Chapter 16: A Military Burial

The entire Secret Unit is at the memorial of Kenji's crew a few days later.

"So this is what a funeral with military burial looks like."

Takeshi remarked.

Rose overheard Takeshi's remark, and gave him a sharp whack on the head.

"Is this your first time attending a proper military burial, Takeshi? Hush now. We should pay respects to the dead crew of Kenji first, then talk later."

Rose cut off Takeshi, who started to open his mouth again.

Takeshi gave Rose an annoyed look, then sulked in silence.

When Rose thought she could finally concentrate in peace, Tashiro motioned for Rose and the entire Secret Unit to come closer.

"Don't you think it's quite careless and tactless on Kenji's part, to let his crew die off like that?"

Tashiro murmured to the entire Secret Unit.

They remained unresponsive at Tashiro's tactless remark, as they're already used to Tashiro making fun of almost anything.

Riku slapped the back of Tashiro's head, while Kokoro twisted Tashiro's right ear.

Takeshi slapped Tashiro in the back, while Riku twisted Tashiro's left ear

"Ouch. Ow. Stop it, all of you. What was it for? I meant no offence, really."

Tashiro said.

Rose rolled her eyes in exasperation, and looked around her.

It seems that the entire Secret Unit won't let her concentrate in peace.

She looked around again, to see who paid respects to Kenji's dead crew.

She saw Kenji seated nearby, comforting a young lady wearing combat fatigues.

Seated alongside Kenji and the lady is her uncle, and some bigwigs from the Elorian military.

All of them wore their official military uniform, with caps and all.

Uh, oh, she thought.

She hoped things won't get awkward real quick.

She hoped that Kenji won't try something funny, or even do stuff that might reveal that they had sex, without the knowledge of Tashiro.

At the seats right behind them sat her elder brother John Ross talking to Sakura, who's a close friend of Kokoro.

It's a small world after all, she thought.

The elites of Eloria knew each other, and often bumped into each other in social events.

She got up, and started walking to the front seats.

She tapped her elder brother sharply on the shoulder.

It made John Ross pause his conversation with Sakura, and look up at Rose.

Rose did a fist-bump with John Ross and kissed Sakura in the cheeks.

Rose sat beside John Ross and Sakura, with John placing an arm over Rose's shoulder.

"What brings you and the entire Secret Unit here, sister?"

John Ross asked Rose.

"We got no class today, and already done with school activities for the day, so we thought we might as well drop by."

Rose replied, to which Sakura nodded along in agreement.

"I heard you managed to make the female homunculus you fought with spill the beans. I bet that girl must be one tough cookie to crack, with you resorting to fingering the girl down there to make her speak."

Rose laughed.

"How about you, Rose? How did the ini-"

John Ross started to counter her, but Rose placed a hand over his mouth to stop him from finishing his words, and shot him a warning look.

Just as Rose started to divert their topic elsewhere, a military officer appeared on the lectern.

" Without further ado, we'll begin the funeral, or should I term it better, a short memorial. Before the bodies of these soldiers are to be laid to rest at the memorial park, may I call on the esteemed military officers to give their speeches in honour of their fallen comrades. "

Kenji is the first to get up and make his speech in the lectern.

His crisp military uniform, along with his authoritative bearing when he walked to the the lectern, immediately caught the attention of the audience.

He cleared his throat, then started speaking.

"Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. I know you all have a lot of questions regarding their death. While their death may be regrettable, let's not forget the sacrifices they made to keep the whole lot of you safe. I know I should have asked for backup before commencing the operation, but I assure you all that I had it under control. Anyway, the crew were good and reliable. They were friendly, approachable, and focused on finishing their duties. "

Kenji continued his speech until he finished reminiscing.

When he finished his speech, he got a standing ovation the moment he got down from the podium.

He was followed by Denver, who also delivered his speech, and so on, until everyone who was close to those who died had finished their speeches.

"Like a small boat

On the ocean

Sending big waves

Into motion

Like how a single word

Can make a heart open

I might only have one match

But I can make an explosion"

Everyone else started singing The Fight Song by Rachel Platten, while Denver, Sakura, and the rest of the military brass who attended stood straight and erect, saluting their dead comrades for one last time, before the coffins were brought into the Military Memorial Park to be given a hero's burial.

The military brass along with Kenji and Sana Yamamoto gave condolence cards to the families of the deceased crew.

Soldiers wearing their ceremonial uniforms stood in the pathway, with their ceremonial rapiers raised in a slanting position in an orderly manner while the coffins draped with the Elorian flag were being moved to the waiting hearse.

The civilians placed their caps over their hearts while the top brass, alongside Kenji and Sana, stood in attention with their hands doing the soldier's salute.

Everyone filed into the waiting vehicles.

While en-route to the Military Memorial Park, the skies began to darken.

Claps of thunder could be heard, while it started to rain.

