Free Radicals - A Miki Story (Last Update: 5/9/12)
Posted: Tue May 08, 2012 1:21 am
This is my first foray into fan fiction, after a childhood of writing short fiction. Constructive (even some destructive) criticism is eagerly welcome.
Miki is one of those characters who appears to never have gotten a decent story, perhaps because she only appears in 2 or 3 scenes in the entirety of KS. Here, I will attempt to give our favorite tanned one-handed girl some justice in word form.
Free Radicals
Prologue - War Stories
Miura Jun stared eastward with a blank expression on his face, across the endless expanse of sand that surrounded the stone archway he stood in. He felt isolated and cold, in contrast to the intense heat being radiated by the sun above.
As a member of the JSDF Special Forces Group, Jun was tasked with defending the humanitarian efforts of the JSDF as it attempted to rebuild some of the cities damaged by the Iraq War. Nearby, he could hear the sound of the morning market being assembled, with the clattering of horseshoes accompanying the voices of the merchants.
His eyes drooped, his heart filling with the sense of longing. It would be two months from now, he thought to himself. Two months when his tour of duty would end and he could return eastward, across all that sand and dust, away from the car bombs and insurgent attacks. Two months before he could return home, to the only thing that mattered to him. The image of the beautiful girl he so longed for slowly crept into his head. What did she look like now? He hadn't seen her in almost a year and a half. She would be going to high school in the spring. High school! He tried to remember what his first day of high school was like.
"Miura, report."
The buzz of his lieutenant's voice over the speaker built in to his helmet brought Jun out of his attempted nostalgia. He looked around to regain his bearings. The market preparations appeared to be going smoothly, with no sign of any problems. A light breeze swirled dust around his boots.
"All clear, sir," he responded.
"Very well. Move to point D4 and take the perimeter from Inoue."
Taking the order, Jun strode over to the the opposite archway, and signaled to the soldier seated at the top to come down. Inoue quickly leaped down, eager to take his break from watching the outskirts of town.
"Your turn for death duty, Miura." Inoue laughed, but his eyes gave away the grimace his face was suppressing behind the chuckle. "Though today seems like a good day."
Jun nodded, and ascended the stairs to the top of the archway. More sand spread out in front of him, like an giant fan of tiny tan specks. Setting his carbine against the wall of the walkway, he pulled out his binoculars and turned toward the bustling market behind him. The Japanese engineers he accompanied were helping to dig a well in the center of the market. He watched as they drilled and drilled, the locals eagerly watching from the sidelines. Focusing his attention back on the Iraqi desert, Jun's thoughts drifted back home to Japan. Miki, he thought, you can't imagine what it's like for me to be here. I can't believe that I had to leave you behind to fend for yourself, but at the same time I knew I had to. You understand that I had my obligations, right?
His conscience crept in. "How silly I am, apologizing to my sister 4000 kilometers away. I'm sure she understands."
"But how could she, she was only a kid when I left..."
"I'm sure she could handle it. She was always a brave kid."
"But I was the only one who could be there for her. Who could she turn to but me?"
"She's fine."
His conscience would always fight him when he thought about Miki.
The anxiety raged in his mind. Time would tell if she understood. After all, the letters he received made it seem like his baby sister was cheerful, that her caretakers were giving her what she needed as she grew up.
Suddenly, a silence washed over him and the world at his feet. Jun couldn't hear anything. No birds chirping, no squawk of a haggling customer, no cluck of the women gossiping about their husbands.
That odd, eerie silence that could only mean something was about to go wrong. Terribly wrong.
The first shot pierced the early morning air, followed by the shattering of glass as the bullet hit a window. The market patrons erupted in a chorus of screams as they scattered to take cover from the gunfire. Jun grabbed his rifle and tried to comb through the crowd, searching for the source of the man with the gun. The colors of the crowd's garments blurred in a mix of reds, greens, and browns as they fled through doorways or hid under wagons full of trade goods. Somewhere, a horse whinnied in pain as the cracks of automatic fire continued. A man fell, clutching the back of his leg.
Jun's nerves tensed. His focus locked on to the Japanese delegation, who had appeared to make it safely back to their base point. He looked for Inoue, who was supposed to be on the other end of the courtyard, but his fellow soldier was nowhere to be seen, the lone man engulfed by the mass of people. His helmet buzzed with a garble of chatter from his commander and nearby units. His back turned to the desert entrance, there was no way he could see the incoming van, its rear laden with explosives. It careened toward the archway Jun stood on, driving a trail in the sand behind it.
Heat erupted from the back of the van, flames rising in a fireball as the energy from the gasoline and the explosives dispersed. The archway crumbled, and Miura Jun clutched at the handrail that was no longer there, his arms flailing and a searing pain spreading across his belly.
"Miki, don't worry about me. I'll be fine," he thought, as the punishing light of the sun in his eyes was overcome by the black curtain of death.
---------------
A girl in a green skirt looks at the sun rising in the window.
"A new day, and a new world for me," she thinks.
Rays of light illuminate the only picture on her nightstand, as she wraps white tape around her left arm. In it, a handsome but gruff man embraces a younger version of the same girl, as if she was the only thing in the world that mattered to him. She stands up, and as she hesitantly reaches to open the door, Miura Miki whispers:
"This is for you, Jun."
