Chapter 5

1943, Eastern German occupied France, November 28th

"Send to the American general a request for his immediate surrender, promise them every amenity available while they remain our prisoners."

"Yes Herr Fuehrer."

2 hours later…

"What is their reply?"

"The paper says NUTS, Herr Fuehrer."

"WHAT!" The German colonel snatched the paper away from the messenger's hands "What does NUTS mean?!?!"

The colonel turned away, his face a brilliant scarlet."I will not be made a fool of, send out our elite divisions and a support squad of panzers, these damn American dogs will feel the full force of Herr Hitler's fury."

5 hours later, small French village, American 42nd division

'Goddamnit, of course I volunteer to see some action and I'm stuck here filling sand bags in a blown to fuck French village.' A younger Tacho wiped the sweat from his eyes, 'exactly what is so important about this damn mountain pass, it's just gonna freeze over in a couple of days, what the hell is Patton thinking anyways?'

He scanned over the small village, it seemed as there would be no hope of winning if even the feeblest of counterattacks struck here, and considering the Germans had to have the pass within the next few days…it was going to be a blood bath. With roughly only 350 combat able soldiers and half the number of villagers that could fight…they were really fucked you could say.

"Aw shit, I wish those flyboys hadn'ta blown that rail yard last week…."Tacho spoke dismally through clenched jaws as he realized the importance of the pass.

"No kidding, rotten bastards." A voice spoke to his left.

Tacho stood up "Well, if it isn't Charlie, what the hell are you doin in my neck of the woods?"

"Just thought I'd drop by for a visit, oh and the boys want to know if you want to play some high stakes poker tonight."

"Hell…high stakes poker huh…so we're playin for money, not C Rats, right?" Tacho tried to keep the desperation out of his voice as he asked the question. Just about everyone around here was broke, gambling was the only way to make a decent amount of money if your paycheck wasn't sent home.

"Yup you got that damn straight…last time I won grapefruit juice I couldn't shit right for a week."

"OK, I'll be there…what time?"

Charlie had begun to walk away in a casual manner as if the world was just peachy, "noon, don't be late…we've got beer this time."

The magic words had been spoken; beer was worth its weight in gold inside the little village, whether it was warm or ice cold.

The morning dragged on, and Tacho thought of "The boys" they were really just his squad…but they were together, through thick and thin, and he wouldn't have it any other way. Soon enough his shift ended and he made his way to the pup tent were the game was already started. Five men squatted around a tiny table over loaded with dollar bills and coins.

"Heyyy look who made it over here, just in time!!" A rather fat soldier bellowed into his face, "Here have a beer, on the house."

Tacho squatted in between the fat soldier and Charlie, "Thanks Joey, them sandbags are a goddamn back breaker, thought I'd never be done."

"That's ok Tacho we've all had a hard day's work."

"Not you Joey, all you do is cook shitty food and keep the rest of the goodies for yourself you fat fuck."

Joey looked hurt at the other man's comment, "Hey don't talk like that in this house, you guys know I save only the best for my bestest buddies, just ask Mr. Private Tacho Alverez over there, remember the chocolate I gave you?"

"Yea, it was 3 months expired you dirty son of a bitch."Tacho told him straight to his face, of course, it was all in fun, it was a way to get rid of the day's tension.

"Well how was I supposed to know that there's n-"

Nobody got to hear Joey's explanation, at that point in time the general alarm had gone off and its squealing whine droned over all sounds.

'What the fuck is goin on?' Tacho stumbled out of the tent with the others and started running to the main assembly tent.

"Nazis! The Nazis are coming! Grab your weapons men!!" A distant lieutenant was heard faintly over the din of the alarm.

'Nazis…then that means…fuck!' Tacho rushed to his tent for his rifle, wasting no time for his gear he grabbed his M1 and a few stripper clips and was off.

All around him the sounds of war emerged, already the mixed screams of English, German, and French had begun their cries, begging for mercy, for death, for anything. The sound was repulsive, Tacho learned something about war that day, it was neither glorious nor exciting. The brutal fighting was committed with anything at hand, firearms, grenades, crowbars, knives; Tacho even saw a broken broom stick wielded in battle. It was here he killed his first man; he shot him right in the gut, a messy wound to begin with. The young German's eyes were as big as platters; he touched his wound and pulled his hand away covered in bright red, he fell over, screaming and writhing in agony.

