Magic Knight Rayearth Fan Fiction ❯ Lying, Waiting, All Too Late ❯ Feminine Approach ( Chapter 2 )

~ Lying, Waiting, All Too Late ~
Chapter Two: Feminine Approach

* * *

Finally, finally it was his last year of attending the Air Force Academy. Finally, he would be free from the oppressive prison. Finally, he would earn his authority not as a mere cadet but as a second lieutenant.

From there, he had nowhere to go but up.

That was what Geo kept repeating in his head as he marched to the cafeteria for breakfast, feeling refreshed and delighted.

He and Meson were now seniors. Holden was a second lieutenant and had orders to go to Chizeta for a little practice in diplomatic issues. All he was, really, was a pilot, but apparently Trooper had other plans for him. Zazu was now a junior, and Eagle, a sophomore. Geo found his freedom to take his frustrations out on the freshmen during morning line-ups and what not, but he was too happy to do so at the moment. He wasn't required to be there, after all, especially when there were nearly fifty others eager to the job.

Since it was his final year, his schedule wasn't as packed as it used to be. He no longer had basic training or basic courses to take. Instead he only had four classes as opposed to the normal ten, eight excluding basic training, and all of those four had something to do with his majors. He had many hours off, and for those many hours, he could spend a great deal of something he had had a serious lack of the past three years: authentic fun. Not the kind that he could only get from his friends but rather the kind that he could find on his own.

He waltzed into the near empty cafeteria. There were a few select seniors who decided that there were enough upperclassmen eager to chew off the heads of the incoming freshmen, and some sophomores and juniors who had been in the academy all throughout vacation. Geo had always been one of those types, but Holden had taken Geo to Chizeta for a month. For the first time, Geo tasted clean air and saw a culture unlike any other... and loved it. Needless to say, his skin scorched because he was unused to raw rays of light instead of the artificial kind he always got in Autozam.

For the rest of the summer, like always, Geo went to the battle domes only five miles away from the Air Force Academy and brushed up on his mecha skills. Eagle came by every once in a while, and Geo was amazed at how well Eagle flew for being as young as he was. Everybody at the domes suspected that, like his father Chrysler Vision had been, Eagle would be next commander-in-chief of the military and pilot the new prototype, the FTO, when he graduated.

"Geo! Long time no see!" called Meson from the table that the quartet always sat at. "How was your vacation?" Geo approached the table calmly with a triumphant smirk on his face. "And what happened to you?" Meson asked, his face scrunching with shocked disbelief. "You're all... dark."

Geo laughed. "Holden took me to Chizeta for a while. Oh, and he's starting up on the 'Torana' thing again, unfortunately."

Meson groaned. "Oh, no."

Holden and Geo's mother's maiden name was Torana, and Holden preferred that last name much more than he did his father's family name, Metro. When the brothers first signed up to take the test to get into the academy, Holden kept insisting that his name was Holden Torana, although his DNA testing showed that his name was Holden Metro. The conversation that ensued:

"Your name is Holden Torana Metro? Were you born in one of the colonies? People in the cities don't have middle names."

"I KNOW that! My name is Holden Torana. TORANA!"

"The computer says your name is Holden Metro. Is it Holden Metro or Holden Torana Metro?"

"Holden TORANA."

"Holden Torana Metro?"

"NO!"

It was then when Geo had decided to step in.

"Please, just call him Holden Torana. I don't feel like being related to him right now."

The thing that really irritated Holden later was that the administrator had indeed put in 'Holden Torana Metro', and from then on, since only people living in the 'ancient' civilizations of Autozam had middle names, everyone assumed that he originated from there and the brothers had a weird history of separation. It wasn't until Geo's freshman year did the speculations die away.

"How was your vacation?" asked Geo in return.

"Same old, same old," Meson replied, waving a hand. "Hung out with some friends from middle and elementary school, and we did the normal things. Nothing interesting to talk about from the top of my head."

"You probably had more fun than me."

"How much do you want to bet?"

"That's an impossible thing to wager on," said a female voice from the table next to them. A woman with brown, shoulder-length hair and a porcelain complexion turned around and glared at them with tiger eyes. "I think you should know better than that."

