Magic Knight Rayearth Fan Fiction ❯ Lying, Waiting, All Too Late ❯ First Encounter ( Chapter 1 )

~ Lying, Waiting, All Too Late ~
Chapter One: First Encounter

* * *

"You're WHAT?"

Geo Metro pretended to be interested in only his lunch, which wasn't much to be intrigued with, so his friend Meson Avant only prodded him further with heavy questioning... or rather, just gapes of utter disbelief.

"You're WHAT?" Meson demanded again, to which Geo finally answered again without looking up from his tray.

"I'm double majoring."

"Don't you need extra money for that? Something your family just doesn't have?"

"Thank you, Meson, for pointing that out to me. I know my family income."

"Which is next to nonexistent. Geo, your brother is so going to rip your head off."

Geo gritted his teeth. "I know."

It was the third year of the Air Force Academy, and Geo had signed up for a second major other than Leadership, what he initially took. Juniors were allowed to do that, given that their electives had followed the course leading up to that second major. Naturally, he took Mecha Combat, which most male cadets went for because they were male cadets. He found the class rather enjoyable, and he was told to be a natural at it. So despite the destitution the Metro family lived in, he decided to take both of the courses.

However, like Meson said, it required extra money, which his family just did not have; Geo and his older brother, Holden, both were in the academy under a scholarship that was only enough for their tuition and housing and scarce supplies. In order for Geo to take another class, he would need to get a loan, and the first thing Holden had told him upon arriving his freshman year of the academy: "Don't do anything that would require you to get a loan."

Holden was going to murder Geo with his bare hands, and both of the juniors knew it all too well.

Meson groaned. "What classes did you give up to do this? Mother told me that in order to double major--she told me this even before I signed up to take the test for the Academy--you have to give up a couple of classes, which is why most double majors go on a fifth year. What are you giving up?"

"Classes that wouldn't require me to go on a fifth year," replied Geo, picking up a piece of artificial meat from his tray. "Namely history and foreign relations."

"You gave up your social science classes?" Meson asked, appalled. Geo expected this to happen. "You'll need those later in life! Believe me! I mean, after all, if Autozam ever got into a war with Chizeta or Fahren or someplace like that, don't you think you should have a better idea of what's going on between the countries? And not to mention that if you ever wanted to tour those countries--"

Geo looked at Meson and smirked. "You just want me to be in the same classes as you," he replied, "since we're not roommates anymore."

"That too."

Geo and Meson had been roommates their freshman year, and by a stroke of good luck, during their sophomore year. Luckily for Meson, his roommate for junior year had been a friend of his from childhood. He never ate with Geo and Meson and Zazu Torque (who was still in line because his classroom before lunch was on the top floor of the twenty-story building while the cafeteria was on the bottom) because he always spent his lunchtime studying; Meson's friend was not a very sociable person. Geo found that he had no roommate, but in the most unfortunate way, so he was late to practically all of his morning classes.

The number one rule of the dormitories of the Air Force Academy is to never, ever abandon your roommate. The academy was all about learning the values of partnerships and teamwork, and if Geo had gone off to class without his roommate, the seniors and the lieutenants would have done one of two things: scream their heads off (very ineffective since Geo learned from the very beginning to block their censures out) or given him detention.

He had waited for his roommate to show up for the first half hour while the seniors were rallying up all of the juniors. Nobody had come, and he saw that he was almost late to his first class. He went to his supervisor, Lieutenant Colonel Isuzu Trooper, and asked about the nonexistent roommate. Needless to say, he turned out to be late to his first class. He would have made it on time to the rest of his classes had each of his instructors not scolded him. Geo considered himself quite lucky that all he had to do was to climb down the tower to get to all of his morning classes.

"So, when are you going to tell Holden?" asked Meson. "I'm only interested because I... don't want to be there when you do."

"Probably before din--"

"Sumimasen."

Geo glanced to his side and saw a young boy with pasty golden hair standing next to their table. He was scrawny, but, Geo had to admit, he had some sort of essence that he was stronger than he let on. The boy seemed rather... feminine for being a male, which probably accounted for that feeling. Geo assumed that he was a freshman--it was either that, or he was an exchange student.

Although Geo had a clear idea of what the boy was going to ask, he decided to say the only natural thing: "Hai?"

"What do you want?" would have been rude.

"Is it all right if I sit here?" the boy asked. He was polite, Geo noted. "All of the other tables are full or being saved for somebody else."

Geo and Meson exchanged a short glance of apathy, and Geo shrugged. "Sure, go ahead," he replied. "We're only expecting one other person, anyway."

"Thank you," the boy said as he took a seat, a small smile on his face.

Meson was the first to introduce himself.

"I'm Meson Avant of Matador County," he said. "Hajimemashite."

"Hajimemashite," the boy replied. "Matador County? Are you General Avant's son?"

Meson nodded, quite pleased that somebody knew who his mother was. "That's right! See, see, Geo, you are the only one in this school who's met me and not know that my mother was the general of the Air Force!"

Geo growled. "Some people lived in conditions in which we didn't care about that sort of stuff."

"Holden knew."

"That's Holden!" Geo exclaimed. "Holden and I are two completely different people."

"He's still your brother."

"What's your point?" The boy laughed quietly, and Geo remembered that there was an audience and turned his attention away from Meson. "Anyway, I'm Geo Metro of Central Integra." He smiled. "The part of the capital otherwise known as the ghetto."

