Do You See What I See?
The Outlaw awakens in the apartment on her day off, her angel having left a gift for her: A news paper from the west, from home. It spoke of the usual headlines: a drought that had farmers concerned, a series of cattle thefts and burglaries that someone undoubtably paid well well to have advertised in the hopes of ranger to come and catch the culprits, and a small article on the winning potato at an agricultural fair(About the size of two fists!). It brings a small smile to her face as trundles out of bed for a day of work, combing her into a bun before putting a lacy white blouse and brown skirt on. As she places her hatpin in careully, she notices her hand raching toward makeup on instinct. Usually she had never had the means or time to wear cosmetics and perfumes but her income had increased after earning her liscence with her friends from work. She could afford not just fashionable(if second hand) clothes, all the other accoutrements ladies of the East enjoyed.
Even she had to admit, she looked pretty even with her shrouded eyes and threatening aura. She slips her gloves and scoops her handbag up by her left elbow and almost forgets to wear her rifle holster on her leg before she trots out the door.
Sally pouts as she walks to school with her frequent group, two of which she insults and threatens enough to make you think they want the exhausted girl's reprisal.
"It is not a childish hairstyle! Its cute and academic!" Sally insists as her twin braids flutter in fall wind, bearing navy blue bow at their ends to join the the strands together.
"You would look amazing with glasses, even just frames" Inigo jokingly insists as he catches the ire of both the gun nun's eyes
"Could you cool it with fashion critique man? She's clearly shy about her interest Japan's alt fashions"
Inigo thinks for a moment about seeing Sally's slender figure in a lolita dress, but is interrupted by Noah flying over them: "Noah thinks Sally would look lovely in anything she wears" he says as he lands by her, and the two start hands. Sally blushes while trying to still look flustered at Inigo.
"You mean the girls dressed like dolls, right? I.. guess that wouldn't be so bad if I could rent an outfit like that. Some of them do remind me baby clothes though.." she says
"I'm sure Noah would fit well as your dashing prince~" Inigo says with the grin of a fox.
"Yeah! And you both could be my servants for the day" Sally says in a joking tone, though does take the time to imagine the scene
Inigo does so as well, only for Gigan to wag his finger at him
"Oh come on! I've played more VN's with that plot than the ones that show the "proper" way that relationship should go!" He pleads, only to give into Gigan's dissapointed gestures.
"Oh, Sally! That move during your makeup exam was awesome, but it was missing a name!" Inigo says, walking backwards to face the girl.
"..Why would I name a maneuver I thought of in like, 5 seconds? Would have passed out too soon if I took the name to say some anime attack name" Sally says flatly.
"Not with that attitude: thinks of it like an intimidation tactic, that why they do it in Beautiful Panecea after all" Chris says back to her, his black dragon sitting on his shoulder.
Sally blushes: "I-I don't know what your talking about!"
"N-Noah still watches Gamecaptor Cherry Blossom alot, Sally. Its ok to like cartoons"
Sally looks away with self-embarrassment on her face as the two other boys chuckle a bit at her refusal give up her pretense.
"Panacea Sunlight is the best anyways..." she says, her mask slipping off for a moment.
The four have a mutual chuckle as they reach the gates of Shiketsu, the usual crowd of petitioners and protestors calm and thinned by the cold weather.
As Sally slips her shoes off by instinct to put her slippers on, Noah digs in his bag and waits by her with a newspaper in hand: Its in English, and bears the name "The Montana Fossil". Sally grabs it in excitement, looking at the date to find its a recent edition from a week ago!
"Noah wanted to get something for you for passing your exams.. and Noah's father was in America for work so Noah asked him to make sure he had a connecting flight in near Great Falls.."
"Noah hopes its a good reminder of home" he says with a proud smile
"Its.... perfect, thanks" Sally says as she reads over the headlines
"Good Cattle Mutations and how to spot them..."
"How to turn your storm shelter into a bunker for under 1000 Dollars..."
"...On a Crusade for Justice: Conrad Native "Last Rite" Beats the Odds in Tokyo Hero Exam"
Sally and Noah read on together: The article uses photos of someone watching her fight the spider tank, the moment she blew it up and a second before her stamina failed her. It describes her justified gunning down of two thieves and criticizes the decision to allow the one that lived to be let off the hook of robbery just because they snitched on her not having any kind of lisence for her quirks safety. It has testimony from Conrad's Sheriff in which he regrets having his hands tied by the lingering federal presence in the backwater, alongside photos of a rally in support of Sally which featured banners in clumsy Japanese lettering encouraging her to not give up.
Noah smiles toward Sally as the girl herself gulps. crumpling it up and stuffing it in her bag before anyone sees it.
The angel boy lays a hand on her shoulder: "..Your a savior to them, someone to be looked up to for having courage. Take solace in that, for their sake if not yours" he says gripping her hand in an unusually assertive manner, while his usual radiant smile beamed from his face.
Sally nods, taking some deep breaths as the bell rings and the two find an elevator to get to class with. She manages a smile as the she takes her seat, the Koreans gossiping about this and that while snickering at her ribboned braids.
