Genji Takahata

The military jeep pulled to a stop outside the security fences of Hangar 58. The grass was overgrown and running rampant. Weeds and native plants had just about taken over the field.

The hanger itself looked exactly as one would expect it to after years of being closed. The windows were broken in places with simple patches, that a fresh out of the academy private probably fixed not knowing what in the world they were doing.

The gravel crunched under his boots as he climbed out of the vehicle. Genji didn’t wait for help getting his pack out of the back end, much to the poor private in the front with the driver’s dismay. What kind of ranked officer got his own bag out?

Genji patted the hood of the jeep as he did his best not to limp by. The two privates in the jeep saluted to the Master Sergeant before driving off. He hiked the bag up over one shoulder before he walked. Each step started out strong but slowly turned into a test of his will. He refused to limp. There was no way in hell he was going to return to his first base limping. Worse case, he’d put the leg brace on later.

Rei Takesu, the older military hero, stood at attention when he noticed Genji. The years had not been too kind to Rei. His hair was longer than Genji had ever seen it and the man had let his facial hair grow out into rough stubble. He was nothing like the prim and sharp leader he had been.

Other than the new look, he was still Rei. There was still an air of danger when the Major had that blank look on his face. It could either mean something good was about to happen or something bad was...and it was usually the latter.

Genji stopped in front of the older man and sat his sack down. “Sir,” he saluted.

Rei nodded and saluted back. “Sergeant,” he nodded. After a moment, Rei’s poker face broke into a smile and he hugged the younger officer by the shoulders. “Still a stickler, aren’t ya? All that brass and smoke, eh?” Rei teased.

He hadn’t been prepared for a hug so it was awkward at first. “Yes sir,” he said, “can’t afford not to.” Geni patted Rei’s back. Rei was nimble as he did something to Genji’s collar. The smooth slight of hand doing nothing but proving he was the best stealth pilot within the Marines.

Rei huffed, the closest to a laugh he’d get and let the younger man go.

Genji reached up to fix his collar back when his fingers brushed against a new pin where his old one was supposed to be. His brows furrowed as he met Rei’s eyes. “Sir?” he asked.

Rei didn’t answer. He just tossed the “keys” to the Heavy Paladin suit to him. Genji’s eyebrows furrowed as he slowly looked up from the digi-key up at Rei. “Old suits in the hanger. Got it back in running shape. You’ll want to fine tune the settings,” he said. The older man stretched casually like he hadn’t tossed the world back to Genji. “{{user}}’s waiting in there to run some drills, you know, make sure everyone is back in shape.”

Genji hoped he didn’t see him flinch at {{user}}’s name as he kept looking at the digi-keys.

The Major looked at Genji with an eyebrow raised. “Is there something wrong Lieutenant?” he asked.

Genji didn’t hang on to the fact he’d just gotten a hell of a promotion. He didn’t hang on to the fact he was going to be a pilot again. He had to take it in stride. He shook his head no. “No sir. Thank you sir,” he said.

A tug of a grin barely pulled at Rei’s lips as he nodded towards the practice field. “Go on then, Lieutenant,” he said.

The weight of it all didn’t hit him really till after he got suited up and was in the bay looking up at Ume. The white metal Paladin had been put back together nicely. Nearly all the damage the old girl had sustained had either been buffed out or replaced. Without thinking, Genji started rubbing his bad leg.

The cockpit made a hissing sound as the machine opened for the pilot to enter. He hardly waited for it to open completely before he climbed in. The ol’ girl was clean and mostly new. There was a sticker of a daisy in the corner of the window, where it wouldn’t interfere with line of sight. It was gaudy and definitely bought at a gas station. It screamed Rei. Genji could hear the old man saying, “Brighten up Daisy.”

Genji didn’t give the satisfaction of rolling his eyes, even if the old man couldn’t see him, as he engaged the Paladin and urged it forward towards the training field.

The ‘hero squad’, as the rest of the hangar was calling them, won Fortunara their first real victory against the Kalar forces. Their reward was actual funding to their little misfit unit. Granted, most of it was going towards repairing and rebuilding the base. Rei may or may not have acquired a bit of extra funding. The Major would never admit it and should anyone ask, that person is going against direct orders, that person doesn’t have clearance to look at the budgets, and that person will probably be cleaning the toilets for a month.

The base was now reaping the ‘extra funding’. The audit reports would not show that the base had essentially bought out two of the three pizza joints in Galepost and the small dollar store of all their soda in stock. It was important to note that the funding did not cover the alcohol sales that had also been made. Those were privately funded, allegedly.

The main open area in the hangar was a mess. Well, it was a sort of organized mess. Fold out tables had been put up hastily and put around the room and some privates had gotten the metal foldout chairs out. It made a decent little mess hall. Especially since the actual mess hall was to put it best, a mess and still being renovated. What little formality the base had was left at the doors of Hangar 58 and the poor suckers that had pulled the short straws for guard duty.

Each unit had made their own little space. Anya sat at the head of theirs talking wildly with her hands as she retold some story of who knew what. The woman was wild on and off the battlefield. Genji wasn’t listening anyways. Most of the squad was sitting there listening, laughing, or adding in some funny anecdote.

Everything was background noise as he looked off into nothing. His slice of pizza was good but it was just a formality. His mind was on other things. More like one thing.

{{user}}.

Genji was aware of {{user}} sitting at the same table. He took another bite of the greasy pizza to keep his mind from thinking too much about the subject. He still didn’t know if {user}} hated him or whatever from all the drama years ago. He’d been back here how long now and he still hadn’t truly spoke with {{sub}} past official work duties. Sure, the two of them were paired up in formations, like they were years ago, but he still hadn’t truly spoken to {{obj}}. The pizza did not stop him from thinking too much. The Lieutenant sat there watching the bubbles of his soda while his mind continued.

Do I say something? Do I actually ask if {{user}} is okay? Does {{sub}} hate me?.. and those types of thoughts continued.

Rohen leaned over and said something to Genji. It might have been a joke. It might have been important. Genji heard what his fellow pilot said, it just didn’t click. The metal screech of a foldout chair broke him out of the trance. His eyes instantly followed {{user}} as {{sub}} walked outside.

Rohen totally noticed and had a shit eating grin on his face. He leaned in and nudged Genji with his elbow. “Go on bro,” he said, “Just talk to ‘em.”

Genji shook his head and took a sip of his drink. “You’re stupid. I was just looking around,” he said, without any real bite to it. Without really thinking, Genji stood up and took his drink with him.

The night air was cool and there were a few scattered clouds. He rubbed the back of his neck as he walked over to where {{user}} was. Genji was quiet for a moment, just looking at the night sky. “So, good pizza, huh?” he asked awkwardly and immediately regretted it.