranvera chuckled. “Actually, I’m quite good at that. Only they confiscated all of my software before I entered the base.”
Goten scratched his head. “I suppose they knew what they were doing.”
“Well, yeah. I was released on probation. I suppose this School would never accept anyone on probation but they are pretty confident in my skills. I’ll probably start working for National Security as soon as I finish School.”
“That’s impressive.”
“Goten, you know how I feel about you. I was thinking that we c-”
“Maaan, I’m hungry,” Toharu whined crawling out of the tent. “I had nothing in my mouth since yesterday’s lunch.”
Goten pointed at the bottle lying at his feet. “That’s a complete lie.” A wave of relief and shame washed over Goten. He gave Toharu a grateful look, which Toharu answered with a wink.
“Actually, I’m pretty hungry too,” Ranvera said. His stomach rumbled as if on cue.
Goten sighed. All of them were hungry. They left the base yesterday before dinner. When they came to Korama woods – it was about eight o’clock in the evening–, they had a short briefing in a huge tent stretched out for that purpose. There had been some food and drinks but nobody invited them to eat or drink.
During the briefing, for everyone’s amusement, the name of their squad had been mentioned at least twenty times. Surprisingly, Goten found that it didn’t bother him in the slightest. He had also noticed that Toharu had been more interested in the luxurious flatware on the tables than in the briefing itself. He couldn’t be sure, but he suspected that currently some of it could be found in Toharu’s rucksack. Ario’s concentration hadn’t been on the briefing either as he had been gloomily staring at the food they hadn’t been able to reach. Kyon seemed as if he had been listening to what was said but at the same time he had been fingering the tablecloth and admiring the flowery patterns and needlework. As for Goten, he had been concentrating more on his teammates than on anything else. The only one who had been paying attention to what had been said was Ranvera. His attention never strayed away from the maps and the screens they were shown.
They had also been given five dart guns with tranquilizers. Goten thought that it somewhat too extreme but figured it was in case someone wanted to cheat and change their uniform. You just shot the enemy and he fell over asleep. It was simple enough.
They had met their opponents as well. Five towering elites. Even if Goten had expected such a turn of events, he had still been taken aback. Very likely, somewhere deep in his mind he had still been hoping that someone would decide to even their chances.
A fart erupted in the tent. Goten sighed.
“Quit farting, Ario, and get up!” Toharu commanded.
A loud groan was heard from the tent. “My head’s killing me. I’m never drinking again…”
Toharu rolled his eyes. “Yeah, yeah, yeah, sure.”
Ario’s large body surfaced from the tent. “I don’t feel very well,” he groaned, lurching towards the tree.
“Goddamn!” Ranvera cursed as retching sounds were heard. “We are one member down.”
Toharu shrugged. “Who the heck cares?”
“I’d like a little compassion here, darling,” Ario muttered.
“My head’s killing me too, but you don’t see me complaining, do you? There’s still about half a bottle left somewhere,” Toharu said. “Go and drink that.”
For a few seconds only the muted sound of liquid against the bark of the tree was heard then Kyon’s head appeared out of the tent.
“What a stench!” he complained, slinging his dart gun over his right shoulder. “How much time do we have till the start?”
Goten looked at his wristband. “About half an hour.”
“No time to waste then. Let’s start preparing.”
All eyes set on Goten. He shrugged. “Sure, why not.”
TBC
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