In war, the moral is to the physical as three is to one - Napoleon Bonaparte

1/LT. Kousei Arima

"Welcome back!" the familiar in laws of mine's voices were enough to make me realize that I am back home; a moment we all used to take for granted.

"I finally back home!" 

I quickly walked towards our own living space on the uppermost floor - specially made thanks to Kaori and I had decided to gave my own home that was located four blocks from Ma Fille for rent a year before our marriage and thankfully, it was still there despite the change of occupant - with the old one had opted for an evacuation, and the current one is a family with a single mother displaced from Okinawa.

Back to the present, I quickly head for the small study room with piano and violin, and God, how much I want to hug it after many months of disuse. I looked behind and saw Kaori had taken her violin in a ready position. 

And so be that.

"Saikou!" (Great) 

I looked behind after we finished with two J-pop tunes, one a classical Showa era and another from our own 21st century. Looking at the happy face of Kenji Miyazono as well as Mr and Mrs Miyazono when they took a little break from serving their customer - and even my own parents in Numazu via a YouTube livestream - was enough to bring us hope and reinforce our reasoning on why we wear the camouflage in the first place.

In church, we had also took our part in dealing with the reality of war - to immortalize our fellow congregate brothers and sisters who paid the ultimate price, either as service personnel, or civilians who got caught in raids.

"Hi kurete Yami wa semari, Waga yukute Nao tooshi (Abide with me; fast falls the eventide; The darkness deepens; Lord with me abide.)..."

Even with the unassuming outside look of the building belonged to our church, the "United Reformed Church of East Asia", with it's headquarters in the Tohoku city of Akita, and true to it's name were not just serving Japan, but also South Korea as well as Taiwan prior to the war, it has been our second home since our teenage days. 

The solemnity of the hymn was in tune on what we're currently doing, you were right, a memorial, for a serviceman and a fellow congregate named Chief Petty Officer Hayashi Ikimoto, perished in the line of duty as a Special Boarding Group maritime commando - Japanese version of US Navy SEALs. His body, or more accurately, his ashes, had recently been recovered from Taiwan. 

Two Navy sailors acted as honor guard stood there in silence as all of my being were focusing on the hymn, the same thing as Kaori with her violin, and the choir that we accompanied. It also brought my mind on my parents, somehow, attending services on their own at the only church in Numazu - an ecumenical one downtown, the place where the hymns were often delivered by the usage of traditional instruments like the koto, something that Kaori and I somehow enjoy when it's time for us to paid them a visit...

Ah... so many memories.

One thing was certain, He reached their hearts using our music, especially the grieving wife of CPO Hayashi and their son who was only five.

Then, we witnessed the aftermath of the service, where the military part of the ritual took over as the two guards began their march, one was carrying the urn and the other carried a folded Japanese flag, away from the church into the awaiting hearse with salutes with a drum accompaniment outside by a Navy band. Those in the Defense Forces saluted accordingly, while civilians bowed as the urn passed.

The church workers then announced that the entire congregate was encouraged to went through the burial in Chidorigafuchi National Cemetery, which we then followed. 

Just like him with his family, that's why we serve.

..............................................................................................................................................................

1/LT. Kaori Arima

Nakano Ward, Tokyo

Two days later

"Are you serious, Kenji-kun?"The bombshell dropped by my little brother as Kousei and I had our time with him outside was clearly something. 

Undeterred, he replied. "It's true, Onee-chan. My transfer request to the Regulars has been approved, thanks to the 1st Division expansion... Mum and Dad accepted it too." 

 "That's good to know." it's Kousei who replied, as we continue to eat our orders in this small coffee and cake shop belonged to one of our church friends, named Imai Tanda, who arranged a shared car ride to bring us here from the House of Melody, where we caught things up with Hiroko-san and her family. 

That little fellow Kenji did caught us by surprise, really... 