Miki is one of those characters who appears to never have gotten a decent story, perhaps because she only appears in 2 or 3 scenes in the entirety of KS. Here, I will attempt to give our favorite tanned one-handed girl some justice in word form.
Free Radicals
Prologue - War Stories
Miura Jun stared eastward with a blank expression on his face, across the endless expanse of sand that surrounded the stone archway he stood in. He felt isolated and cold, in contrast to the intense heat being radiated by the sun above.
As a member of the JSDF Special Forces Group, Jun was tasked with defending the humanitarian efforts of the JSDF as it attempted to rebuild some of the cities damaged by the Iraq War. Nearby, he could hear the sound of the morning market being assembled, with the clattering of horseshoes accompanying the voices of the merchants.
His eyes drooped, his heart filling with the sense of longing. It would be two months from now, he thought to himself. Two months when his tour of duty would end and he could return eastward, across all that sand and dust, away from the car bombs and insurgent attacks. Two months before he could return home, to the only thing that mattered to him. The image of the beautiful girl he so longed for slowly crept into his head. What did she look like now? He hadn't seen her in almost a year and a half. She would be going to high school in the spring. High school! He tried to remember what his first day of high school was like.
"Miura, report."
The buzz of his lieutenant's voice over the speaker built in to his helmet brought Jun out of his attempted nostalgia. He looked around to regain his bearings. The market preparations appeared to be going smoothly, with no sign of any problems. A light breeze swirled dust around his boots.
"All clear, sir," he responded.
"Very well. Move to point D4 and take the perimeter from Inoue."
Taking the order, Jun strode over to the the opposite archway, and signaled to the soldier seated at the top to come down. Inoue quickly leaped down, eager to take his break from watching the outskirts of town.
"Your turn for death duty, Miura." Inoue laughed, but his eyes gave away the grimace his face was suppressing behind the chuckle. "Though today seems like a good day."
Jun nodded, and ascended the stairs to the top of the archway. More sand spread out in front of him, like an giant fan of tiny tan specks. Setting his carbine against the wall of the walkway, he pulled out his binoculars and turned toward the bustling market behind him. The Japanese engineers he accompanied were helping to dig a well in the center of the market. He watched as they drilled and drilled, the locals eagerly watching from the sidelines. Focusing his attention back on the Iraqi desert, Jun's thoughts drifted back home to Japan. Miki, he thought, you can't imagine what it's like for me to be here. I can't believe that I had to leave you behind to fend for yourself, but at the same time I knew I had to. You understand that I had my obligations, right?
His conscience crept in. "How silly I am, apologizing to my sister 4000 kilometers away. I'm sure she understands."
"But how could she, she was only a kid when I left..."
"I'm sure she could handle it. She was always a brave kid."
"But I was the only one who could be there for her. Who could she turn to but me?"
"She's fine."
His conscience would always fight him when he thought about Miki.
The anxiety raged in his mind. Time would tell if she understood. After all, the letters he received made it seem like his baby sister was cheerful, that her caretakers were giving her what she needed as she grew up.
Suddenly, a silence washed over him and the world at his feet. Jun couldn't hear anything. No birds chirping, no squawk of a haggling customer, no cluck of the women gossiping about their husbands.
That odd, eerie silence that could only mean something was about to go wrong. Terribly wrong.
The first shot pierced the early morning air, followed by the shattering of glass as the bullet hit a window. The market patrons erupted in a chorus of screams as they scattered to take cover from the gunfire. Jun grabbed his rifle and tried to comb through the crowd, searching for the source of the man with the gun. The colors of the crowd's garments blurred in a mix of reds, greens, and browns as they fled through doorways or hid under wagons full of trade goods. Somewhere, a horse whinnied in pain as the cracks of automatic fire continued. A man fell, clutching the back of his leg.
Jun's nerves tensed. His focus locked on to the Japanese delegation, who had appeared to make it safely back to their base point. He looked for Inoue, who was supposed to be on the other end of the courtyard, but his fellow soldier was nowhere to be seen, the lone man engulfed by the mass of people. His helmet buzzed with a garble of chatter from his commander and nearby units. His back turned to the desert entrance, there was no way he could see the incoming van, its rear laden with explosives. It careened toward the archway Jun stood on, driving a trail in the sand behind it.
Heat erupted from the back of the van, flames rising in a fireball as the energy from the gasoline and the explosives dispersed. The archway crumbled, and Miura Jun clutched at the handrail that was no longer there, his arms flailing and a searing pain spreading across his belly.
"Miki, don't worry about me. I'll be fine," he thought, as the punishing light of the sun in his eyes was overcome by the black curtain of death.
---------------
A girl in a green skirt looks at the sun rising in the window.
"A new day, and a new world for me," she thinks.
Rays of light illuminate the only picture on her nightstand, as she wraps white tape around her left arm. In it, a handsome but gruff man embraces a younger version of the same girl, as if she was the only thing in the world that mattered to him. She stands up, and as she hesitantly reaches to open the door, Miura Miki whispers:
"This is for you, Jun."