"The ghetto?" the boy asked. "You're here under a scholarship?"

Geo nodded. "It pays to do well in the public schools sometimes. You actually have a chance at actually living for a change and get into a private school before you're ready to go out and get a job."

"That's how bad it is in Central?" said the boy thoughtfully. "Something to keep in mind... oh!" His grin grew slightly wider, obviously pretending he had said nothing at all. "I'm also from Integra but from Eastern."

"That's where all the aristocrats live," Meson muttered.

"My name is Eagle."

Later that evening, in the lounge, the steady volume was immediately broken by one loud angry voice.

"You did WHAT?!"

Geo recoiled and glanced around the lounge nervously. Only a few people averted their conversations to quickly glance at the Metro brothers, but they immediately resumed their socializing. They probably figured it was a mere sibling bicker. Nothing special.

Geo wished it was a mere sibling bicker.

He also began to regret even considering telling Holden about his double majoring plan.

"You got a loan?" Holden demanded. "A loan?"

Geo nodded. "Yes," he replied.

"A loan?"

"Yeah."

"For double majoring?"

"That's about right."

Holden closed his eyes and bit his lip. Geo recognized this as Holden's temper control system. It always failed.

"You got a loan... to double major."

Geo nodded slowly. "Yes, I did."

"WHY?!" Holden bellowed. "Why weren't you happy with Leadership? Why did you have to take up Mecha Combat, too?! Why did you have to put our family on the debt list, which Ma tried to keep us off of for years?!"

Geo narrowed his eyes. "Just because I got a loan doesn't mean--"

"Yes! Getting a loan does mean that you do not have money! Do. Not. Have. Money," said Holden.

"I know that," Geo said.

"So why did you do it?"

Geo hesitated. If he said the first thing that came to mind ("Because we don't have money."), Holden would be even more upset than he was now. If he gave his older brother a simple answer ("Because I wanted to."), he would bring family matters into everything again. He had to choose his words carefully.

"You always told me to be an opportunist, Holden," said Geo. "Don't you think that this would give me better opportunities to succeed in life rather than be limited?"

Holden shook his head and said with a calm fury, "Don't even get me started, little brother. I told you to not do a thing that would require a loan out of you. Now look. You turn your back on me and did it anyway. Two years is all you have to pay those loans back, which gives you one year after we graduate. That's not enough time for you to get a job and do that."

"I'll get it cleared," said Geo to reassure his brother. "You'll just have to trust me."

"How can I trust you now?" said Holden, throwing his hands in the air, exasperated. "Look, just go talk to Trooper and tell him--"

With that, Geo decided to take a firm stance against his brother. He growled a single word: "No."

Holden's glower went from terrible to horrible. "And. Why. Not?"

"Because I want to do this. I need to," said Geo sternly. "If I don't, you have absolutely no idea how... I don't know. All I know is that I need to double major for some reason that would benefit me in the future. It's just a strong feeling I have, and I know I need to. Why can't you understand that?"

"I understand needs all right," Holden replied. "Needs are food and shelter. You don't need anything more than that. Everything else in the world is just what you want. Do you think Ma has time for wants? She has a hard enough time getting enough food to eat for any more than a week. If you get a loan and you can't pay it back within the two years, Ma won't have shelter. Why do you have to be so goddamned selfish?"

Geo had to fight the sudden urge to strangle his brother. "People need more than just food and shelter, otherwise, why do we even live? And Holden, if anybody is being selfish, it's YOU."

"Excuse me?" Holden growled with dripping death.

Luckily, Meson must have sensed the imminent danger and had appeared at Geo's side. "Na, Geo," he whined, "let's hurry up and go to the dinner line--"

Unfortunately, Meson put himself in the line of fire.

"You encouraged him, didn't you?" Holden demanded from the general's son.

Meson arched a brow. "Eh?"

"You encouraged my little brother to get a loan, didn't you?"

Meson shook his head rapidly as Eagle walked up to them. He and Geo exchanged short nods and small smiles of greeting. "No, no, no!" Meson exclaimed. "If anything, I discouraged him! Discourage, not encourage! 'Dis' is the opposite of 'en'. Discourage! Trust me!"

Judging by the venomous scowl on his face, Holden apparently didn't. Geo sighed. "Meson did nothing," he said in defense for his friend. "I chose to get a loan by my own free will."

To this, Eagle spoke, "A loan? You had to get a loan? I can help pay it off for you if you want."

"No," both Metro brothers spoke simultaneously.

"I can," Eagle protested.

Geo said, "We only just met. I can't ask any favors out of you."

"We can't afford to be indebted to anybody," Holden replied at the same time. With that, Geo received the same glare he had been getting all evening from his older brother, but then Holden turned his attention to Eagle. Geo didn't think it was possible for Holden's eyes to get any narrower without them shutting, but somehow, he managed it. "Especially not your family."

Eagle looked taken aback but pressed on just as firmly. "I won't ask for you to pay me back or anything--"

"Especially NOT your family," Holden repeated.

Geo and Meson exchanged confused glances. Eagle's family? Now that Geo thought about it, Eagle never did give his family name. There was something Eagle was hiding from Geo, and although he had only known the freshman for less than six hours, Geo hated it.

Geo wasn't sure to consider it luck at first, but when Zazu came into the lounge begging for him and Meson and Eagle to hurry up, he could have sworn that things were about to get uglier.

