War Dogs

[Sir there's incoming call from the overlord.]

After the girl left, Ken's AI informed the call from his High Command, Mizuki Keiichi, code name: Overlord (short spiky brown hair middle-age man with wrinkles at the forehead, the military strategist who usually command the military unit as their overlord.

"Mizuki, if I hope ya might call me, in an awfully inconvenient time."

Ken, as usual answer his call with sarcastic tone, however Mizuki hologram does not appreciate his sarcasm once it revealed through Ken.

"Well fuck you Ken, there is urgent matter needs your attention."

"Then the matter should be 'voluptuous' to catch my attention."

"Send your pal, aren't he here?"

"Nope, can't see a soul, only few posttraumatic fuckshead, screaming senseless."

"Then he will be, now dressed up and get going, I have so much to do, Voltaire's so-called socialist revolution taking a fuck ton of guys controlling order around Bronze State so the High Command ordered the capital soldiers to get rid remaining garbage."

"Can't ya be specific there a lot of garbage around TYZ... Harasaki my man, you look intense."

Ken's conversation was interrupted, seeing Harasaki's car parked right in front of his garden, Harasaki gets out while on intense mood, Ken disconnected the overlord's call and casually greets Harasaki with sardonical smile regardless he isn't the mood for jest.

"Dress up Ken, got new mission, here."

Harasaki directly hands over a tablet to Ken, as it contains the important information about the internal mission details that Ken must accomplished.

"Now, now what's the hurry here? Aren't the Supreme One's Mutanic experimental Code Phoenix can't complete this."

"No, apparently Code Phoenix members have to deal with the criminal underworld that operates around the Brown, Yellow Zones, even outside from TYZ or Imperium States. While they working on their end, we will have to finish our unfinished business."

"Unfinished business?"

Ken questioned Harasaki about what business is he talking about, he answered bitterly,

"Yeah, the last remaining Helecters, the word is few of them has surfaced including, those who executed the attack on the MRC's HQ."

"I see... Like by the time we saw the play, "The Tragedy of Bonita of Retrograd"."

Ken smirked when he heard about the Helecters, and shared some memories with Harasaki.

"Yeah, the failed communist revolution in Siberia, the play was the only memorable thing in that fucking frozy wasteland."

Harasaki said, resentfully, as he remembered the harsh Siberian cold, fighting against communist uprising behalf of the Russian imperial army, almost ten years ago.

As the History showed, in early 21st century, there is crushed third communist revolution in the Russian Empire, for Russian imperial army's competence they pushed, driven them into the far east from where Brittonian military sacked them in Siberia, who would've thought, almost two centuries later the few remaining members of communist groups banded together and formed Voltaire, a faction who took over Brittonia's Bronze State at north.

Nevertheless, international politics is not their concern, Ken and Harasaki tasked dismantled the remaining Helecter's members in TYZ.

After the Blood Rebellion broke out in the aftermath of the failed of Masamune's sister Yurie Arata, Program of Enlightenment.

By Redtron's command the Helecters ignited the riots across the country as they continue to push towards the Green Zone's Government Borough. Nevertheless, the rebellion is eventually pushed back and latter crushed, with most of the Helecter's members were killed.

Even though the existence of "accepted" mutant populations has always been a two-edged sword for the Imperium's authorities. Such unfortunates are often vital to economic operations, but they represent both a problem for civil order and a ready source of rebellions, riots, and radical activity, nevertheless the most of the Imperium citizens of this country label such cults as Terrorists or violent extremists, depending on the point of view, the Helecters were a separatist militant organisation who demands a new nation for Mutants.

Never a doubt, Ken Kawazoe and Naokatsu Harasaki held a special bond together, they met first met when young Ken deported to Korea to advance Brittonian troops to subjugate whole Korea, Ken were enlisted into Harasaki's squad right after he passed out from the military academy.

At first, they had a disliking for one another. Since Ken was pretty much a constant selfish asshole, smartass, savage and an insubordinate prick throughout their military expedition. Even Harasaki cruelly trash-talks him, calling him a "dog and an evil-smelling dick" but gradually they became pals after Ken revealed to Harasaki a surprising level of self-awareness about how nasty Ken is. He knows he's not a good person like everybody else after they experienced the horrors of war.

They often split into two groups of two, sometimes they took their mission seriously, having a profound conversation and sometimes they did something contrastingly goofy, like roughhousing or mindless bullshitting, while working alongside in Military, fighting several battles in Korea and Eastern Russia, while Harasaki matured enough to quit the childishness, but Ken stayed the same.

Now those two extremely close friends, of the same gender, who are as close or closer than a romantic couple.

They aren't romantically linked, but they might suffer withdrawals from not being around each other, however they bickered a lot in their early years, "Fox-face" Ken and "Wild-scar" Harasaki since (he has a scar on the bottom side of his left cheek and wildly cut brown hairstyle, tanned colour).