Meson groaned. "This is how we're going to meet everybody from now on," he muttered.

"It's not normal for girls to associate with guys during their free time," said Geo, "and you don't need to point out the obvious."

The woman tilted her head seeming confused yet irritated. "Girl? Who? Me?"

"Who else?" asked Geo. "Yes, you."

"I'm... not a girl," she replied, frustration seeping into her voice. Her eyes were narrowed, almost challenging Geo. "I'm a boy. My name's Milano. Does that sound like a female name to you?"

"No," Geo admitted, folding his arms, "but even without knowing your name, you look feminine and you sound feminine. Give me proof that you're male and I'll let it go."

"You want my ID?" she growled.

Geo shook his head, a wicked smirk coming onto his face. "No. Something more dramatic than that, maybe. Surely you won't mind if I rip your shirt off?"

All the proof Geo needed came from her facial reaction, which glowed crimson with infuriation.

"Th- that's against school regulations!" she cried angrily. "You can't just strip a person in the middle of a public institution, and an academy at that. I swear, I could have you court-martialed if you do..."

"You're a girl," said Meson in a deadpan tone. "Admit it."

"I. Am. Not!" Milano practically screeched.

"Ohayou!" said a cheerful Zazu as he took a seat at Geo's and Meson's table. "Oro? What are you two doing, getting a woman upset like that? Don't you know that that's the stupidest thing you can ever do?"

Geo stifled a chuckle as Milano's face turned more ferocious. Actually, now that Geo took a closer examination on her, she seemed more embarrassed than she did anything else. He frowned; maybe he and Meson should stop teasing her so much. That and Zazu was right; getting a woman upset was the biggest mistake a man could ever make.

"It's not our fault she's denying her gender," said Meson before Geo could give him a Look. However, Meson caught Geo's eye, and Geo shook his head. Meson sighed.

"Hai, hai," said Geo. "You're a boy, even though it's not normal for men to get upset in that fashion so quickly."

All redness save for a faint blush vanished as soon as Geo had given in, and Milano pursed her lips together and stared at the ground. Meson murmured something out of exasperation, and from the corner of his eye Geo could tell that Zazu had a look of disbelief directed at Milano. Geo knew what was on his mind, which was the same thought that traveled in his own head: why was Milano, who was obviously a girl, so insistent on being a boy?

"I don't think it's even normal for men to look that pretty," muttered Zazu, "or even sound like a girl--oh, wait a second. I take that back; if I was blind, I'd have thought Eagle was a girl. Never mind then."

Meson laughed, and Geo smirked. Luckily, Eagle was not around yet to have heard that. Milano looked clueless as to what was going on.

For the sake of her sanity, if there was any, Geo decided to introduce himself. "Anyway, I'm Geo Metro of Central Integra, a senior. That's Meson Avant of Matador County, a senior too, and the kid is Zazu Torque of Western Integra, a junior."

"Meson Avant?" Milano asked, the anger seeming to have vanished altogether from her face as she tilted her head with curiosity. "Isn't that General Avant's son?"

Meson gave Geo a smug look that Geo shrugged off. "Yes," said Geo, hoping that he didn't sound too irritated.

"I guess I ought to reintroduce myself," said Milano. Now her voice was kind and sweet, which scared Geo. If she could manage to be that cute while only a few seconds ago she was steaming with rage, she was certainly one mood-swinging woman, more dangerous than the other types of women Geo shared classes with. "I'm Milano Alfasud Verde of the Alfa Romeo colony. Douzo yoroshiku."

"Hajimemashite," said Geo, Meson, and Zazu simultaneously.

"The Alfa Romeo colony?" asked Meson. "Your middle name is Alfasud; is your father the leader of the colony or something?"

Milano shook her head. "My father is the archduke, younger brother of the king," she replied. "Alfasud is the name of my uncle."

Meson shrugged. "I was close."

"You're from a colony, then?" asked Geo. "How did you manage to get into the Air Force Academy if you're not a citizen of Autozam?"