They didn't. Geo forgot how much Holden admired Zazu.

"We'll settle this later, little brother," Holden spat, spinning curtly to head to his group of friends by the console games. "Don't you dare do anything about this until we do."

"I'm seventeen, Holden, I can take care of myself," Geo replied as he stormed towards the entrance to the cafeteria. "Come on, you guys."

Meson seemed rather eager to get out of the fifteen meter radius of the older Metro brother but timidly approached to the younger. Zazu followed, utterly confused, and Eagle somehow managed to catch up with the fuming Geo. All but Eagle seemed to be even the slightest bit frightened of angering him any further than he already was.

"I'm not lying when I say that you won't need to pay me back," said Eagle. "My family is rich enough."

"If you're from Eastern Integra, I can't expect anything less than that," Geo replied. "What did Holden mean, anyway, by your family? And how did he even know who you were when you two have never met?"

Eagle smiled. "Who knows?"

Geo halted, and Eagle followed suit with mild confusion. "You should."

"Hey, Geo, what was that about?" Zazu asked before Eagle could respond to that. "I have never seen Holden that upset at you before."

"I'll explain in line," Meson replied, giving Geo a strained grin. "Come on, come on."

"Meson..." Zazu whined but was dragged off by Meson before he could object any further. Geo was sure that Eagle would have been happy to move away from the subject, but Geo, for one, was pleased that Meson left the two alone. Maybe Zazu didn't need to know this, or maybe he did--that just depended on the answer Eagle gave Geo.

So, he tried again. "Look, my brother is upset just by knowing about your family. What does he know that I don't?"

Eagle's smile hadn't wavered, and he kept it on as he answered, "I haven't known you for a day, Geo, but I like you. I wanted to make sure we were truly friends first before I told you, but seeing as how you befriended the son of the general and a child genius..." He shrugged. "I'll tell you next week, but believe me when I say that I will pay off your loan and you won't have to pay me back in any form."

Geo shook his head. "You're a nice kid, Eagle, but I hate it when people hide things from me. You aren't becoming one of my favorite people this way."

"A week is the longest you'll have to wait," said Eagle. "I promise."

"I can't change your mind, can I?" Eagle laughed quietly, and despite his frustration, Geo grinned. "I'll have no choice then." They began walking toward the line to join Meson and Zazu. "And about the loan deal, don't concern yourself with it. My brother will just get pissed off more so than how you just saw him."

"One week," Eagle reminded Geo, apparently pretending to not hear. "One week for us to get an opinion of each other, and then I'll tell you everything you need to know about me, starting with my last name. I'm almost surprised you haven't figured it out yet for yourself."

Holden refused to leave Geo alone, as the younger brother discovered the next morning. Geo had been startled that someone would knock at his door, much less rudely and obnoxiously, but he had expected somebody of his own grade; no one, especially people from different genders and classes, were allowed to visit each other in the dormitories. Each dorm room was reserved for sleeping, taking care of hygiene, and adequate studying. Needless to say, Geo was surprised to see his older brother, a senior classman, in the doorway when he answered.

"Geo," said Holden softly. It was still an hour before they had to get to class; most people were either already eating breakfast or getting ready for lessons. "We need to talk."

Geo growled and considered slamming the door in Holden's face. "I don't want to talk about the loan thing. You're not talking me out of it."

"That's not it. Sort of. Could I come in?"

Geo arched a brow. "Since when were you so polite?" He sighed. "Hai, hai, come in."

Holden entered the dimly lit room, which wasn't the cleanest for being only the first morning back in the academy, but at least juniors and seniors weren't inspected as thoroughly as the sophomores and freshman. Geo had felt sorry for Zazu before, but now more so for Eagle, since it was his first year, and he actually liked the kid.

"So, what do you want to talk about?" asked Geo as he shut the door. "It has to be important, otherwise why the hell would you risk coming to the junior dormitories?"

"The dorms are the only place we can get privacy, meaning no interruptions of any type," Holden replied. "Geo, what do you know about your new freshman friend?"

"Eagle?"

"Yes, him."

"How do you know his name?" asked Geo, interested in getting out of Holden what he couldn't get out of Eagle. At the same time, he had every intention on letting Eagle keep his promise.

Holden looked like he was torn between breaking into laughter and utter confusion. "Eh? You haven't figured it out?"

"Figured what out?"

Holden sighed. "Yare, yare. I guess juniors and sophomores wouldn't know; only the seniors who get to yell at the underclassmen and the freshman know. Pity." He sighed again. "Actually, I don't think anybody was supposed to know. It's only a matter of time, little brother, before you find out for yourself. Until then, I want you to stay away from him."

Geo scowled; if he did that, he would be breaking an unsaid promise to Eagle. They were going to get to know each other's personalities more for a week before they make any judgments on each other. Geo wasn't about to follow his older brother's orders without good reason.

"Why?"

"Why?" Now Holden laughed, sounding as if the answer was obvious. It wasn't, not to Geo, at least. "Because he means trouble," said Holden, his face going sober. "He's offering money to you, and you should know better than to accept money from members of an aristocratic family. They're all bastards and not to be trusted--crap."

He must have realized that he gave away a vital clue, and Geo, while knowing that Eagle came from a family of wealthy politicians, didn't think anything about it until now.

"Eagle told me he was from Eastern Integra," said Geo. "You're not telling me anything new."

