Sensuo: Trial

Chapter 7

Yamato sat on the rooftop with his USR rifle and stared out into the distance. He was obviously not paying attention when Elizabeth joined him on the rooftop.

"Are you okay?" Elizabeth asked as she handed him a glass of green tea.

Yamato took the glass of tea without looking her way and took a sip. "This war is not for our benefit. It's for the entertainment of some alien race that doesn't care about us."

"But I thought you defeated the creator of the games?"

Yamato took another sip and sighed. "We did. She doesn't control when the war ends."

"Then who does?"

"The alien race, I guess. I am not sure."

Elizabeth pulled her legs up to her chest. "Do you think you'll win this war?"

Yamato shook his head. "I do not know. I wish for everyone to win but the aliens decide who is deserving of the mortality." The Ghost took another sip of the tea and set the cup down as he laid on his back. "I do not know what to do."

Elizabeth yawned. "Why don't you try to destroy the ship when it comes then?"

Yamato didn't reply but instead watched Elizabeth walk back inside the house.

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Crona followed Nathan, Taylor, and Tina around the store as they searched for some casual clothes. Crona wore a small pink shirt that only covered her breasts and a pair of skinny jeans. Nathan wore a white t-shirt under a black leather jacket and a pair of torn jeans. Crona felt that her clothes were too small but Tina assured Crona that what she wore was common among people her age. Crona wondered how other 18 year old girls wore these kind of clothes everyday.

"How about this?" Taylor asked as she held up a blue t-shirt with a white puppy on the front.

Crona picked up the shirt and stared at the dog. "He's so cute!"

Nathan sighed. "Why did I have to come, again?"

"Because if trouble rises, we need more than one servant. We can't just rely on Crona alone. Not even Yamato can be depended on." Tina searched through a rack of jeans. "If anything happens, you're here to help Crona. Besides..." Tina gave the two servants a strange look. "I know how you two are around each other."

The two servants went bright red and Tina resumed her search.

"Tina, you shouldn't tease them," Taylor said.

"What are you talking about? I'm just stating the facts." Tina picked up a pair of navy blue pants and handed them to Crona. "Go to the fitting room and try these on. When you're done, bring them back and tell us if you like it."

Crona nodded and hurried to the fitting room. As soon as she was out of sight, a man tapped Nathan on the shoulder. Nathan turned around to see a hooded man in his teens.

"Can you come with me for a minute?" The man asked.

Nathan shrugged. "Sure. Just make it quick." He nodded to the masters and followed the man to the alley behind the store.

The man turned around and pointed a small handgun at Nathan. "Alright. Now give me your money."

Nathan grinned. "Alright." He pulled out a bag the size of a small basket and tossed it to the man.

The man opened the bag to see tons of battlecaps. "Is this some kind of sick joke!?"

"Hey, that's the currency we use where I come from."

The man stood up and pointed the gun at Nathan's head. "Screw you!"

The man pulled the trigger and Nathan ducked. The bullet grazed the top of Nathan's hair and hit the brick wall behind him. Nathan quickly drew out his baseball bat and swung it down on the man's shoulder. The man dropped and laid on the ground, paralyzed.

Nathan picked up his bottlecaps and put them back into his Pipboy storage. "Thanks for wasting my time. If you'll excuse me, I have to go help some girls pick their clothes."

Nathan walked away and left the man to suffer.

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The men and women around the gym could only stare in awe as Kayla kept beating the punching bag. The bag flew around wildly and pieces of it were being thrown across the room with every kick and punch. Kayla gave one final shout and punched through the punching bag. She stood there cathing her breath for a minute before slowly pulling her fist out and letting the punching bag fall to the ground. She looked around the room and the people nervously pretended not to notice.

It was the same with her Spartan training. The civilians would look at her as a towering monster who would break them at any moment. It annoyed her, but it also made her feel the isolation she had when she tried to save people on Reach. They ran from the aliens, but they also ran from her.

"You need to rest." Kayla turned and threw a fist but Yamato easily caught her fist. The punch caused the room to vibrate a little and startled everyone in the room. Yamato looked into Kayla's eyes with his empty pair. "Your anger does not scare me," he whispered.

Kayla looked down at her feet and sat down on the floor. "Sorry."

Yamato crouched in front of her and sighed. "No need to be sorry. You're tense because of the war and angry because of the people here."

Kayla shook her head. "You have no idea."

Yamato searched the room and saw a large mat in the back of the room. "Do you want to spar? We could get the stress out that way."

"I don't want to hurt you..."

"I'll be fine. Just don't kill me."

Yamato helped Kayla to her feet and they made their way to the mats. Kayla turned her side to him and raised two fists in front of her and pointed his flat hands at Kayla. His stance seemed strange to Kayla. It left an opened for his head, his legs, and a quick punch could easily hit his chest.

"Start whenever you are ready," Yamato said.

Kayla tightened her fists and went for his head. Yamato leaned to the right and punched her stomach. Kayla quickly recovered and punched his shoulder. He dropped down low, sent a fist to her jaw and kicked her. Kayla blocked the kick and punched his chest. Yamato flew a few feet back but he quickly recovered and rushed forward. He jumped into the air and went for her face but Kayla blocked the punch. Kayla went for and axe kick, Yamato strafed to the left and punched, Kayla blocked and kicked his shin, Yamato grabbed her leg and tripped her. Once Kayla hit the ground, Yamato was on top of her, holding her hands down above her head and raising his fist above his head.

"You're better than I thought," Kayla said.

Yamato didn't change his empty eyes. "Feel better now?"

Kayla nodded and the two stood up. As they made their way outside, the people of the gym could only stare at the blood smeared across the floor.

"That poor guy almost got himself killed," someone said.