"I'm a transfer student," she replied. "If you haven't heard, President Vision is trying to acquire the Alfa Romeo colony as part of the central government of Autozam. Uncle Alfasud is negotiating with him so that the hierarchy of Alfa Romeo can remain, but what with the democracy the rest of Autozam is run under..." She sighed. "I don't know what's going to happen. I'm just part of the deal to help Uncle Alfasud get a better idea of how life might be like. President Vision agreed to it."

"Oh," said Meson. "Is that why you're... er, pretending to be a boy?"

Milano's right eye twitched. "What?" she asked with a deadly threat on the tip of her tongue.

Geo gave Meson another Look, and it helped save Meson's life. "Nothing," said Meson. He gave Geo a pleading look that whined, She's SCARY. Geo chuckled softly.

"What grade are you in?" asked Zazu. "You look like you'd be an upperclassman or something."

Milano nodded. "I'm a senior," she said. "Na, Geo, Meson, you two said you were seniors as well, didn't you? What classes do you have?"

"I have Leadership and Mecha Combat," Geo replied. "Meson takes Diplomacy."

"Damn it," she spat. "I have Leadership and Diplomacy. Such luck."

"I think I'm insulted," Meson growled as he slumped his head on the table. Just as soon as he had, his head popped back up and he waved his arm frantically in the air. "Eagle! Ohayou!"

"Ohayou gozaimasu," Eagle returned as he approached the table. "Ah, Milano! I didn't expect you to meet my friends before you did anyone else."

Geo was about to ask how Eagle knew her but knew immediately that it would be a stupid question to ask. After all, if Milano's uncle was negotiating things with Eagle's father, of course they would have to meet somewhere along the lines. It must have been during the holiday, after Eagle left the battle domes, or else he would have told Geo about her.

Before Meson or Zazu could open their mouths to make a comment, Milano pouted and turned away from them.

"I don't think it's like you to befriend some jerks, Eagle," she retorted. "Please don't tell me that these are the friends you've bragged about all vacation."

Geo's eyebrow twitched. All vacation? He turned to glare at Eagle, but Eagle was paying no attention to him, but rather, to the colonist.

"I am insulted," Meson muttered. "We're not that bad, Milano."

"That's what all men say, Meson," said Milano as she curtly stood from her seat and headed out the door. "I guess I'll see you guys around. Thank goodness I'm not sharing a room with any of you."

"OI!" said Meson, slamming a fist on the table as he stood. "You really are a girl then!"

Either Milano was already out of earshot or she chose to ignore him, Geo didn't know. The bright side was that Meson was again spared his life out of some extraordinary circumstances that came from the complex female mind. For that, Geo knew that Meson had to be thankful, but taking into consideration that the previous encounters hadn't taught him a lesson, Geo knew that it was otherwise. Meson felt rather pleased with himself. He was never going to get a girlfriend at that rate.

"You ought to try to be nice to her," said Eagle. "Her life isn't as great as we would think it would be."

"'Her'?" asked Meson. "I knew it..."

"You weren't the only one," Geo growled. "Wasn't I the one who pointed it out first?"

Meson laughed uncomfortably. "Ano... yeah..."

"What do you mean, Eagle?" asked Zazu. The kid always got them back on track somehow.

"I assume you already know that she comes from the Alfa Romeo colony," said Eagle as he took a seat. "The only colony where male is the sole dominant figure. Father isn't at all fond of that system, which is why out of all colonies he could be trying to acquire, he chose that one. Since Milano is from a noble family, her uncle being the king and everything, her father needs a heir. I'm not sure if that would be necessary if Alfa Romeo becomes part of the central government, but there is no way of knowing that Father would be trying to take over their colony.

"Milano's father has no sons, but he needed a heir. Since Milano's mother died a day after she was born, her father decided to raise Milano as a boy."

"That explains a lot of things," said Geo, rubbing his chin with contemplation. "Like why she keeps insisting that she's male and not female. She's been afraid that if her government ever found out otherwise, she would disgrace her father, and despite the fact that the Air Force Academy is co-ed, she still has to keep the cover-up. How many people know?"

