Chapter Nineteen: Everything Comes Full Circle

*“Everything was before we met Serena. Before you and I knew each other, both of us were dying. Face it, neither of us was happy in the future. Neither of us fit in, or even wanted to. I only wanted a break. I was Perfect. I wanted the Perfect time. I thought that maybe, if I found the Perfect time, I would fit in. The fifties were perfect. There was no violence, no wars, no political upheaval. There couldn’t have been! Otherwise, why was it the decade when people were most content?”

“Maybe they were happy. But people are happy in our time too. The fifties… Hiiro, if you had asked me before we had left what the fifties were like, I would have told you it was a decade of fear. Nuclear, communism, cold war, race, even science. The reason people were so ‘content’ is because they were too afraid to live. After World War Two, can you blame them for trying to hide all of society’s problems? You tried to hide your problems after our Eve Wars. But they were still there, weren’t they?”

“Of course.”

“So obviously then hiding it didn’t work.”

“I know! I know you’re right! I just… I’m tired of fighting. I wanted a peaceful time. Isn’t there any peace left?”

“You have to make peace. That’s why you fought, to create peace in your world. So now then, the question remains. As a human, can we find it within ourselves to keep peace long enough to live happily?”

“Humans were also born with willpower. We can find it in ourselves.”

“Optimist.”

“Pessimist.”

“I’m not saying we can’t. I’m just saying it might take us little more effort than we’ve been giving.” Serena sighed and sniffed slightly. “Or a lot more effort. It really just depends.”

“I wanted to live here, in the fifties. I thought it would be perfect, to finally live in a time where my background as a soldier and assassin wasn’t known and didn’t matter. But I don’t like it here. In all honesty? I…” Hiiro trailed off, unable to finish his sentence.

“What in all honesty?” Serena asked, eyes blinking. He had stopped so abruptly. Hiiro tilted his head down, shading his eyes from view.

“I miss my comrades.”

“Your friends? Those people who contacted me?” Hiiro nodded, and closed his eyes. He felt ashamed. He had always been taught not to rely on other people, to stay disconnected and superficial with relationships because in war people die too easily, and forming a bond can hurt one when it is severed. Still, the war was now over. And here they were, all of them had survived the war. In fact, didn’t that make their bonds stronger? Because they had survived through something so terrible together? Wasn’t that why he and Serena had become so close? Because they had worked together to live through that World War Two experience? He knew in his heart the answer beat yes.

“Yeah, them. Comrades.”

“I understand.” Serena nodded. “You’re lucky, you know? To have comrades that care about you, even though you never show you care about them.”

“No friends?”

“I had a few. They died during the war, and since then I haven’t really made an effort to find new ones. It doesn’t seem fair to replace.”

“You don’t necessarily replace them. Just… find new ones.”

“That’s what my brother said.”

“So then you do have a family.” Hiiro grunted. Something he had never had.

“Yes, I do. They live back home—my dad can’t work anymore because of an old injury that flared up, so my mom works double shifts as a nurse in a hospital. My younger brother Sam works in coal mines about a mile down the road from our house.”

“Coal mines? I thought men were no longer manning coalmines; don’t they use machines for that? Aren’t they too dangerous?”

“Sure they’re dangerous, and yes, in some places they do use machines. But where I was born, they didn’t have enough machines, so men were still being used to blast out tunnels and such. When people need work to eat, suddenly coalmining doesn’t seem as dangerous. My father used to do it too, but like I said, an old injury won’t let him do anymore lifting.”

“I see.”

“I don’t see them often anymore, but I do send them the majority of the money I make. Not that it’s much—being a historian doesn’t exactly pay millions.”

“Neither does being a soldier.” Suddenly Serena burst out laughing. Hiiro looked down at her and raised his eyebrows in wonder. “And you’re laughing because?”

“We have so much in common that it’s funny. Both of us had shady childhoods, both of us believe that humanity is flawed beyond repair, we both have lame salaries…”

“ ‘Lame salaries’ was the farthest thing from my mind, actually. Money isn’t important.”

“Agreed. Of course, you have friends who have it, so you can say that.” She smirked lightly.

“I can. Is that careless? Or inhumane?”

“A little snobbish, possibly careless, not inhumane. It’s the truth, and sometimes, no, the majority of the time, truth hurts. We just have to suffer through and bare it.” Serena nodded at her own words, and Hiiro smirked.

“I like how you tell it like it is.”

“I like that about you too. A hard knock on their door interrupted the two from their conversation, and they both stood at the same time. Serena, Hiiro noticed, instantly began to withdraw into herself. She slumped her shoulders and bowed her head, trying to step behind him and shield herself from their visitor. He half smirked, half frowned, finding her actions sad, yet undeniably endearing. The hard knocking came once again, and this time Serena whimpered slightly. This made Hiiro frown completely.

“Did you order something more from room service?” She whispered, azure eyes wide with shock.