When they reached the memorial park, they stood still in the rain, getting wet and drenched, while workers lowered the coffins down into the ground

The firing of 21 anti-mage cannons could be heard up close, which signalled the end of the burial.

After the burial is finished everyone filed into the vehicles and dispersed.

Kenji and Sana went straight into the house of Misaki Matsuhita, one of the

crew who died when the ELS Techno sank after the battle.

They were followed by a car being driven by Tashiko, with the entire Secret Unit hitching a ride on Tashiro's car.

Right behind the Secret Unit's vehicle is a car driven by Denver, with top military brass going along for a ride on Denver's car.

It didn't take long for them to arrive at the ancestral house of the Matsuhita family.

The gate outside the renovated house of the Matsuhita family automatically opened by itself.

The three cars slowed down their pace, and parked in the garage.

In the garage stood a young female maid dressed casually, but wearing an apron.

She immediately greeted those who got out of the three cars with a handshake identifying each one of them properly by their names.

They waved her off when she tried to include their titles when she greeted them.

"No need for all those fancy honorifics, please."

They always reminded her.

Then they went straight to the living room, where they saw Arisu Matsuhita, the matriarch of the Matsuhita family drinking a hot cup of espresso.

The maid brought in freshly ordered pizza, lasagna, and some iced coffee.

There are disposable plates and forks at the ready on the table.

"Sit down, guests. Thanks for accepting my invitation. Let's eat and talk."

Arisu said, motioning for them to sit down and partake of the food.

Everyone started to put pasta and pizza on their plates, and grabbed the tall iced coffee cups filled with ice coffee, and started eating.

To break the awkwardness of the situation, Kenji spoke up.

"I believe you didn't just call us here for a simple meal, did you, Mrs. Arisu? You want explanations on why your daughter died that day."

"Precisely, Kenji. You are the commanding officer. Why didn't you call for back-up? You could have at least saved your crew that way."

The rest of the guests kept on eating and drinking, while being attentive to their conversation.

Denver, sensing that things are about to get even more awkward, intervened.

He sighed loudly at Arisu's question.

"Come on, Mrs. Arisu. Cut this boy some slack, will you? Those of us in military service put our lives in the line, while here you are, in the safety of your house and office, bitching about the loss of your husband and your daughter. Did you even bother to visit her when she's off duty and crashed in my place often? Did you even message or call to know how she's faring? No, you didn't, because all you did all those years is act like a teenager when you're not busy with your business. Did you even care about her when she was still alive? You gave her cold treatment, and embarrassed her by getting involved in high profile scandals at the bar with younger men. That explains why your own daughter is disowning you, and your other kids don't think much about you. And another thing, being in the military is risky, life-threatening work, madame whiner. I thought you, of all people, should know that very well. Let's go, before things get even more awkward. Thanks for inviting us, anyway, and condolence on the loss of your daughter. "

Denver's scathing remark shocked everyone into silence, and got Arisu to shut her mouth up.

Denver Hineki got up and left, followeby the top brass in the Elorian military, alongside with Kenji and Sana.

The other members of the Secret Unit also left, except for Rose, who asked to stay behind for a little while longer.

"Are you sure about this, my dear? You've heard the scathing remark of your uncle. You know her history with her family too. She's one controversial bitch. It will do you no good to get associated with her."

Tashiro wisphered at her.

"It won't hurt to hear her side, my love. Now, go. I don't want the rest of the Secret Unit eavesdropping and casting judgemental looks."

Rose whispered back to Tashiro.

When the rest of the Secret Unit were already out of earshot, Rose approached Arisu.

She was about to briefly introduce herself, but Arisu waved her off.

" Rose Hineki of the Secret Unit, right? There's no need for all these formalities. We've already heard about each other. Thanks for staying behind to at least hear me out. Take a seat."

"Everything my Uncle said. Are they true? Why did you do all that stuff that caused your kids that much embarrassment?"

Rose asked Arisu as she helped herself to a third serving of pizza and lasagna.

"Yes, it is. I realised that I've been an absentee parent too late. I made a grave mistake by being an absentee parent after my husband died. I tried to fill the void by immersing myself in business, then partying hard and wildly when I'm not busy. I tried to make up for being an absent parent to my kids by giving them a comfortable life, and letting them have whatever they want. It turned out they lacked one thing I should have given back then. "

"It's not too late to change, Mrs. Arisu. Instead of doing a pity party and wallowing in your past, focus on the present. Getting stuck in the past is beneficial to you. And by the way, my uncle got a point. I can attest to it, being a Secret Agent. Being in this line of work means putting your life on the line. I've seen your data before. You didn't even have proper weapons training. You're not even a reservist in the military, yet you still got the nerve to rant at my Uncle like that. "

Then Rose got up and prepared to leave.

" Thanks for the food, the iced coffee, and the generosity, Mrs. Arisu. Here's my number, by the way, if you need anything. Let's keep in touch. It's a pleasure talking with you. I'll see myself out. "

She gave Arisu her phone number, then went out to the gate, and hailed a ride home.