ASAHI NO NISHISEI - Rising Sun Goes West (2)

Special Operations Group

September 20, Morning

A certain condominium in Funabashi City, Chiba Prefecture

In a quiet residential area of Funabashi City, there is a small five-story apartment building. A man, woman, and a boy lived in one of the rooms. The man's name is Rengo Shimazaki, a Captain stationed in Narashino.

Shimazaki, who was hiding in bed, stopped the alarm sound of the clock ringing in his bedroom and checked the current time. The digital clock with a fashionable design showed 06:30. He stretched out as hard as he could with a groan and slowly turned his head from side to side. Listening carefully, he could hear a thumping sound... coming from behind the bedroom door. It was probably his wife, who had been up earlier, cooking breakfast. Shimazaki got up from the bed and went to the bathroom to wash his face after doing his business. When he went to the dining room, breakfast was already prepared on the table.

"Ah, you're up. Good morning."

"...Morning."

Ryoko, Shimazaki's wife, who was standing in the kitchen, noticed that her husband Rengo was awake. After exchanging greetings, he sat down at the table where breakfast was served and put his hands on his breakfast. The TV is showing a wide-ranging show that he watches every morning.

"The dragon is a living creature, so it is possible that it will behave in unexpected ways, and I can only say that the government was naïve in its estimation. That's why..."

The topic of the anchor's report is, of course, the September 11 Incident, and for more than a week, the media has been reporting on the incident, denouncing the government and the SDF for failing to prevent it.

"........."

"...It's not your fault."

Ryoko Shimazaki, realizing that her husband's mood had been offended in no small measure by the commentator's repeated criticisms of the SDF, spoke words of concern for him. The air between the couple was delicate.

"Good morning."

At that moment, their only son, Narito, appeared in the dining room, rubbing his sleepy eyes. Shimazaki, who had finished his breakfast, got up from his chair.

"...Thanks, I'm going to go now."

He thanked Ryoko for her words of concern for him. Later, after brushing his teeth and getting dressed, Shimazaki headed for Narashino Camp, where he is to work.

. . .

Narashino Camp

Narashino Camp is the base of the 1st Airborne Brigade, Japan's only paratrooper unit, and is also the headquarters of the Ground Self-Defense Force/Japanese Army's only special forces unit. The name of the group is the "Special Operations Group," modeled after the Green Berets and Delta Force of the US Army, and based on the 1st Airborne, the group is made up of the elite of the GSDF, and the members of the group do not reveal their identities even to fellow SDF officers.

Captain Rengo Shimazaki is also one of the members of the Special Operations Group. Of course, his family is unaware of this. Now, he and 10 other members of the group were gathered in a small meeting room inside the headquarters. The commander of the 3rd Company, Major Reiji Amakawa, began to explain to the assembled men the reason for the call-up.

"The reason I asked you all to gather here this time is nothing else. The order came directly from the Cabinet through the Ground Staff Office. This is the first full-scale reconnaissance operation overseas in a long time."

"...!"

Hearing the company commander's words, the faces of the members of the unit tightened. To explain the details of the operation, Amakawa turned off the lights in the room and turned on the projector. Then a map appeared on the screen hanging from the ceiling.