"Yes, well," said Holden, shaking his head to get over his slip-up. "Geo, don't take money from him. He's scheming something up, I swear."

"What would he be 'scheming up' in a place like this?" asked Geo. "He's only a freshman, for crying out loud, and first of all, do you think I would ask favors out of anybody I just met the day before?"

"It's not a question of now, Geo," Holden replied. "It's a matter of looking into the future. You don't befriend people easily, but you're sure going about it quickly with him, and I see you trusting Eagle with more things than you ever did Meson. I'm doing this for your own good."

"And as I said last night, I'm seventeen years old. I can take care of myself," Geo protested again. He could get into a fistfight with his older brother right about now, but he reminded himself that they were mature teenagers. He could restrain himself. Not to mention that getting into brawls anywhere on campus was against academy regulations. He could get them kicked out.

Unfortunately, it was the latter that kept him from pouncing on Holden.

Holden's eyes narrowed, and his voice held a warning tone. "Geo..."

"I don't need you to look over me anymore."

"Geo..." Holden's voice was getting deadlier. He was getting quite upset again.

"And I'm going down to eat breakfast," Geo snapped as he grabbed his laptop computer and stormed out of his dormitory room, not wanting to talk to his brother anymore.

Needless to say, he completely forgot that he had just stormed out of his own room with Holden still in it.

Geo sincerely hoped that Holden didn't destroy everything in the room, but then again, the Metro brothers were poor. Surely Holden wouldn't do something as stupid as that.

Right?

Right. Or not.

Geo just realized it at that moment that he was having a hard time trusting his brother nowadays.

Geo's bad mood from the morning encounter vanished during lunchtime when Zazu was busy tinkering around with a remote control he snitched from the audio visual room. There was a minor explosion, but everybody in the cafeteria had a good laugh from it. Since many of the lieutenants and the instructors believed that the fourth year students should be able to contain chaos within the cafeteria during mealtimes, Zazu didn't get into any trouble at all. The faculty of the Air Force Academy tended to forget that Zazu had earned the respect of the upperclassmen simply by being the only preteen to ever attend classes in the academy.

Geo knew he could always count on the young sophomore to bring him out of his gloomy disposition.

The class Geo had after lunch was a piloting course, a class he shared with Holden. Luckily, Holden ignored him. Furthermore, the class went on the simulators for a little warming up after being away from the academy for a couple of months. Geo was bored to tears during mathematics--again--and by the time he sat in his seat in his last class before Mecha Training, he was ready to fall asleep. Learning about Autozam's government was not one of Geo's favorite things to do, and he knew the hour would go by slowly.

As he stared blankly at his laptop's screen, the teacher's babble barely reaching his ears, he found his mind drifting to the conversation he had had with Holden that morning.

Sure, with Holden being a senior, he was allowed to yell at the freshman and sophomores. Being that Holden liked Zazu like a little brother he never had (to which Geo would glare at his older brother, but he reminded himself that he felt the same way about Zazu), he had no guts to yell at him. Quite a contradiction considering that he loved to yell at Geo, but Holden's conscience always seemed to be having a seesaw war. An inadvertent hypocrite, sure. Holden apparently chose to throw his frustrations out to the freshmen because of Zazu.

Even if it wasn't for Zazu, Geo was certain Holden would go for the freshmen. After all, what upperclassman in his right mind wouldn't want to pick on the youngest cadets in the academy?

The girls were excluded. They spent most of their energy on three things: studying, studying, and screaming their heads off at the male cadets. It was a no wonder why the past five valedictorians in the school were of the female race and none of the men could ever get dates.

Oh, yes, and the women did. That was no joke, though a lot of the men were mildly amused. At least, those who weren't as frustrated that the women weren't paying any attention to them.

So, Eagle's last name was something only the freshmen and seniors knew. Now that Geo thought about it, why hadn't Eagle gone to eat with people of his own age. He wasn't shy. Maybe nobody really liked him because of who he was related to? One or more of his family members were politicians, and the best Geo could think about were senators and representatives. Maybe Eagle had a grandfather on the judicial branch, or maybe his mother or father worked in the president's cabinet.

Geo had no idea how that could affect Eagle's lack of friends in the school, but he knew, thanks to Holden, that Eagle's family had to do greatly with the reason why Eagle refused to tell Geo or Meson or Zazu his last name.

"So, when the first president of Autozam was elected, President Lancia Countach, most of the colonies banded together to form--damn it," the instructor muttered... too bad he was wearing a microphone. "I hate interruptions; Geo Metro?"

Geo snapped to attention and stared at his instructor inquisitively. "Yes, sir?"

"You have to go down to your supervisor's office. Now," the instructor replied, staring at the console in front of the room. "The lieutenant colonel stressed heavily on that."

"Hai, hai," said Geo, happy to leave the class. Murmurs flew around, complaining that Geo somehow always got lucky.

It wasn't true; this was actually the fifth time in three years that he had been called out of class, but that was more than the average student in the academy. Nobody liked to admit it, but nobody really liked being called to their supervisor's office. Somehow, everyone had a foreboding that it would something horrible.

After he took a rather long elevator ride to the basement, where all of the faculty offices were, he found his brother standing in front of Lieutenant Colonel Isuzu Trooper's office, seeming just as worried as he was. Things didn't get any better for Geo's emotions just then.