Tacho stepped over the young man without a second thought; he was doing what he was trained to do: Kill. Everything was in slow motion as he fought with his comrades; he took numerous lives that brilliant November day, using anything and everything at his disposal. He did it with a mechanical fury, this was what he was born for, a smile crept upon his lips.

The battle raged on for 3 days, the panzers came and went, being little match for the G.I.'s in such horrible weather, it only took two men and a couple of grenades to incapacitate the mighty German tanks. In the middle of the 3rd day it snowed, the Americans had held out, and for all intents and purposes the Nazi war machine was dwindling down to nothingness.

He was 19 years old. He was a murderer. He was a traitor. He was a protector. He was a saint. He was a demon. He was soulless.

67 years later…16:09 old shack within the bowels of Hinata

"Well…shit…I'm the only one left now aren't I?" Tacho spoke to no one in particular. He toyed with the small pistol in his hand, continually switching the safety on and off.

He smiled grimly, 'Well, now look at me; I'm only repeating Keitaro's friends mistakes…I wonder how he'll feel.' He looked around at the little shack he called home; he didn't even have an address anymore. He picked up a scruffy looking photo album and flipped through it. Charlie, that fat bastard Joe, everybody, dead; he reached the end of the album. Here was a picture of him and Mutsumi, they were smiling, it was taken a little after she arrived in Hinata…he touched the picture…he laughed a little…a couple of tears slid down his face. "What the hell am I thinking…nobody wants an old fogy like me around."

Tacho set the photo album down and cocked the pistol; he scavenged it off some Puerto Rican he killed when he was back in the States many years ago…people used to be terrified of him, now he terrified himself. He placed the pistol against his head; he caught one last glance at Mutsumi's photo…he pulled the trigger.

Hinata-sou- 4 hours earlier

Keitaro went through what he was going to say to her for the umpteenth time. Not completely satisfied but thought he was well enough off he forced himself down the steps to the small tea shop. Being a Saturday it was busy enough, he entered the door and searched for Haruka. Instead he ran into Mutsumi herself.

He scratched behind his neck nervously "Oh, umm, h-hello Mutsumi-chan."

Mutsumi turned a brilliant red in response "Hi Kei-kun, I'm off in about twenty minutes, could you wait that long for me?"

"O-of course, Mutsumi"

As it turned out Keitaro only had to wait 10 minutes for Haruka saw what was developing and let Mutsumi go early to talk with her nephew.

Mutsumi approached Keitaro coyly "What do you want Keitaro?"

Keitaro turned red before responding, "Um, well, I was hoping you would go on a walk with me in Hinata."

Mutsumi lightened up immediately "Oh yes, just let me get changed!"

Mutsumi hurried up the stairs to her wardrobe whilst leaving Keitaro to muse. Keitaro leaned against the counter, waiting for Mutsumi to reappear from her room. To pass the time he made small talk with Haruka.

Meanwhile, in Mutsumi's room…

'What should I do?' Mutsumi fretted about, worrying over Keitaro. Mutsumi walked up to the full length mirror attached to her door, she let her dress fall to the floor. After examining herself for a few minutes she dropped her head. "There's no way I can compete with her." She declared out loud.

She sat down on the edge of her bed gazing at the multiple posters advertising Hokkaido melons. 'Should I tell him what I know?' Mutsumi closed her eyes 'I wonder, should I….'

At that moment Keitaro opened the door "Mutsumi, are you ok, you've been in here for almost half an-"Keitaro stopped in his tracks, covered his eyes and cowered in fear while slowly backing out.

"No it's ok Keitaro; I'll be dressed in a minute."Mutsumi got up and closed the door for him; she returned to her mirror, 'No, I'll have to give it a shot.'

Keitaro slunk his way back down the stairs, his conditioned response now rendered useless against such a nice person. 'Amazing, nothing bad happened at all.'