"...To summarize, the Vietnam War is largely considered a disaster for America. A foolish show of military might which proved fruitless and costly in both lives and to the culture that demanded it take place" Rosethorn says as she sits on her desk, her legs crossed and her signiture red locks flowing down her back. She closes the book she was lecturing from with a practiced and authorative snap to get some of students out of there revery. History was important for hero students even if it seemed like a pointless course for the protectors of tommorow to study the distant past.
Sora was trying to catch a nap under his hood.
Inigo daydreamed in his seat while Christopher seemed to focus on writing about something else entirely.
While Bobby just looked bored by the retread of history he knew from being taught in America, Sally looked angry with the way she was representing the conflict. She was just out of her arm sling already seemed to be in a fiery mood.
"The scars of this conflict did not fade, many historians credit the continued confrontation in American politics to the Vietnam era's ugly truths poisoning the well of trust the federal government had built in its post-world war support systems. Given the large amount of veterans who participated the march on Juno during the 100 years of Chaos, its effects still corrupt to this day." She says to finish the lecture.
Sally stands up and raises her hand aggressively: "Yes, do you have something to add McCathy?" Rosethorn asks
"Stop portraying the March on Juno like it was a bad thing: People were dying for some EPA agents stupid experiments!" Sally says, trying and failing to restrain her clear anger."
"But it was, McCathy-san" Hoge says, her sharp eyes judging the American deeply. The teacher sighs, willing to let them verbally spar a little if it meant Sally would have a safe outlet for her pent up aggression.
"Was what?"
"It was an unlawful riot which spurred the national guard convoy which was coming to keep the peace in the states capitol to be attacked, resulting in 2 quirk-related deaths and several injuries according to official reports from the United States Reserves Forces. They then all but held the state legislature at gunpoint to appoint a governor who immediately began dismantling federal infrastructure and within the year had seceeded from the United States unlawfully" Hoge says, pushing up her glasses afterward. Her face begins to bear the smug grin of someone who had studied specifically for this day.
Sally fumes as Hoge looks at her: "{Should I explain it in English so you can understand the nuances of what I'm saying?}"
The gun nun bites her lip hard, trying to hold her tongue: "The real spirit of America is in Alaska: an America which isn't ruled by puppets and political dynasties. The Constitution says we have the duty to topple and abolish a corrupt government that will not listen to reason. By the standards of a bunch of do-nothing corporate mouthpieces they were criminals, but their opinions are not any kind of Justice!" Sally says with fire in her voice, clashing with the cold and logical of ice of Hoge's words.
"Crime is to be judged according to the written law, otherwise you produce a society of... how might you put it in your eloquent tounge.."
"{Frontier Justice}" Hoge says with venom in her tone.
"Girls, I think thats-" Rosethorn starts, only to see Sally start walking to Hoge with maddened eyes. She moves to intervene before she is forced to report an incident.
"Thats enough. Your both training to be heros, and you both have good points. The written word of the law is a guiding principal to be practiced by those motivated by a spirit of justice and generosity" Rosethorn states the girls look toward their Sensei.
The red-haired teacher looks toward Sally: "Your support of peoples right to defend themselves when possible is admirable, but violence and riots only start a cycle of escalating emotional pain. You can break that, just like United States is trying to repair its relationship with Alaska"
She turns her attention Hoge: "And while the letter of the law is invaluable, the spirit of its words must always be the point of their enforcement: Villains today are no strangers to using the letter of the law against their rivals as opposed to an open fight, or against everyday citizens. The way one stops this is by thinking on the reason why a law was put into place and who it was meant to be enforced on before one follows through on that conviction."
The two girls look at each other with lingering resentment. They both know they will only hurt themselves by going further with this fight, even if they are by no means reconciled. Sally returns to her desk while Hoge sits back down, class returning to normal for the rest of the day.
[Music: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tvCyONtrn4M ]
Sally stays after to practice with the band. As she's about to nod off by a vending machine, Orochi walks by: one of dragon heads snuggles Sally and shocks her awake.
"{F-FUCK!}" she says, her voice high strung and panicked as she slams against the vending machine, hurting her elbow. The sound of a round being loaded in arm barrels is heard enough that other students passing by steer clear of the gun nun. She frowns as she unloads the round and looks at the ground.
"Hey, McCathy. I just wanted to check on you. I know your busy with your extra Japanese work, and the band for the festival. I just got out of dance practice myself" Orochi says, standing next to the girl with a slight smile.
"I'm.." Sally hesitates unsure if she really admit her own weakness and frustration.
"Look: You still owe me that arcade outing. That sound good?" Orochi says
"...Y-Yeah"
"If you wanna bring Abrams I'm cool with it"
"No, its fine, I already canceled our usual study session since I was gonna go home and play Unreal again or something.."
"You must've beaten that like, 6 times by now" Orochi remarks with an impressed smile, as Sally pulls one of her braid closer with a shy smile at the fellow gamers praise.
"I can always go for 7 later" Sally says as the two head out.