"Oi, Holden," Geo called as he marched towards his brother. All grudges from that morning had vanished. "Do you have any idea--"

Holden had no chance to answer but seemed really distressed when Trooper stuck his head out of the open office door. "You may come in," he said, his wrinkling brows creased with remorse.

Something was really wrong.

Trooper took a seat behind his desk, his fingers intertwining as he held his hands to his forehead. Geo and Holden invited themselves to take a seat in the chairs in front of the lieutenant's desk. They glanced at each other nervously. Geo, like he assumed Holden was, wondered what in the world could put Trooper into a position of discomfort. He was normally so composed, yet kind and had a wonderful sense of humor. And if both of the brothers were called in...

"It's only the beginning of the school year," Trooper finally began, quietly, eerily quiet. "I know about your financial situation, and I know that you two can never afford to go back to the capital during vacation, so that makes this all the harder."

Holden spoke firmly. "We're big boys, Lieutenant Colonel. I'm sure we can handle whatever you have to tell us."

Geo was almost shocked that Holden hadn't given Geo a cold glare at the mention of "financial situation", but he realized that he shouldn't be. Something was up.

Trooper grinned a painted smile. "I know, Holden. I know. The health conditions in Central Integra aren't the best... but the only thing that's good about Central Integra, no offense, are the very close friendships that are formed there."

"If any at all," Geo muttered. Holden was right that morning; Geo didn't befriend people easily, and besides Holden's cronies, he had no real companions of his own other than the ones he had in the academy.

If Trooper had heard Geo, he chose to ignore him. He lifted his head so that his line of vision could meet a point in between the two Metro brothers so that they could meet his eyes.

"Holden, Geo, we just got the news earlier this afternoon. Two nights ago, your mother passed away. I am very sorry."

*

Like breakfast had been, and lunch nearly had, dinner was unusually quiet. Zazu had taken into mind to not test the upperclassmen anymore and instead of playing around with electronics, he concentrated on eating his food and doing his homework, to which Eagle gladly helped him with. He couldn't help it if he knew more about the three branches of government than the young sophomore did, could he? As for the other two, while Eagle had only known them for less than two days, he knew that when Geo and Meson weren't bantering and laughing, something was amiss.

Just now Eagle learned that Meson was always on the receiving end of the conversations. Like the night before, he had his laptop open. Obviously, it was homework, but this time Meson was actually working on it. Eagle realized that the reason for that was because Geo was not speaking; he was silently and slowly eating his dinner.

"All right, so Eagle," said Zazu, still staring straight into his laptop. Eagle shook himself out of his contemplation and turned to his fellow Autozam Government classmate. "Who is the current head of the judicial branch again?"

"Subaru Forester."

"Got ya. Sugee, you sure know a lot."

Eagle smiled. "I can't argue with that. You tend to learn about these things in the schools in Eastern Integra... heavily. Especially with the after school tutor I had."

"You had an after school tutor, too?" asked Zazu, seeming relieved and elated at the same time. "Yokatta. I could have sworn I was the only one in this entire academy who had one. Was yours strict? Mean? Thought you were the stupidest person in the entire country although you were smarter than everyone else your age?"

Eagle laughed. Apparently, Zazu didn't have as good of an experience with tutors as he had. "Strict, yes," answered Eagle, "but she was really kind when it came to nonacademic matters."

"Lucky!" Zazu pouted and went back to his studying.

Geo finally looked up from his dinner tray and smiled faintly at Eagle. "Isn't Subaru Forester the commander of the security forces?" he asked.

Eagle nodded. "Yes, that's Judge Forester's son. Neither likes to be called the 'senior' or the 'junior', so it's hard to distinguish between them sometimes. I wonder how the commander's mother handled them sometimes."

Geo's eyes went back to his tray. "Probably like any other mother."

With that, Eagle's concern grew, and he decided to find out what was bugging Geo before things got out of hand. "Hey, Geo, do you want to go for a walk for a little bit?" asked Eagle with the most inviting smile he could put on. "I need to exercise my legs a little, and I think we need to talk about something."

Geo stole a peek at him, arched a brow, and sighed a little. "Hai, hai. If I don't see you before bedtime," he said to Meson and Zazu, "then I'll see you tomorrow morning. 'Night."

"G'night," Meson and Zazu echoed. Eagle gave Zazu an apologetic look for not being able to help him further with his homework, but Zazu shrugged it off and instead bombarded Meson with questions.

As Eagle and Geo walked towards the hall, Geo tossed his tray into a waste vacuum nearby and turned to Eagle. "All right, what do you want to talk about?"

"Not what you're probably thinking," Eagle replied. "After all, it's only been a day since we made that deal. Is there anything wrong, Geo? It was unusually quiet back there at the table."

Geo showed a half-grin. "Nothing you need to concern yourself with."

"We've only known each other for a short time, but I think that at the rate we're going, I'll be calling you friend within no time," said Eagle, returning the grin with a full smile. "I haven't had many friends while growing up, but I do know that when something is bothering someone I've come to like a great deal, it does concern me. Is Meson or Zazu somehow involved?"

"No," said Geo, shaking his head. They were reaching the corridor that led to the lounge. "It has nothing to do with them."

"I guess I can consider that a good thing," Eagle replied. "It must be bad when friends are angry with each other."

"Wait a minute, you said you didn't have many friends," said Geo. "I haven't had much friends either, but that's because it's Central Integra and there aren't many friendships to be made, at least when you live in a neighborhood full of people either way too old or way too young to befriend. What's your excuse? I would figure that in Eastern Integra, you would get an atmosphere that's just like the academy."