"Right now," said Eagle, "only us and a few members of my father's cabinet. That might change."

"She should cut her hair even shorter," said Zazu, "or at least put it in a ponytail. It's a dead giveaway."

"Besides the fact that she sounds feminine?" asked Meson.

Zazu wrinkled his nose. "So does Eagle, and it's so obvious that he's a boy," he said. Eagle only smiled in response.

"Anyway, Eagle," said Geo, changing the subject to show how much he hated secrets being kept from him, "how long have you known Milano?"

Eagle shrugged. "Ever since I went home for vacation. About the time you went to Chizeta."

"So you knew her when you came to the battle domes with me?" Geo asked. Eagle nodded. "And you didn't tell me?"

"Did I forget to? Gomen nasai," Eagle said with a bright smile. Geo was torn between changing the subject and yelling at Eagle for keeping such things from his best friend. After seeing how cruelly innocent Eagle was acting, Geo chose clenching his fists and sighing.

"Sheesh," Geo muttered.

Geo decided that before he went to basic training to get his opportunity to scold the underclassmen, he should get something of his homework done. The best place to do that, despite how quiet the library, lounge, and study halls may be with eighty percent of the school still in class, was always and forever will be his dormitory room. He had a good two hours before basic training; he could probably finish his homework in time to spend at least some quality time with his friends.

The elevator doors slid open, revealing the last few rooms of the seventeenth floor, his being directly in front of the elevator. It was then when he saw who his neighbor was.

Geo stepped out and smiled. "So, the cover-up is even going as far as to having you in the male dorms," he said.

Milano, who had her back turned to Geo since she was trying to get her room open, stiffened for a moment. When she gathered herself together, she turned her torso slowly around, glowering.

"What. Did. You. Say?" she demanded through clenched teeth.

Before she could even protest that she was a man and not a woman, Geo decided to present to her that he knew everything.

"Eagle told me," he said. "About your family and why you're pretending to be a boy."

She placed her back against the door. "He can't keep his mouth shut, can he?" she asked softly, though the threat of bloody murder still hung in her voice.

"Actually, he's better at keeping secrets than you may think," said Geo, "although he does a terrible job at hiding the fact that he has one around me. It's something best friends catch on despite how little of a time they may have known each other. Hey, at least when he came to visit me over the summer he said not a word about you. Shouldn't you be happy about that?"

Milano looked up at him, her face near expressionless. "You're not," she said.

"I hate secrets," Geo replied, softening his smile a little. It was then that he decided to have an impulsive change of plans. "Say, do you have anything you want to do? I'm free for the rest of the afternoon, so..."

She narrowed her eyes. "You're not going to mock me, are you?"

"Of course not. I have no reason to. So, what do you say?"

Milano silently glared at Geo for a moment, possibly in contemplation. Her eyes flickered to the ground for a moment. She then sighed and looked at Geo with a small smile.

"Sure," she said. "I was just going to stay in my room for the rest of the day, anyway."

"Without dinner?" asked Geo. "You must have a lot of endurance."

"Actually, no, I don't," she said with a laugh. She detached herself from the door and walked to Geo's side. He pressed a button to signal the elevator to pick them up. "I'm starving. I didn't have lunch."

"The purpose of the Air Force Academy isn't to starve people to death," said Geo. "Let's stop by the cafeteria first. They still might have some leftovers from lunchtime or maybe we can grab an early dinner."

Milano smiled. "That sounds like a good idea," she said.

The elevator doors opened. Inside, already waiting, was Meson's childhood friend Aston Martin, the boy who spent all of his free time studying. He was expected to break the record of women becoming valedictorian in the academy because of this. Aston was the smartest boy in all of the classes that he took. Geo could have sworn that there was no such thing as triple majoring, but somehow, Aston was pulling it off. He took Leadership, Diplomacy, and Military Strategy. Sometime in the future, Geo could see Aston becoming President Vision's successor in the election a decade after graduation.

Geo and Milano stepped into the elevator.

"Konnichiwa," said Geo to Aston. "Haven't seen you in a while."

"Yo," said Aston as coldly as he always was. "Who's your friend here?"

