Turn Soonest and Heartily Do It
by EstiRose
“Thank you for taking me out to dinner,” Kagami said, and Yaguruma Sou smiled. He was less than pleased to suddenly lose TheBee, but at least he lost it to the young ZECT member, and not to someone else. If anything, he had to admit that Kagami would probably be less distracted by Tendou, the wielder of Kabuto. They seemed to… not get along, precisely, but they could at least not be distracted by each other when in battle.
It was what had lost Yaguruma his Zecter, and what had given Kagami it in return. While he’d been stunned by the appearance of the new wielder, he wasn’t about to begrudge Kagami what was his; he had earned it that fight, protecting the members of Shadow when Yaguruma could not, in his blind rage about Tendou. “You’ve earned it. Besides, I thought we might talk.”
“Um, yeah.” Kagami looked down at his dinner, a steak, and Yaguruma grinned. He remembered being that uncertain when he started commanding Shadow, and at least Kagami, once he calmed down, had less of an inflated ego. The adrenaline had faded, and the other man was actually thinking things through once more.
“Don’t worry. I had a lot to get used to when I became a commander. You don’t learn it all in one day.” If Kagami could keep his cool and keep protecting his team, then all would be well. And Kagami could; for all his youth and boisterousness, he had done well that afternoon.
“I….” Kagami shook his head, apparently deep in thought. Or worry; it could be either.
“Just remember, act in harmony with Shadow and everything will be well.” Yaguruma leaned forward, smiling at the new commander. “Don’t do what I did.”
“Right,” Kagami said, and Yaguruma could see that he was trying to focus on Yaguruma and eat at the same time. It wasn’t working out well. The man wasn’t as coordinated as most Shadow members, which was why he was in support. Yaguruma made a mental note to mention to Kageyama or one of the others that Kagami needed some work. But that was okay; the younger man had his heart in the right place, and when push came to shove, that was what mattered.
“I’ll make sure you get some fight practice in,” Yaguruma said. “There are some responsibilities only I can teach you how to handle, and I’m sure ZECT wouldn’t mind if I stayed around for a little while.” Even if he’d forgotten his own responsibilities for a moment, he wouldn’t forget them after. Besides, Kagami could use a little support. He would have to deal with high command, more or less, and all the paperwork that went along with it. Just because Kagami was new didn’t mean the paperwork wouldn’t accumulate. It just meant that Kagami would have more to do.
“I’m still not sure what to make of this,” Kagami said, working on his food. Yagaruma ate his salad, the one that he’d ordered because he felt that a nice humble salad should remind him of what he had forsaken. He would have to think it through, how he felt, but at least he would have time. As the outgoing commander, he would be expected to train his replacement and little else.
“Give it time,” Yaguruma said. “I’m sure that you’ll be eased in. Just pay attention to your trainers and to me, and don’t let anything distract you from what you need to do.”
“Did you get a lot of training when you came in?” Kagami asked. Yagaruma smiled at him, because he sounded so similar to how Yagaruma had sounded way back when he was new to Shadow.
“Yes. I was a trained fighter, but I hadn’t expected to be paired with TheBee or take command. You know the most important things, Kagami. It’s your own insecurities you have to worry about, which is something that everybody has. If you make mistakes, just don’t make them in a way that you lose your troopers.”
“Don’t lose my troopers. Right.” Kagami looked out the window. It was actually a nice view, facing a harbor. Something that Yagaruma had especially chosen for this dinner, because he felt that Kagami needed something special after all that had happened.
And besides, if Yaguruma had been paying attention to his own philosophy, Kagami wouldn’t be in this position, needing to command troops when he barely knew how to fight. It wasn’t fair to ask someone so inexperienced to take up arms in this battle with the Worm, but Kagami had little choice as a host.
“TheBee might remember to remind you of this. It values Perfect Harmony as much as I do. That’s why we were both chosen.” He himself had felt the quick buzz in his head before he’d suddenly been dumped out of Clock Up and fallen to the ground. Hopefully, Kagami would have more warning if he did something that TheBee didn’t like.
Yagaruma sometimes wondered what the other Zecters and their personalities were like. Certainly Tendou, as obnoxious as the man was, had to have been chosen for some reason. A reason that Yagaruma didn’t understand and he didn’t know if Kagami did either, but still a reason. No Zecter just randomly chose a host. They were like mental roommates, in their own way, and if they didn’t like you, they went away despite what you might feel about the whole thing.
But again, he reminded himself, Kagami hadn’t done anything that would make TheBee leave him… yet. He was smart enough that he’d learn from Yagaruma’s mistakes and his own.
“Right,” Kagami said, and the way he quickly blinked meant that he wasn’t sure of what he was doing. Well, that would be resolved eventually. Yagaruma had confidence in him.
After all, everybody had to start somewhere, and maybe TheBee was Kagami Arata’s first step towards becoming someone. And if Yaguruma could help, why shouldn’t he? It was, after all, a beginning.