"You would," said Eagle, "but you'll understand once I tell you my last name next week." Geo groaned while Eagle laughed. Secrets were quite fun indeed, but Eagle did not want to ruin his last chance at friendship. "Enough about me, though," said Eagle, growing sober. "I'll ask again. Geo, is there anything at all wrong?"

"I'd be lying if I said 'no'," he replied, "but I get the feeling you won't be satisfied with the simple answer of 'yes'. You'd probably think less of me if I told you what it was."

"That depends," said Eagle. "I won't know unless you tell me."

They stopped just in front of the lounge. It was the only place for privacy for two cadets in two different grade levels, and yet, it was the only place where they can loiter without getting into trouble. Geo leaned against a nearby wall in the shadow of the open doorways, and Eagle stood to the side so that he, too, will not be seen by the other cadets. The results could be disastrous, since many freshmen had just finished eating and were spending the remainder of their free time in the lounge. Some seniors were in there as well, but the seniors were friendlier during social interactions than they were during line-ups and basic training. That was the half of the academy who knew what his title was.

"Holden might kill me if I told you," said Geo mournfully, "and I don't want to put this kind of sorrow on your shoulders, not if we only met yesterday. Of course, nobody saw this coming. Nobody sees anything coming, but I guess the inevitable has to happen sometime."

Eagle frowned, his face flooding with concern. Geo was speaking in riddles; that was NOT good. Well, it wasn't exactly riddles, but he surely wasn't making much sense as to what was bothering him so much.

"It's all right," said Eagle reassuringly. "I don't mind, and I can't leave you like this."

Geo offered a small smile. "All right. I'll do my best." He took a deep breath. "A couple of days ago... my..." He hesitated for what seemed like sixty slow seconds, and he exhaled with mild frustration. "I can't say it. I'm a moron, I didn't even cry, and now... I can't say it... and I still can't cry... the tears won't come." Geo laughed a little. "I'm an idiot."

"Cry?" asked a confused Eagle. This was a very fragile topic, so Eagle really couldn't say the first things that came to mind. Instead, he took a moment to reorganize his thoughts and attempted the questioning again. "What do you mean?"

"Lost," Geo murmured at a volume that Eagle could barely hear. He seemed to have been thinking quietly aloud. "That's a good way to go about it. Have you ever lost someone who changed your life? A family member?"

There was only a moment of perplexity in Eagle's thoughts before it dawned on him. "Oh," he said quietly. "I'm sorry. You must be going through a lot."

"Just by that you know?" asked an amused Geo.

"Hai. When I mentioned the word 'mother' you seemed depressed. Am I correct?" Geo nodded. "I know how you feel. My mother died only a couple of years ago. Would it help to talk about it?"

"Is that how you handled it?"

Eagle shook his head. "No. My father went about business as usual. He was really busy that time of year, but I think he... managed to be successful partly because of her death. That was when I first started going to school for the first time. After all, my mother was my tutor."

Geo chuckled. "'Strict yet kind', that's how you described your tutor," he said. "I think I should have realized it then. Most mothers are that way. If it wasn't for my mother, Holden and I would never have been in the academy. She forced us to study even when we offered to help around the house. She helped whenever she could, of course, but she made us do so much studying when we were little that by the time we reached our preteen years, we had surpassed her intelligence and so many others our age in Central Integra. Had we lived in Western Integra like Zazu or Matador County like Meson, I'm sure we'd have graduated by now. I--no, Holden and I owe my mother for that. We can't even go to her funeral. It's a pathetic situation."

Eagle was about to offer to pay for the trip, but knowing how Holden and Geo reacted to the loan deal, he decided against it for now, but an idea did pop into his head about that time that could help people like them. He stored the brainstorm to the back of his head to bring up to his father as soon as he went to bed.

"I see," murmured Eagle, concealing the smile his cheeks twitched to display.

"So, how did you handle your mother's death?" asked Geo. "If you don't want to tell me, fine, but maybe it will help me..."

"I cried at her funeral, but I didn't cry after that," said Eagle. "I can't remember if I had beforehand, but... I won't lie, Geo. I don't know how I handled it or if I even did. Like I said, my father was too busy with... other things, and all of his friends and, er, co-workers were just as busy. I had no friends, and I am an only child. I had no one to turn to for comfort. I'm afraid that I've forgotten how to cry."

"Don't say that," said Geo. "I don't think it's possible for anyone's eyes to dry up forever."

"We'll see, maybe."

Geo smiled forlornly and said, "Eagle, if I could afford going to the funeral, do you think I would have cried?"

"If you and your brother decide to go the your mother's funeral," said Eagle, "I'm sure you will. And I hope it won't be the last tears you shed for her."

Two days later, a day before the weekend, the lunch hour seemed to be going by normally. Geo seemed to have gotten over his sorrow, but Eagle found it peculiar that Geo's brother was nowhere to be seen. Eagle had no idea what the relationship was between Geo's older brother and his mother, but he figured that it somehow hit him the hardest. That's not saying that Eagle wanted Geo's older brother around, but considering that Geo still seemed absolutely oblivious about Eagle's last name, maybe the senior had not told his junior brother a thing. For that, Eagle was thankful and found another degree of respect for the Metro family.