"Milano Alfasud Verde," came the feminine reply just as frigidly. "We're in two of the same classes, Aston."

Aston didn't smile. "That's true. I forgot. Sorry."

Geo heaved a great sigh. This was surely awkward. "How was your vacation?" he asked.

It was hopeless to get any sort of emotion out of Aston. It was almost as if he were one of those humanoid robots the scientists were testing about two years ago. Geo wouldn't be surprised if Aston was one of them.

"Same old thing," Aston replied.

"Ah."

Milano pouted from her corner of the elevator, which, Geo noted, was the farthest corner away from Aston as she could possibly get. Yes, he really was uncomfortable. Luckily, the elevator stopped and the doors opened. Aston stepped out.

"You're getting off on one of the freshman floor?" asked Geo. He couldn't help but to sound a little skeptical.

Aston didn't turn, and as the doors closed, he only answered with one word. "Yeah."

And it was only Geo and Milano in the elevator once again.

"That was weird," Geo muttered. He turned to Milano. "What was that all about?"

"In Diplomacy, they're having us work in groups. We're not in the same one, but rather, in two opposing teams," said Milano. "I'm sure you know how Diplomacy is. Aston bugs me. Plain and simple."

"That's it?"

"Yes."

Geo sighed again. "Girls are weird," he said before he realized what he was saying. When he did, his breath tied a knot in his throat. "A-ano, that is... well... I guess it's the nature of women to behave that way, such as your bad temper, and... and... oh, shit."

To his surprise, Milano only burst into laughter. "Mou, Geo..." she said and said nothing more as chuckles kept bellowing from her mouth.

"I'm never going to understand women," said Geo underneath his breath. By this time, the elevator halted at the lobby level, and Milano had stopped laughing. As the two walked out and headed down the corridors connecting the male dormitories to the kitchen, Geo decided to give Milano the advice Zazu suggested after she had stormed out on them that morning. "You know, Milano, if you want to better pass as a man, you ought to do something about your hair."

"What's wrong with my hair?" she asked.

"It's too long to be a man's hair, that's all," he replied. "You could put it up in a ponytail, like this--" He grabbed some of her hair and scrunched it together. She glared at him. "--or you could cut it so it actually looks like a boy's."

"Men in Alfa Romeo wear their hair like this all the time," she said. "Women have theirs longer."

"This is Vigor, part of the central government," Geo counterattacked. "Women wear their hair at all lengths including extremely short like all the rest of the men in the academy. If a delegate from Alfa Romeo came, he would know immediately that you were female, not male."

"I always passed as a boy in Alfa Romeo," she retorted.

"Amazingly enough," he said. "Are all boys as pretty as you are?"

Milano blushed lightly. "No," she said.

"Well, your face is quite feminine, Milano, and with your hair, it's giving it all away that you're not what you say you are," said Geo. "I've seen men passing as women better than you're trying to pass as a man."

"Have you really?"

"No," he said with a laugh. "But who knows? Maybe some of the women who are with some of the other women are actually with men and freaking the rest of the male population out."

"What?" she asked, gaping a little, seeming a bit surprised. "What?"

"Apparently, all women think that men are a bunch of losers who they shouldn't waste their time on," Geo replied. "I'm amazed that no man tried to chase after another yet, unless there's something I'm missing."

Milano sighed out of exasperation. "Ano... this is really a... unique... educational institute you have here."

"Don't compliment it like that," said Geo. "Please don't."

Milano laughed. "Well, if there is a man who falls in love with another, I wouldn't be surprised if it were you that was the crush target. That is, if men aren't as shallow as we all think. I like you, Geo. Much more than I like Meson."

Geo grinned. "Is he in your group for Diplomacy?"

Milano's face darkened. "Yes." Geo chuckled. Milano smirked a little and said, "You know, Geo, thanks for the compliment about my looks and everything, even if it was criticism for me trying to pass as a boy among the counties of the central government. I think I should return it. You aren't so bad looking yourself. Actually, I find you quite handsome."

"Thanks, I think," said Geo, frowning a little. "That opinion might change if you ever meet my brother."