Sally and Orochi play a cooperative light gun shooter: Operation SPECTER. The controllers were assault rifles that Sally pointed out were uncomfortably small compared to the furniture of a real G36, but it was a new game to the both of them. As they shot masked terrorists with expert accuracy and clear a level with a close to perfect score, Orochi turns to Sally.
"I'd never heard of stuff that happened in Alaska before today, did you have family there?" she asks with a look of genuine curiosity.
"No, but alot of the guys at the range I shot at back home had buddies who moved their to support the cause" Sally answers, a tint of pride in her voice.
"The government might have stopped sanctioning raids and coup attempts, but I still can't see them as the real America anymore. Its just a bunch rich people... doing.. bad stuff" Sally continues, her limited Japanese vocabulary making hardly able to explain her emotions.
"{Like a cadre? Heard a bunch of African nations are still basically warlord cadres even today}" Orochi says in english, more practiced than their last talk in the hospital.
"{Yeah! America isn't just a place, its a set of ideals, a dream carried by people looking for better lives and a system which saw them as people instead of property. Hell, without breaking the laws forced on us Conrad would just be another crime-ridden dump of a town with a mafia police department!}" Sally says as they start the next level, an office shootout in a crowded but non-descript city.
"{..So the violence that comes with that... is that just the way things have to be?}" Orochi says, her aim not slipping even as she talks.
Sally is quiet and focused, not on the game which she seemed to be able to get by on with instinct, but Orochi's question.
"{I.. don't want to kill people, Its a sin in any case, but its even worse if your reason is anger in the name of even a good cause}" Sally says, her eyes sharpening as shot the weapons out of the hands of the terrorists and sent them running.
"{God tried using fear and death to teach humanity, but what stuck more was love and understanding. And... and I want be somebody capable of that. A peacemaker, not an inquisitor}" She says taking a few shots she wouldn't have had she went of the body or head on a pack of enemies popping out of her side of the screen.
Orochi nods as the girls reach the boss fight, a large man with a rocket launcher and riot shield who charges around and does high damage. Sally mutters about blow-back from the weapon while the work together to weaken him for an arrest with expertly timed tranq grenades and taser shots to stun him within the clouds. By the time the brute is being carted off, Sally looks at the plastic gun in her hand.
"Sorry for making things awkward, the town I grew up in was called Conrad, and since I was born I we had trouble with robbers and cattle rustlers"
"Nobody knew when they were coming, even night-time patrols didn't yield anything. But.. when Windrider showed up and started capturing them, we had hope" Sally says
"...It sounds like this story doesn't end well though" Orochi remarks dryly
"It doesn't: When he was a about to leave, one of the geezers at the range gave him a piece of his mind when the camera crews had already packed up. Told him off as a corporate hack, a has been trying to recreate himself as some kind of top 10 contender instead of fighting the real problems backwaters like Conrad had"
"He... stayed. He used his sponsors for all they were worth to buy us guns and train us to use them like soldiers: He must have fought somewhere in the warlord era since he knew his stuff"
Sally scratches her neck: "And you know what he got for helping us defend ourselves and scare the gangs of villains off? A court date to be tryed gun trafficking and aiding vigilantes" the girl says with spite boiling in her veins.
Orochi nods sadly: "We have the same problem here, alot of the rural areas don't have law enforcement capable of handling proper villains and getting a gun here is impossible unless your a hunter"
"I just.. blew up when Hoge said it was a bad thing to stand up for yourself, even when some sniveling bureaucrat cites a law which tells you to keep getting taken advantage of. My wrath revealed itself and I still want to punch her lights out for being so naive" Sally says as the game automatically starts the third level, Orochi quickly bring her gun to bear as Sally fumbles a bit more.
"Come on soldier, eyes up!" Orochi says encouragingly, the two prioritizing arrests over casualties right up to the final boss.
As Sally walks home on her own during the last glimpses of sunlight on the Kyoto horizon and enters her building, a feeling of anxious stability washes over her: She had her internship coming up, along with license to practice what she was preaching to Orochi(at least in theory...). As she goes to call the elevator, she sees Christopher talking with someone on the phone.
"Yeah, I got it. Don't worry, I can cook for myself" he says before hanging up and looking toward Sally.
"..Hey McCathy"
"Hey Chris"
Theres an awkward silence between the two as Christopher's black dragon sits on his shoulder. They both enter the elevator, riding upward toward their homes in the empty ascending vessel while looking at the sunset over the ancient city of Kyoto.
"...When we find him, stop me from killing him" Sally says
"..Why?"
"Because I have enough sins to answer for when Saint Peter calls my name" Sally says as she reaches her floor and gives a wave of goodbye to Chris.
Sally re-read the gospel of Luke that night before sleeping, Her hair let down as she tossed and turned. She wrestled with her own thought all night, but one image from her scattered dreams was important she wrote it down at 5:00 AM.
She and Noah were married and living on a quiet ranch back home: her 3 kids played in the spacious as she caressed her own belly which held the third. Their was no exams, no assassins after her as a successor, no bitchy koreans, and no Hoge. All she could feel was peace with herself for something she did in the past as she fell asleep on Noah's shoulder and was embraced by his soft wings.