The loud chatter didn't deter Geo and Zazu from getting into mini food battles, in which they snatched food from each other's trays to see who could eat the most before there was no more pieces left to eat. In fact, the noise seemed to encourage them as many cadets were ignorant to the happenings in their surroundings and paid more attention to events at their respective tables. Meson was busy typing up a report, and Eagle caught him mumbling and grumbling about how teachers shouldn't assign their students five pages worth of report on the first week of school.

Eagle smiled. It was only the first week of school, and he knew that he could count on his three companions to be true friends. They seemed like a very fun bunch, a very fine bunch, and despite the mock cruelty they displayed towards each other, there were signs of affectionate brotherly love cleverly disguised. It wasn't hard to spot them to an observer, but to the naked eye, one would never have guessed that it was there.

The plan seemed to be working. Geo, Zazu, and Meson all considered Eagle a friend--Zazu had even said so himself about four or five times. They didn't even know who he was related to... that is, Geo and Meson had no idea. Zazu shared a class with Eagle, so naturally, he knew, but he kept it a secret and didn't brag about it in front of everyone. That was the kind of person Eagle really wanted to befriend, and there were times when he thought about going back on his promise to Geo and just telling him to see how he would react.

The reaction Eagle wanted was a shrug and a reply of "Whatever". Anything else would dissuade any real forms of friendship Eagle assumed came from Geo, although he highly doubted that Geo's feelings were fake. After all, Geo came from the poverty-ridden Central Integra while Eagle came from the high-class Eastern Integra, and Geo had promptly turned down Eagle's offer to pay off the loan for him. Eagle wondered why he was even keeping the secret from Geo, but then he reminded himself that first the changes in the law had to made, and then he would be free to tell Geo everything.

Two nights ago, like he planned, he contacted his father with a full essay on changes he thought would be beneficial to the all citizens of the government, and he requested that they send full information about the Metro family to Lieutenant Colonel Isuzu Trooper, Geo's and Holden's supervisor. The work would have been done for him, since Eagle couldn't do it himself in the academy.

"Ha!" Zazu laughed as he snatched the last particle of food from Geo's tray. "I won!"

"You haven't won until all of your food is gone," Geo growled, using his fork to snatch away three pieces of asuna, manufactured meat, from Zazu's plate. Zazu looked shocked.

"Hey! You can't do that!"

"Yes, I can. After all, I just did," said Geo. By the tone of his voice, Eagle pictured a seven-year-old Geo sticking his tongue out at Zazu, and he cracked up. Meson looked up questioningly, then shrugged and went back to his report, still mumbling and grumbling about the injustices of the Air Force Academy.

"Vigor... own country... not part of Autozam... rights violated..." Meson grumbled.

The Air Force Academy was located in the county of Vigor.

Zazu pouted and grabbed, with his hands, all the asuna he could and stuffed into his mouth. He said something that sounded somewhere along the lines of "I'm not going to let you win", but Eagle couldn't tell. Geo looked like he was about to retort, but his eye caught something beyond Zazu's head. He scowled.

"What do you want, Holden?" he demanded. Eagle, Zazu, and Meson at once turned to face the direction Geo was facing and indeed saw the taller, scrawnier, and more handsome Metro brother standing right behind Zazu.

"Little brother," replied Holden sternly, "we have to talk."

"All right," said Geo, waving a hand. "Talk."

"I don't think I should say it here, but I suppose it's okay what with the company," said Holden, giving Eagle a glare of suspicion. "I was called into Trooper's office, and apparently, we have more money than our mother ever gave us credit for."

To that, Geo seemed confused. Eagle was surprised, but he suppressed a smile. So, his father had done what he had requested. He wondered how the rest of the wishes went.

"What do you mean?" asked Geo.

"Our father came from an aristocratic family," Holden explained. "He was disowned when he decided to marry Ma, but he had a lot of money in his bank account. In Ma's will, she said to give us the key to that cash. I'd say let's pay off your loans with that money, but it's your choice. Before you say anything, Trooper also told me to tell you that there has been a dramatic change of policy in loans."

Eagle brought his glass to his lips; he was smiling widely, and he knew it. He could not allow Geo or Holden to see it, however.

"A 'dramatic' change? Do go on, big brother," said Geo with a hint of sarcasm in his voice.

"Ten years after its full use, meaning ten years after you graduate from the academy, is the deadline to pay off the loans," said Holden. "If you do not, instead of taking away your personal belongings, the amount you owe is doubled, and continues to double every five years. Geo, we can use this money to go to Ma's funeral this weekend if you wish."

Eagle put down his cup but pretended to wipe his mouth. He cast his eyes to the table, not desiring to look at either Holden or Geo, for he wasn't sure how they'd appreciate his interference into their personal lives.

Geo gaped. "Wha- what? We can go back to Integra... and come back to the academy?"

"All during the weekend, though we might have to miss a couple of days of school," said Holden. "I'm sure we'll still have plenty left over; we'll see after we pay for the transportation home. I want to go to the funeral, but... they are your loans."

Eagle looked at Geo from the corner of his eyes and silently begged Geo to go back. Geo caught that look, but apparently he saw no triumph in Eagle's eyes, for all he did was smile and turned back to his older brother.

"I have ten years to pay back those loans, but Mom's funeral is this weekend," replied Geo. "Let's go home."