Milano picked up her pace and said teasingly, "I doubt it."

*

A half an hour through the dinner period was all it took for Eagle to notice that Geo was nowhere to be found within the cafeteria.

Everybody was either in line or already dispersing from the dining hall, and the only three people at the table were Eagle, Meson, and Zazu. It was odd not seeing Geo around, but Meson and Zazu seemed to have hardly noticed a thing. Then again, like always, both were so immersed within their homework that they probably wouldn't have noticed if someone started stripping in the middle of the cafeteria.

Eagle frowned and turned to Meson. "Do you know where Geo is?" he asked.

Meson looked up from his laptop and stared at Eagle with a question mark implanted in the middle of his face. Eagle felt a little silly; had he missed something at lunch? He couldn't have dozed off; at least, Eagle couldn't remember if he did or not.

Then Meson whispered, "Oh," and Eagle knew that it wasn't something that he had missed at lunch.

"Oh yeah," said Meson, slapping his forehead. "I forgot to tell you. I caught Geo earlier. He's spending dinner with Milano today... and tomorrow... and until he tells us that he's going to eat with us."

"Eh? So he's going to be eating with Milano from now on?" asked Eagle.

Meson shook his head. "He's only going to eat with her at dinnertime," he answered. "We're still his friends, Eagle. He'll eat with us for the rest of the meals."

"What about free time after dinner?"

Meson shrugged. "We'll see."

Eagle frowned at his dinner tray, which was near empty. He always refused to believe that Geo didn't make friends easily; after all, he had more companions in the academy than any other individual and made them just as quickly. Even if Geo was an antisocial man, his spending time with Milano, a girl Eagle had gotten acquainted with over the holiday, really shouldn't bug him so much. After all, it was nice to make new friends. Eagle couldn't pinpoint why he felt so disappointed that Geo wasn't going to be eating with them at dinner.

It was only dinner, after all. Most of the best conversations came from the lunch hour, and after dinner there was no limit as to how many people could socialize at once. There was absolutely no problem.

Besides, what could happen?

"Mou, it's all right," said Zazu. "Geo isn't one to make new friends and turn his back on his old ones, especially his closest friends. Holden is the same way. Anyway, Geo just wants to make sure Milano doesn't spend too much time by herself because we all know how stressful that can be in an oppressive prison such as the academy. He's a nice guy like that. He'll come back to us once Milano makes some friends of her own. So, don't worry, Eagle."

Eagle looked up from his tray and stared at Zazu quizzically. Zazu only grinned, winked, and went back to his homework. Eagle forced a smile; Zazu just impressed him more and more by the day.

"You're right," Eagle agreed and said nothing more about it for the rest of the evening.

The bright side about Holden Metro having graduated: Eagle could abandon basic training in the morning without getting screamed at by anybody. After the whole loan incident, Holden apparently seemed to have suspected Eagle to have some hand in allowing them to go to Central Integra for their mother's funeral; he spent most of his attention during basic training on him. There were a couple of times when Eagle tried to get out of basic training so he could catch up on the homework he was too tired to work on the night before, but whenever he passed by Holden in the hall, there was not one head that didn't turn to look at the bellowing.

It was just Holden who did that, and he always seemed to ignore the other freshmen. All of the other seniors felt sorry for Eagle, so they never bothered him. The juniors were also well aware of the problem, and Geo and Meson even confronted Holden about it. Unfortunately, the two Metro brothers seemed to becoming estranged, and Eagle felt guilty for it. After all, Geo had been slowly becoming enemies with his older brother because of him.

So Eagle knew that he could get away with not attending basic training every once in a while this year and most likely the next. After all, Geo and Meson, when they were juniors, had skipped out on a lot of basic training, and Zazu said he would whenever his homework was just way too much to handle.

But Eagle being in the lounge instead of the gymnasium during basic training time was not because he had homework to do. The night before he had not seen Geo at all, and at breakfast, Geo still was not present; Meson said he needed to finish his homework. Since it was the sophomores at basic training at the moment and not the freshmen, Eagle decided to seek out Geo to have a friendly chat with him.