“No.” Hiiro gruffly answered. “This is the fifties Serena. No matter what you told me about social unrest, there is no threat towards us currently.” Even still, Hiiro gently fingered the gun he wore tucked into his waistband. “Who is it?” He called monotonously through the door. The knocking came again, harder this time.

“Hotel management, open the door please!” Hiiro nodded and opened the door a crack. When he was convinced it was indeed hotel staff knocking, he opened it fully and looked the man over with his critical and judgmental eye.

Instantly Hiiro’s mind fled, two days over ten years, and his memory was jogged. The man who stood before him had longer, graying blonde hair that waved slightly, falling into his eyes. His build was tall and lanky, but the size of his arms suggested that in his younger days he had been quite strong. A bushy blonde mustache beneath his nose was finely trimmed, and his mouth was drawn into a hard, thin line—there was no joking around with this man. Dog tags hung around his neck, and a cigarette was clutched in one hand. Ten years for this man, two days for Hiiro.

“I couldn’t pass this opportunity up. I saw the entry in the guest books and instantly knew your name. Ten years, ten long years and still I haven’t forgotten: “If I told you, I’d have to kill you.” Those words, a stolen gun, and a set of keys. You haven’t aged one day—though you clean up relatively nicely—Hiiro Yui.”

“Hnn.”

“Don’t give me that crap soldier. We spent three months in a German POW camp, in the same cell, and all I ever heard was grunting. Still, I know you better than that. You’re a psychotic lunatic who doesn’t know what the meaning of the words pain or regret are. We spent another month and a half in that camp Yui. Month and a half! And you and your German doll got off easy! How’d you pull this one off though? Not aged a day!”

“Hiiro?” Hiiro’s ears heard Serena’s delicate whisper. “Who is he?” He nodded.
“Serena, William Evans. POW camp in the forties.” Serena gasped at the news.

“Hiiro, this is not good. Neither of us thought of what might happen if someone found us in this ti, um, place, if you catch my drift.” She hissed. Hiiro narrowed his electric blue eyes at Evans.

“We cannot interact with you. Leave, or we will.”

“Interact with me? Who do you two think you are? Explain to me how you pulled such a masterful escape plan off without a hitch? You even managed to take that woman with you, and she was half dead! I suppose I owe Nicks my life—it’s what he bet saying that you two would make a clean escape. So how’d you do it?”

“I’ve already told you to leave. Last warning.” Hiiro fingered his gun openly, allowing Evans to get a good look at the cool gleaming metal that hissed with Hiiro’s hot touch.

“Bullshit Yui.” Evans rolled his eyes, but half smirked. “You owe me an explanation—and I won’t be leaving until I get it.” As Hiiro began to draw his gun from his waistband, Serena’s hand stopped it, gently pushing it back.

“Let me explain.” She told him quietly. “You don’t have to use force anymore, remember?” Instantly, though she felt tenser than she had in a while, Serena could feel Hiiro relax. His hand lifted away from his gun, and he slipped a protective arm around her petite waist.

“Alright.”

“I’m waiting?” Evans reminded them.

“Mr. Evans, my name is Serena, and I’m a historian. Hiiro here is a soldier, much like yourself, but from a different war. In fact, neither of us are originally from the forties. I know it sounds a little ludicrous, but we ended up in the forties through a time travel mishap, and then were caught in your war. Hiiro and I are not supposed to reveal this information, so we were very secretive about it. When we escaped, we traveled time once more, and ended up here. While for you it’s been ten years, it has only been a matter of two days for us.”

“What?” Evans stood dumbfounded. “You honestly expect me to believe that bullshit?” His voice began to rise.

“No.” Serena shrugged. She hadn’t expected him to believe her; that was part of her plan. “But you said you wanted an explanation.” Then she stepped behind Hiiro once more and let him deal with his old cellmate.

“So now that you’ve had your fill of fantasies, leave.”

“Yui. You were never enlisted in the Army. Not the Army, not the Navy, not the Marines or the Air Force. I checked every record of every man, searching for some tangible evidence that you had existed for years. I wanted to convince myself that I had met someone from some branch of the armed forces, from some part of our country. You were never in the CIA, or the FBI. You were never even born according to records! Your very existence is mind-boggling. What are you?”

“I am a no one, a nothing. You were right when you said I was never even born according to the records. There are no existing records to prove I am alive—and that’s as it should be.”

“Then who trained you?” Evans whispered. The fear the older man felt was crawling up his skin, invading his blood, and making it hard to breathe. The very thought of Hiiro Yui had sent fear into his heart and soul since the war had ended, and even today, facing this ghost of a man was bone-chillingly frightening—though the old soldier would never admit it to anyone.

“I was trained by a classified group of the military; that is all you need to know.”

“And her? The girl?” Hiiro’s eyes narrowed.

“As she claimed, she is a historian whom has been working closely with me for the last decade.”

“And you let her make up lies about time travel as an excuse for your non-existence?”

“Yes. Anymore, final, questions?”

“Age. You look as if you haven’t aged a day. How…?”