Something was tickling Eagle's hand underneath the table, and Eagle snatched it. It was a napkin. He looked to his other side and saw Zazu looking at him frantically; there was a pen right next to Zazu's tray of food. Eagle unfolded the paper towel and barely read, for the handwriting was very sloppy:

'You had something to do with this, didn't you? Geo is so going to kill you when he finds out.'

Eagle grinned at Zazu, and Zazu rolled his eyes. If the Metro brothers weren't around, Eagle was sure Zazu would have grunted with irritation.

Could Eagle really have helped that his heart demanded that he help his friend in any possible way he could find? Perhaps, but Eagle was not one to defy his true emotions.

The Metro brothers spent about four days in the capital, and when they returned, Eagle could see quite a difference in both of their attitudes and composure. It seemed as if they had an entire load of pressure taken off of their shoulders, and for that, Eagle was more than elated.

It was dinnertime, for Geo hadn't gotten back to the academy until after the lunch hour was over. During passing period, Eagle and Geo walked by each other and only managed a small wave of greeting so that they would not be late to their classes. That was when Eagle noticed the change in Geo's eyes, and it wasn't until the freshman line-up before basic training did Eagle see the same in Holden. After the two left for Integra, Zazu kept brainstorming in his head the pros and cons of Eagle's interference, but by the relief reflected from the brothers, even Zazu had to admit that this pro outweighed all of the cons combined.

Thanks to Meson, Eagle knew where Geo's last classroom of the day was and managed to sneak out of basic training early enough to wait only for a couple minutes outside of that room. After all, Eagle did still have a promise to uphold. It was a day past the deadline to which Eagle would tell Geo his secret, but it was something that just couldn't be helped.

The monotone bell rang. An entire herd of cadets stampeded out of the classroom. The halls were bustling with teenage men and women heading to the cafeteria and lounge, but the inside of the classroom was fairly quiet. Of course. Geo had make-up homework to collect.

"Thank you, sir," he heard Geo tell his instructor. From the corner of his eye, he saw his "friend" emerge from the classroom, but Eagle didn't need to say anything. "Hey, Eagle," said Geo.

Eagle smiled. "It's been a while."

Geo shrugged. "Only four days. Come on, let's head over to the cafeteria before someone steals our table."

The two walked down the corridors, which weren't as crowded as they had just been. They were able to travel side-by-side without either one of them having to move out of the way for anybody who didn't want to clear out of their way.

"I need to thank you," said Geo. "You were right; I did cry at the funeral. But my brother said something to me on the trip that made me feel a little better. It was so obvious that he was holding in the tears, and I told him that there was no shame in crying. He told me that there was no shame in not crying; it would come someday, either at the right time or the times when I don't expect it to happen. The tears at the funeral were not the last."

He smiled wistfully.

"Yokatta," said Eagle. "I'm glad you were able to go."

"We still have money left over," Geo continued. "More than three quarters of what had originally been in there. Most people in Central Integra don't find anyone's will until five years after they died, but... I'll have enough to pay off the loans. Holden is setting aside that amount, and the rest is there for when we need it. I wish we had known about that money before Mom... well... anyway, I still have to thank you. Thank you for helping me."

As the two neared the elevators, Eagle reminded himself that Geo was not thanking him for anything that Eagle had actually done; he was thanking him for the talk before Eagle asked his father to do the things he requested to help the Metro family out.

Geo sighed. "I wish I knew how I could repay you--"

"Don't worry about that," said Eagle with a wink. The elevator doors slid open, and the two stepped inside. Eagle would have sworn that it was by some fate that they were the only two inside if he actually believed in destiny. Now was the time to tell Geo. "We're friends, aren't we?"

Geo's mouth twitched upwards. "Yeah," he said warmly.

"Remember the promise I made to you only a little over than a week ago?" asked Eagle. "I'd tell you my last name."

"Don't worry about that," said Geo. "I don't think who you're related to would affect our friendship."

"I would like to think so, too, but that really depends on your reaction," replied Eagle. "Now, I think I can use a little reintroduction. My name is Eagle Vision of Eastern Integra. Dozou yoroshiku."

Geo looked at Eagle and frowned. "Vision? Vision, where have I... oh. Oh. Wait. Your father is President Chrysler Vision?" Eagle nodded with a hopeful smile. "Oh. I get it now! This makes perfect sense! That's why Holden doesn't like you as compared to Meson; you're from THE aristocratic family."

Eagle laughed. "There is only one Vision family on Autozam. Like I said a week ago, I'm surprised that you hadn't figured it out for yourself. Not many people on Autozam are named 'Eagle'."

Geo chuckled. "That's true. Yare, yare, this makes absolute perfect sense to me now. I just wish everyone wasn't hinting so much of it--does Meson and Zazu know?"

"Zazu knows," said Eagle, "and I think Meson may have his suspicions."

"So I'm the last," Geo said as he rested his head against the wall and stared at the elevator's ceiling. "I think I'll be befriending the most unique bunch out of anybody--the son of the general of the Air Force who wishes to become a mere ambassador, a child genius, and the son of the leader of this country. Who's next, I wonder?"

Eagle laughed. "We'll see."

Eagle decided against telling Geo that he was the one who proposed the change in loan policies and the one who ordered that effort be put into finding out more about the Metros. He had no clear reason to do so, but Geo didn't seem phased in the slightest about Eagle's family. All Geo seemed to be was relieved that there were "no more" secrets between the two of them. Eagle surely did hope that the secret he held now was the only secret he would ever have to keep from his new friend.

* * *