Upon entering the gates, we were greeted by the bustling sights of a busy settlement. Leather-armored soldiers were training with various weapons, cooks were kiting piping hot meals to workstations, and joy was in the air.
Small groups formed around bonfires as they drank and sang, celebrating a day's hard work alongside the fall of the evening Sun. There would be no cheer for us, though.
Rather than a wooden mug of homebrewed alcohol and a slab of red meat, we were grouped up at the camp's entrance, like a pile of new weapons to be inspected. Our inspector: Henry Barrett.
Akin to how he was in the forest, the man exuded an aura of dominance. His sharp gaze seemed capable of rousing a man's spirit and crushing it.
This was a nostalgic experience for me. To be appraised as an object based on usefulness was step one to becoming a soldier. For my countrymen, barring Takagi, that wasn't the case.
Aside from Kamida and Takagi, they cast worried looks toward the three that led us here. They were silently pleading for them to stay.
"Where are you three off to?" Kamida questioned with a smile.
Mizuno matched his gaze and gave a light smile. "We're reporting back, don't worry." She turned away, beckoning for Suda and Shrug to follow.
Shrug looked at us and shrugged before following Mizuno away.
Suda's reaction was the most alarming. She eyed each of us, top to bottom, before giggling nervously. "Good luck," she said. Finally, she nodded in Barrett's direction.
He responded with a sharpened scowl. Almost as if it cut Suda, she winced and speedily retreated away with Mizuno and Shrug.
The issues between the two seemed deeper than their meeting in the forest. He glowered angrily, and she shrunk away in shame; for whatever reason, the two definitely weren't on friendly terms.
Either way, she left, leaving us entirely to Barrett's mercy.
He stood in front of us, hands crossed behind his back, and took a deep breath. Then, after a calm exhale, he widened his eyes. "Line up!" he demanded.
The pressure from his intimidation pushed my countrymen into place. In my case, I hesitated. As a soldier, my only true orders should come from a superior within the Japanese military or political hierarchy.
However, those rules didn't apply anymore. We were in a new world, and it was finally time for me to adapt. If I wanted to protect the few countrymen I had left, I'd have to fall in line.
So I did.
He stepped forward and, one by one, appraised us. First was Kamida.
"Your arms, raise them to your sides," he glared at Kamida.
Kamida must've been used to this level of intimidation; he barely twitched at Barrett's menacing presence.
Instead of stammering or crying as he had in the manor, he calmly smiled. He acted just as he did before the big reveal of death, suave and collected. I guess he had nerves of steel so long as he wasn't in a life-or-death situation.
Barrett hummed and raised a hand to his beard. "You're scrawny and a lousy fighter. I'll leave it to Elaine to figure you out."
For Agawa, he discovered a concealed knife she had on her (my old paring knife). She tried playing it off, but he confiscated it, much to her dissatisfaction.
Finally, he praised her muscle tone and smiled. "You're a limber one. You'll make a fine scout," he smirked and moved on.
"What're you talking about?!" Agawa snapped back. "A scout? What makes you think I'd work for you?! I never agreed to anything!"
He narrowed his eyes at Agawa and chuckled. "This camp has no room for freeloaders," he taunted. "I'll let YOU think on that."
I motioned to glare menacingly at him; I wasn't about to let him threaten my countrymen. But he was right. In this world, it was kill or be killed; she'd have to learn that one way or another.
In Takagi's case, Barrett noticed his melancholy. Specifically how unresponsive he was to being ordered. When Barrett forcefully tried to raise Takagi's arm for the inspection, Takagi pulled away.
In retaliation, Takagi shouted, "don't touch me," wound up his arm, and thrust his fist into Barrett's jaw.
Takagi threw the punch with all his strength, but Barrett remained unbothered. In fact, he was happy about it, given the grin sprawled across his face.
"You've got some fire, kid." He laughed, wiped the blood from his nose, and put his hand on Takagi's shoulder. "The enforcers always need new bodies... We're glad to have you aboard!"
"Oh, and kid..." his eyes went cold, and he squeezed down on Takagi's shoulder, causing him to wince. "Don't punch me again, not unless you're ready for a hell of a fight." He raised both arms, exposing the mass of pulsating muscle in his biceps to flex.
Takagi growled, but Barrett only laughed back in response.
When he reached me, like with the rest, he performed the motions of intimidation. He was probing me to see if I'd crack under pressure. But I was used to this kind of thing.
So I performed the motions of a trained soldier. I raised my arms for his inspection and stood to attention.
"Woahoho," he was taken aback and leaned in to make eye contact, "you're different. You've got the eyes of a killer." He inspected me further, commenting on all the visible scars on my body.
"You... You've fought before." He smirked and stepped back. "I think you'll fit right in with the enforcers too."
I nodded back. In these situations, it was customary to salute in Japan, but we weren't there anymore. So I opted not to.
He frisked me, removing the holsters and armor I'd scavenged from the manor. One thing caught his notice; it was something I'd forgotten about until now.
"Hmmmm," he hummed with a low tone. "Where did you get this?" He held up his hand, revealing the keyring I'd stolen from the two guards back at the manor. Between his fingers was the odd key. The one with engraved golden feathers.
"I stole it from two guards within the manor," I replied.
"I see; I'll be confiscating this, too, for further inspection." I wasn't about to argue over some keys. They already served their use when I set my countrymen free. I could care less what happened to them now.
Unopposed, he stashed the keys away on his person, then resumed to the rest of the group.
From there, he moved to analyze the sisters and Takahashi. But he was interrupted by a woman.
"Barrett, don't you think it's time to stop toying with the newbies?" She raised her finger to scold and spoke with a voice as smooth as a summer breeze.
She had eyes of silver and silky long white hair with blackened tips. Her sweet smile matched her mature allure and melted away any unease. Finally, her well-defined and curvy body was hidden beneath her buttoned gray-black blouse and slacks.
"Elaine?" He raised an arm. Don't interr-"
She walked past him, ignoring his protests. Then, after a modest bow, she introduced herself. "It's a pleasure to meet all of you. I'm Elaine Hearth, and I'm the lead personnel coordinator."
Standing behind her was a turbulent firestorm of fury. "Hey... What the hell do you think you're doing, Elaine?" He reached forward, but she turned toward him with another smile.
"Henry... Why don't you focus on your job as Quartermaster? Sure up our supplies for us. Besides, the General needs to speak with them. You'll obey the chain of command, won't you?" Though sweet on the surface, I could detect traces of malice within her words.
pαпdα-ňᴏνêι·сóМ He scowled at her and let out a deep growl before leaving.
With Barrett gone, Hearth returned her focus to us. "Well," she clasped her hands and tilted her head, "shall we meet the General?"
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