When Eagle found him, however, he found himself disappointed to see him at a table with Milano. It didn't help him any further when he saw Milano burst into a guffaw with Geo, although hunched over his laptop, chuckled with her.

Meson never said that Geo promised, but Eagle had expected Geo to eat with them at breakfast.

"I see third class families have way more fun than the royal ones do," said Milano as she cast the laughs away. Eagle was unsure whether or not he wanted to interfere.

"You would think," agreed Geo as he put the laptop cover down. "There. I'm done." He sighed. "I still can't believe they make us write essays for Mecha Combat. We just spend most of our time in the simulators."

"Na, Geo," said Milano, her voice soft. Eagle could barely hear it. "If you were so poor, and if the Air Force Academy is as expensive as everybody says it is, how did you manage to get in?"

"Holden and I were on a scholarship. Actually, I still am, seeing as how I'm still in school," replied Geo, shrugging the information off. His face looked like one that really didn't care that he was giving this sort of thing out to someone he had only met the day before--then again, he had trusted Eagle with that background information within eight hours of knowing him. "Then I decided to double major, and before I knew of the fortune my father held, I had to get a couple of loans. I have enough money to pay for them now, but since I got them before I had money, I have to wait until I finish using them to pay it off."

"Why?" asked Milano. "Why can't you cancel them and pay back now?"

Geo shrugged. "The law's just that way. I really don't care too much about law. You don't learn about law with the majors I'm taking. Military protocol is the most you get."

Milano had a scowl on her face, though. "I think the Air Force Academy should be open to anybody who is qualified," she stated. "Not by how much money you have."

Eagle grinned sheepishly. He always had felt the same way and so had his father, but the legislation didn't seem to care about the systems of education as much as they did about the pollution in the air, and that was only secondary to Alfa Romeo joining the central government, and that was only secondary to the political altercation between Autozam and Chizeta.

"Consider this for a moment," said Geo, "more than ninety-seven percent of the citizens of Autozam's central government are rich. The less than third percent is either middle-class or low class, like my family was. I don't think it matters too much, not with the new system Meson's mother made up that allowed Holden and I to get in, but if they do change the policies, I really wouldn't care."

"If Alfa Romeo joins the central government," said Milano slowly, "what do you think will happen as far as the education system goes?"

That was when Eagle decided to step into the conversation. "Not much would change," he replied. "Probably a few more restrictions or a few more openings, depending on the competition. Alfa Romeo does thrive in the ancient militaristic ways."

Milano cracked a smile as she turned to face him. "Ohayou, Eagle," she said. "Of course Alfa Romeo does. We still have sword duels for crying out loud. But, a lot of people do try to become warriors, so maybe the competition will get to the point where more restrictions and qualifications have to be made."

"Maybe women like you wouldn't have to cross dress any longer in order to get their place in life."

"Political issues have arisen," muttered Geo. "I hate politics."

"Must be a Metro thing," said Eagle with a laugh. He decided not to badger Geo about not being at breakfast like he told Meson he would. Not in front of Milano, at least.

"Oro?" asked Geo as if he had just noticed Eagle. "Hey, aren't you supposed to be in basic training?"

"I'm ditching," Eagle replied. "I haven't seen you since yesterday at lunch, so I decided to just go ahead and see if I could find you. And I did."

Geo grinned and patted Eagle's shoulder. "You didn't have to do that, but I'm not one to stop you from doing anything, am I? Sit." He pointed to the chair in front of Eagle, and Eagle sat. "Sorry about not being at breakfast today. I spent most of my afternoon with Milano and the evening seesawing between Holden's constant messages and my homework. I wasn't even halfway finished with my Leadership homework by the time I fell asleep."

Eagle nodded with understanding, knowing how harsh the homework load was even on the first day of school and how hard it was to concentrate on some subjects. He couldn't help but to not fully forgive his best friend, however, for he was sure that if Geo had not spent the evening with Milano, he would have finished nearly three quarters of his homework before he went to bed. At least Geo seemed guilty about it, though Eagle was unsure why he was so intent on seeing the troubled look in Geo's eyes after going back on his word.