“I was very young when I joined. I haven’t aged that much in ten years. That is all the information I’m allowed to release. Now, if you would leave…?” Hiiro nodded his head towards the door.

“Are you kidding? I haven’t seen you in years, and already you want me to leave? I wanted to… I don’t know… catch up? We spent three months in that cell together. Want to tell me what you’ve been doing since the war ended?” Evans sighed and crossed his arms. He had never particularly gotten along with Yui… “Kerry”, as he had known him for the majority of the time, had always acted as though he were better than everyone else in the camp, as if he were some sort of God-gifted man. It was almost as if Kerry had been the superior officer in the situation, not the other way around. Still, they had spent those three months together, and even if it wasn’t important to Kerry, those three months had meant quite a lot to him. That was a significant part of his life, being caged like an animal without his rights and needs met for three months. He just couldn’t quite see how it could leave such an insignificant mark in Kerry’s life where it had affected him so very much.

“No catching up. You need to leave.”

“Come on Yui. Spill.” Evans, obviously tying not to be affected by Hiiro’s anti-social personality, grabbed a corner of the bed closest to the door and settled in. After all, spending all that time with him, he knew Hiiro wouldn’t hurt him without good reason—Hiiro was a man who was in control of his actions and emotions, above all else. He was Perfect in every way; he let nothing slip.

“He’s not leaving Hiiro….” Serena whispered. It was not so much that she was afraid of the man really, no. Not after she and Hiiro had had their conversations. Something about the way he held hope for the human race, even though he shared her same pessimistic views the majority of the time, had given her hope too. Maybe not all people were going to hurt her the way she had been in the past. And if Hiiro already knew this man well enough to let him into the room, then surely he couldn’t be too much of a threat to them. Her only motive in wanting Evans to leave was that he had too many questions that neither she nor Hiiro were fully prepared to answer. They couldn’t let him know about the future… not that he would necessarily believe them… still…

“I know Sere. Do you want me to remove him?” Hiiro asked her gently. He was a little surprised she wasn’t trembling anymore. But if Evans made her uncomfortable in any way, he would make the man pay—big time.

“Just don’t let on too much about the future, and we should be just fine.” Serena whispered back. Hiiro nodded.

“Going to answer Yui? What’s been going on since the war ended?”

“Nothing. Little bit of work for the government, that’s it.” Hiiro vaguely responded.

“Top secret again?”

“Yes.”

“I see.” A silence filled the room, and then Evans started up again. “I knew you were a quiet one Yui, but I would have thought that you’d have grown out of it by now. You’re girlfriend is just as quiet too—Serena was it?”

“Yes, her name is Serena, and yes, we’re both quiet, and we like being this way.” Hiiro shot off answers one after another.

“No need to get all defensive! Just stating a fact it all.”

“If it’s a fact, it does not need to be re-iterated.” Hiiro monotonously answered. Serena felt like laughing. Hiiro wasn’t really upset with the man, he was toying with his mind, she knew. It was really quite humorous to watch.

“I know that! Don’t you think I know that?”

“Hnn.”

“Jesus Yui, you’re exactly the same, haven’t changed a bit! I thought it might be nice to catch up on old war stories, or to see what we’ve been up to; I don’t know how you do it! How can you block out being in that camp with me for three months? Didn’t it mean anything to you? Being a prisoner for so long? Being a prisoner at all? Didn’t it bother you?”

“Hiiro.” Serena let her small voice travel to Hiiro’s hearing distance. “Don’t toy with him anymore.” Hiiro took a moment, but then nodded in acknowledgment.

“It meant something, however, it did not bother me. I have been imprisoned by the enemy for longer amounts of time. Three months to a trained soldier who has experienced POW camps before is not as monumental as it is to someone like yourself, who had never had the experience before.”

“You were imprisoned before?”

“Yes.”

“Where? By who? Why didn’t you ever tell Nicks and I this?”

“I am not at liberty to discuss this issue farther.” Hiiro stated. He didn’t feel as in control of this situation as he had once had, and it made him uneasy to think about it. Sharing personal information with someone who he did not completely trust was too hard, too fragile of a commitment for him.

“Really.” Evans stopped, and then he stood. “Hiiro, I’m what, thirty years older than you?”

“More.”

“Alright then, forty. And you still make me feel like you’re the older man. You have since we were in that cell ten years ago. You, I think for some reason, have had more experiences in your short lifetime than I have in my long one. And frankly? It scares me. It was nice to learn that you and your girlfriend survived—it makes me think that maybe there is hope in the world. I wish you luck in the future, Hiiro, because though you probably don’t need it, it’s better to have it on your side anyway.” Serena and Hiiro remained silent as they watched Evans reach for the door handle. Then, just as the older man stepped out and was closing the door behind him, Serena stopped him.

“Luck is only skill properly applied. And I think you have enough skill to have luck. In fact, I’m sure of it. Good night Mr. Evans.” And with that, she shut the door, leaving Evans to stand alone in the hall and wonder—who exactly were those two psychopaths that he had come across? *