Thanks to, but not solely, the exclusive usage of Japanese originated stevia by this store, the sweetness still perfectly balanced as it's intended to be. While the feelings are a little bit wet and the decorations were smaller thanks to many specialty ingredients were rationed or simply no longer around, it's compensated by its good shape overall. 

Other than that above and the shorter opening time - everything still seems like peacetime, something that my husband had also noticed.

Meanwhile, Kenji continued. "About my transfer, they had given me an order to attend artillery school."

"Artillery?" Kousei replied. "Great! Napoleon once said that God sides with the best artillery, especially with the fact that some of the existing Brown Beret crews who supported me and Kousei are being transferred to units such as the Western Army Artillery Brigade in Kyushu - badly battered by the invasion - and people like you shall continue their duty here in Honshu, especially as you got assigned to the Nerima Division, be proud and be grateful that you would soon fight alongside us!"

Kenji replied. "One thing, they did not send me to Fuji or to Higashi-Chitose (in Hokkaido), they sent me and some others to the United States!"

"What?" The surprised Kousei asked him. "They must be sending you to Fort Sill if we talk Artillery."

"They did not said it yet, Uncle. But really, I never thought I will go to the United States in this fashion..." He looked at both Kousei and me now.

"Wait..." I realized. "Kenji-kun mentioned about our division, and he was sent to the US... It mean..." 

"We might end up going to the US as well for exercise. In a place called Fort Irwin, their National Training Center. Unfortunately, it's in the state of California, where the pro Chinese insurgents are the most active even after, thankfully, the US federal law enforcers managed to got the Governor and it's deputy to justice." 

Kousei was referring to a piece of news we managed to obtain when we was still preparing to advance from Iwakuni pertaining to the situation in the USA. It's also the same moment when we also got ourselves updated from other areas of the war, especially from Radio Free Asia and it's partner BenarNews (Benar means true in Malay and Indonesian language), for example on how Filipinos and Indonesian armies ferociously defended a garrison town somewhere in the northern of the former's largest island called Luzon from Chinese and it's foreign allies' attacked to the point of the Indonesians had to rotate it's paratroopers out in favor of a freshly deployed mechanized division, on how fierce was the air and sea battle on the area as well as in Vietnam and Thailand, and many more. 

"I think I am going to ask Colonel Yong-su for that" I replied to Kousei. "You might also want to ask the same thing to Colonel Okazaki" Sure thing, the messaging apps were filled by questions pertaining to our next order, which just in time when we decided to pay up and leave the premises with a promise to come back..."

"Kaori, Kenji, look"

The notification of our email (including our alternate accounts registered with the MoD), a direct message from the Ground Force Command. 

"As part of our continuous effort to prepare our Defenders for operations... You have until 0800 Hours Zulu (17.00 hours JST) September 14th, 2025, when the 1st Division will be put into a ready status for pre-deployment advanced exercise with our allies in the United States of America..."

"We're going to America together." Kousei whispered. As before, Tsubaki and Watari did also reported receiving the same order. 

Learning from diverse countries are the perks of being in an alliance, especially with the good old USA, on the other hand, my thought also begged a question during our way home.

"Kaori, we're a team, and so with our men and women. Let's do our best there!"

"That's right" I told my husband. "On the other hand, I am thinking on how we can learn too from those fighting in the south. I mean Indians, Singaporeans, Indonesians, Thais, as well as the Koreans and the Free Chinese... our fellow Asians, Kousei." 

"I agree with you..." and he closed it with a kiss on the lips, to the amazement of Tanda's little brother, a 20 year old guy named Ichiro who drove us back to Nerima. 

"I am waiting for my turn too, honestly."

We tried to figure what he means; either he's talking about marriage or military draft.

"I mean, if I got called up at all, knowing that there are many who're willing, but got rejected."

"I see" Kousei replied. In the meantime I checked my phone and there, a message from Tsubaki, showing how the entire platoon were talking about the impending deployment.