An odd yet comedic duo with a distinct personality in that two are different as night and day.

"So Whacha ya think? The Helecters still have the bone pose the Empire?"

Ken asked, wandering the Harasaki's opinion, after wandering enough, swiped the tablet's screen into his Al droid, it transmitted contained files and projected into big screen.

"Brown Zone's Sectors is the strongest possible."

Harasaki points out areas of vast Brown Zone at the holographic screen but Ken interjected and said,

"South to be precise, whole North belongs to agricultural land, the farmer got their asses off to earn some money."

The Agricultural area on the outskirts of the Imperium's capital, all the way towards the Silver State, was of a wider area compared to the Central and commercial areas. Since placed opposite from the Infection, Brittonia did not feel the need placing Zattai Barriers because the agricultural and industrial products were not just for the TYZ but would be distributed to various lands within the Imperium States.

"They must there somewhere."

"Sector IX, where Helecters remnants are hiding."

"Hino city. How can you tell!?"

"Well, don't the old names though I send some local spies to locate the Helecters during my off-hour."

"You what!?"

"Wha?? Those are my homeless network, don't worry, they are strictly professional they even uncovered one criminal gang Athenaeum's men"

"That doesn't excuse you working above Imperial authorities."

"Look at you, since ya become so straightforward moralist? did I complain when ya abandoned me, spend your night with three blonde buxom chicks while I attended night shift in the frozen mist of Siberia, did I?"

"Fuck you."

"Fuck you!"

"Fuck you twice!"

Harasaki did not like the idea about Ken, going at Authority's back, though when he did complain, Ken counter it with an old debt that Harasaki due.

"What are you intending to do, Ken?"

"What ya mean? We report Overlord about our findings, you can take half the credit for 5000 Doro."

"Hehe, you really are a "Mocking Bastard", you know that?"

Harasaki softly chuckled when Ken offered his shares of the credit for five thousand, the old names is not only thing Brittonia had changed after setting in Japan, they changed the city's names into serialised sectors also changed their currency into Doro.

"So where would we proceed, you said your location of one of Athenaeum's man."

"Mm-huh, problem is they living in an urbanised area, Sector III or Machida city, ohh I love some cherry blossom forest in Machida if it still exists."

"That comes later, first about the Helecters you said tha—"

"Ahhhhhhhhhh!!!! Nurse where my tea? Teaaaaaaaaaa and two Biscuits."

An old patient screamed across Military hospital, demanding in an intense attitude.

Old man's insane screaming was so loud, Harasaki looked at his watch and wondered.

"Tea at noon?"

"Don't worry about him, he also screaming like this all day long, 'tea and two biscuits' that he only screamed about, the hospital staff ignored him as much as they can."

Ken told Harasaki about the old man's screaming in a gloomy manner, the expression, that Ken occasionally won't do.

"Old man used to a commander of the Brittonian Imperial army, well honourable but his leg poked off by a booby trap in Vietnam, during Brittonia campaign over Southeast Asia, the his leg was effective until the Vietnamese hostiles pulled his wounded body out from the booby trap then cut off his leg permanently, with a crosscut saw, now can't walk refused to wear prostatic."

"I've seen those, and I have seen a lot worse about human psyche during wars they perform into the worst savagery during that time, greed, cruelty, cynicism, sadism."

Harasaki can't help but to exhaled heavily, empathise the struggle to be alive in this brutal world.

"Say Ken, back in the TYZ, why did you decided to pillaged that nunnery and raped three of them, it was vicious, beyond my standards."

Ken sighed for Harasaki's evitable question, then replied with upmost genuine regret,

"I was young. And stupid, boiling in anger, craving for revenge, for been demoted, no honour, an utter humiliation, condition such as mine, a man will do anything to let go their pain, and seek any kind of pleasure, though I'm not so proud what I did back then, those sins I wish I could atone."

Harasaki went silent after hearing Ken's confusion, even though Ken Kawazoe is an arrogant scumbag, full of despicableness and Harasaki aware of that, the world which he is living is full of loathsome men, though by his confession, Harasaki finally got some closure.

War is hell, no denying that, in a war-ravaged world, soldiers got killed in battlefield and no one will remember, what is it to remember there is no honour in the battlefield, no chance to show heroism what war gives a miserable immense terror and violent deaths, soldiers kneel down anticipated their enemies pounding with artillery, mortal fires or aerial attacks, though they few weapons are banned from warfare, the pre-existing are enough to do a serious damage to the soldiers.

Those of who are alive suffered a long-time mental illness such as Loss of memory Insomnia, terrifying dreams Emotional instability, diminution of self-confidence and self-control, attacks of unconsciousness, incapacity to understand any but the simplest matters, obsessive thoughts, hallucinations and incipient delusions etc. etc.

With Fox-face Ken Kawazoe back from the holidays, their primary tasks to find the remaining Helecter's members.