"Geo," said Milano, a frown crossing on her face, "if you were going to do your homework before you ran into me in the hall and decided to spend time with me, you should have just went ahead and done your homework. Mou, I hate it when people feel sorry for me."

Geo shrugged but with much strife. "Sorry, Milano."

Then Eagle remembered what Zazu had told him the night before, and despite his being a little angry with Geo, he felt more at a need to take his side rather than Milano's.

"Geo is just a nice guy like that," said Eagle with a small smile at Milano. "He thinks about others than he does himself, so don't judge him too harshly."

Milano shook her head. She didn't say anything, but her eyes seemed to be shining with adoration. On the other side of Eagle, Geo heaved a great sigh.

"Please don't say stuff like that," he muttered.

"Modest, too," said Eagle, casting his gaze to Geo.

He blinked twice at him, and then beamed and said, "I hoped that this isn't a way of asking for forgiveness that you never told me about her."

Eagle shook his head and decided that it was all right to have a little grudge on his best friend.

"No," he said. "I'd say that we've been about even."

Eagle was very much relieved when Geo did show up at the table during the lunch hour, like he had said he would before Eagle had rushed to his first class of the morning. Zazu had, at first, flashed Eagle an "I told you so" smile before he and Meson pestered Geo about Milano.

"So," Meson began, "what do you think of her?"

Geo shrugged carelessly. "She's a sweet girl despite her short temper, not the smartest or best at anything other than sword fighting, but that only takes place in Alfa Romeo, so it really doesn't count. If she was a regular citizen of Autozam, I don't think she would have gotten into the academy. She seems really lonely, though; I don't think she's ever had any friends."

"You're going to be with her until she gets a friend, right?" asked Zazu.

"Of course," said Geo, pointing his fork at Meson and Zazu. "And it wouldn't hurt for you two to get to know her better, either."

"Maybe we would if she came by to chat with us," said Meson, folding his arms in a pout. "What does she do all during lunch hour, anyway?"

"She has tutoring sessions so she can learn how our machines work," said Geo as he scooped some asuna into his mouth. "She doesn't eat lunch at all."

"If she did, would you eat with her?"

Geo shrugged again. "Who knows?"

Then Zazu got a wicked smile on his face. "Na, Geo, it's not normal at all for boys and girls to associate in the academy. It could get some people thinking... you might be the first straight person to ever get a date during his time in the academy!" He laughed. Geo did not look amused.

"Zazu, Milano is supposed to be passing as a boy," he replied.

"So? We didn't even know her, and we knew immediately that she was a girl."

"That's not the point," Geo growled.

Meson scowled. Although he had been the message deliverer for Geo, it did not necessarily mean that he agreed with Geo's actions, as Eagle was now learning. When Meson spoke, his voice was lower than it normally was, something Eagle had never heard from the son of the general during the year he had known him. It sounded eerily reminiscent of Holden's voice whenever he tried to keep himself from yelling over the murmuring over the crowd when it was apparent that he was very, very displeased with something or someone.

"You didn't have to sacrifice your dinners for her," said Meson. "You didn't have dinner, did you?"

"Milano and I had an early dinner," Geo replied. "We decided it was best, you know, and that's what we're going to be doing until Milano finds somebody to befriend."

"What if that someone is you?" Meson continued.

"Besides me, even."

"Geo, you don't have to get an early dinner for her. It sounds to me like you don't want us catching you with her for some reason... like you don't trust us."

Geo stared at Meson for a moment, taken aback. He then scowled and said, "And it sounds to me like you're jealous."

"Jealous of what?"

"I can go down the list, if you'd like."

Before anything could go ugly, Eagle decided to step in. "Meson, leave Geo alone. And Geo, I'm sure it's not jealously that Meson's feeling," he said calmly and took a sip from his cup. Zazu agreed and took Eagle's side in mending the breaking ropes in Geo's and Meson's friendship.

What Eagle refused to admit that there was jealously directed to Geo and Milano's relationship, but it wasn't coming from Meson. It was, in fact, coming from Eagle himself.

* * *