[July 2nd mushroomtrip] [open for hijinx]
"Kazuhira. Kazuhira. Kazuhira."
Miller took a moment to comprehend just what -or who, rather - was sitting on his bed. Someone he hadn't seen for almost seven years had no right to just turn up out of the blue like this. Especially if they were dead.
"Kazuhira."
He didn't even know how long he'd just been staring at his guest until he finally found the will to move his feet. He plopped down on the edge of the bed heavily, whispering in case a loud noise might scare her off. "Okaasan?"
His mother gave him a stern look, one he remembered from the many times he was scolded for losing his temper and attacking one of the pure-blooded Japanese children for their scathing remarks on how he didn't belong. But that must have been twenty years ago. To see it again now... Had he done something wrong? He already knew the answer to that. Even before her death, he'd done nothing but shame her. Even his very conception must have been something she resented.
"Kazuhira," she repeated, her angry look fading away to one of sheer heartbreak. Miller knew this one, too... "What does your name mean to you?"
"Peace." He spoke the word in English.
"That's the translation. What does it mean. To you. Look at you... You've turned war into some sort of business. You're harbouring nukes. How could you?"
"...Mother, I--"
"I don't know you!" The woman gave an inhuman wail, sounding almost like a guitar being struck with no skill or regard for the instrument. Her youthful face whithered into that of an old woman's, her expression completely apathetic. "I don't... know... you...?"
The same way she looked on her death bed. Miller wasn't about to watch his mother die again. He stood abruptly, marching right out of the hospital room without even so much as a glance back at the frail Japanese woman on the bed. (Wait, hadn't it been his room just moments ago?) Outside the door was no the halls of the school, or even the hospital dorms, but one of the struts of Mother Base. He could smell the salty air, hear the waves crashing against the pillars in the water far beneath his feet, and feel the wet breeze. It was good to be in the closest thing he considered "home" in years.
Snake was there, too. Not the one from the school, but the man he'd fought both against and alongside on the battlefield. The one with the title of Big Boss. "Kaz," he grunted as his second-in-command approached. Something in his voice made Miller suspect that he was also upset with something he'd done. "You're pathetic."
Miller raised an eyebrow, reaching out for Snake's shoulder. "C'mon, Boss, that's pretty harsh."
Snake pulled away from Miller's touch and scowled. "You didn't join the Militaires Sans Frontieres because you have no loyalty to any country. You did it because they cast you out. Desperate for anyone to take you in and accept you."
"You could say that for half the men who've joined."
"So desperate for their love you'd betray them at the same time."
Miller immediately felt his heart sank. He knew. He knew about his business deals. How did he find out?
"...Everything I did was only to expand the MSF. You know that. I wouldn't do anything that would put you in trouble if I didn't think you could handle it."
Something nearby exploded. The air was suddenly swarming with birds - seagulls, quetzals, robins, and the like. They were the ones exploding... not into a bloody mess of feathers and guts, but into beautiful butterflies.
"Sing... of love that... could be..."
Down in the water, a huge metal beast was emerging from the waves and starting to climb the pillar. All of the base shook with every step the behemoth made. Against all odds, Peace Walker had survived.
"Sing... For you and.... for... me..."
"Snake! Look out, it's headed this way!"
But Snake was already gone. He jumped off the edge of the platform, transforming into a Quetzal himself. "Fly with me, Kaz!"
If Snake said so, he was with him. Even if he called him pathetic. Miller spread his arms like wings, took a deep breath, and jumped.
He fell through an eternal blackness, Peace Walker's voice echoing faintly after him.
"Just sing... Sing a song..."
Miller took a moment to comprehend just what -or who, rather - was sitting on his bed. Someone he hadn't seen for almost seven years had no right to just turn up out of the blue like this. Especially if they were dead.
"Kazuhira."
He didn't even know how long he'd just been staring at his guest until he finally found the will to move his feet. He plopped down on the edge of the bed heavily, whispering in case a loud noise might scare her off. "Okaasan?"
His mother gave him a stern look, one he remembered from the many times he was scolded for losing his temper and attacking one of the pure-blooded Japanese children for their scathing remarks on how he didn't belong. But that must have been twenty years ago. To see it again now... Had he done something wrong? He already knew the answer to that. Even before her death, he'd done nothing but shame her. Even his very conception must have been something she resented.
"Kazuhira," she repeated, her angry look fading away to one of sheer heartbreak. Miller knew this one, too... "What does your name mean to you?"
"Peace." He spoke the word in English.
"That's the translation. What does it mean. To you. Look at you... You've turned war into some sort of business. You're harbouring nukes. How could you?"
"...Mother, I--"
"I don't know you!" The woman gave an inhuman wail, sounding almost like a guitar being struck with no skill or regard for the instrument. Her youthful face whithered into that of an old woman's, her expression completely apathetic. "I don't... know... you...?"
The same way she looked on her death bed. Miller wasn't about to watch his mother die again. He stood abruptly, marching right out of the hospital room without even so much as a glance back at the frail Japanese woman on the bed. (Wait, hadn't it been his room just moments ago?) Outside the door was no the halls of the school, or even the hospital dorms, but one of the struts of Mother Base. He could smell the salty air, hear the waves crashing against the pillars in the water far beneath his feet, and feel the wet breeze. It was good to be in the closest thing he considered "home" in years.
Snake was there, too. Not the one from the school, but the man he'd fought both against and alongside on the battlefield. The one with the title of Big Boss. "Kaz," he grunted as his second-in-command approached. Something in his voice made Miller suspect that he was also upset with something he'd done. "You're pathetic."
Miller raised an eyebrow, reaching out for Snake's shoulder. "C'mon, Boss, that's pretty harsh."
Snake pulled away from Miller's touch and scowled. "You didn't join the Militaires Sans Frontieres because you have no loyalty to any country. You did it because they cast you out. Desperate for anyone to take you in and accept you."
"You could say that for half the men who've joined."
"So desperate for their love you'd betray them at the same time."
Miller immediately felt his heart sank. He knew. He knew about his business deals. How did he find out?
"...Everything I did was only to expand the MSF. You know that. I wouldn't do anything that would put you in trouble if I didn't think you could handle it."
Something nearby exploded. The air was suddenly swarming with birds - seagulls, quetzals, robins, and the like. They were the ones exploding... not into a bloody mess of feathers and guts, but into beautiful butterflies.
"Sing... of love that... could be..."
Down in the water, a huge metal beast was emerging from the waves and starting to climb the pillar. All of the base shook with every step the behemoth made. Against all odds, Peace Walker had survived.
"Sing... For you and.... for... me..."
"Snake! Look out, it's headed this way!"
But Snake was already gone. He jumped off the edge of the platform, transforming into a Quetzal himself. "Fly with me, Kaz!"
If Snake said so, he was with him. Even if he called him pathetic. Miller spread his arms like wings, took a deep breath, and jumped.
He fell through an eternal blackness, Peace Walker's voice echoing faintly after him.
"Just sing... Sing a song..."