Once again his conscience stepped in. 'Do you know how many suggestive positions you've been in with that girl, of course she didn't hit you, she loves you, you dolt.'

Keitaro stared off into space, completely and utterly speechless, 'Inconceivable, I-I mean, Shinobu I understand, and Motoko was a real shocker…but Mutsumi??'

'WHAT, you mean to tell me that kiss was strictly between friends, are you mentally dumb?!?'

'Well I mean, we aren't going out or anything…'

'Somebody help this man…seriously…did you not kiss her cheek before you left, these are all signs of something a tad bit more than a friendship!'

Keitaro regained his composure, lest somebody spotted him looking at nothing and at once drawing the conclusion he was a freak. 'I-I suppose your right…we're not exactly dating though…'

The conscience began to get impatient Keitaro's incompetence in all matters related to women…even it could see what could happen. 'Do I really have to spell it out for you… dear merciful Jesus, I do, all I'm saying is that if you ask her out there's a damn good chance she will say yes.'

Keitaro thought for a minute 'yeah sure but I don't think I want to have a girlfriend right now, with all the shitty things that have happened.'

The conscience put more emphasis in its "voice" 'Then that's your choice, I just hope you don't need everything spelled out for you'

It was at this moment Mutsumi stepped down the stairs clothed in simple white skirt and blue sweater emblazoned with the word Hokkaido across the front. "Hi Kei-kun are you ready to go?" Mutsumi was her usual cheery self once again; the pain from the last few days was gone, replaced by her optimistic demeanor.

Keitaro looked at his watch, it was 12:41. "Yep, let's go Mu-chan."

Once they boarded the tram it was rather crowded, forcing Keitaro to rub up against Mutsumi, sometimes in more "squishy" areas. Keitaro began to turn beet red mumbling sorry's all the way to the city. As soon as the tram stopped Keitaro leapt out once again expecting his world to collapse.

"Keitaro, I really don't mind, it was an accident, the tram was crowded, besides it was kind of fun in a way."Mutsumi tried calming a bewildered Keitaro down before he made a scene.

'Well I'll be damned, she is really nice after all, she isn't lying in wait like Naru…' Keitaro's thought of Naru depressed him; a shadow fell across his face.

Of course Mutsumi noticed right away something was wrong with her friend. "Kei-kun what's wrong?"

Keitaro perked up, "W-what, oh, nothing don't worry about it." He plastered on a fake smile he reserved for just such occasions…which happened very rarely, in fact, he hadn't put on one since the date with Shinobu when he told her she would get into Toudai. "Well we should get walking," He glanced at his watch, "It's almost one."

Mutsumi laughed out loud "It's a walk Keitaro; I don't think we have to hurry."

Keitaro chuckled slightly as he thought over what he had said "Heh, I suppose your right."

It was a perfect day for a stroll, it was the beginning of September, and while a few leaves had fallen most remained latched to their trees, bound like to their mother like a small child. While it was cool, the sun warmed enough for Mutsumi to take off her Sweater and tie it around her waist, revealing what appeared to be a very well formed "assets" underneath the tight fitting tank top she wore. It took all of Keitaro's will power to look her in the eye while they talked, and it pushed his body's endurance to the max to prevent a nosebleed.

As the couple walked they passed a great deal of shops and open air vendors selling their wares, it was after all, the end of the warm season and so had what they called amazing discounts ranging from any were from 5 to an astonishing 15 percent off. Luckily Mutsumi didn't want anything; Keitaro was down to mostly pocket change after paying off the bills, he really needed more tenants. After passing through the market district they found themselves in a small but cozy pocket park.

"Hey Kei-kun could we stop for a moment, I need to tie my shoe." Mutsumi called out.

"Oh, ok." Keitaro stopped and patiently waited, he checked his watch, it was 3:27. He looked down at Mutsumi to tell her they should start heading back. "Mutsumi I think it's about time…"

"About time for what Kei-kun?" Mutsumi looked up at Keitaro to find him with both his hands covering his nose and a sizable amount of red bodily fluid on the ground. She looked at herself; she then realized her top granted almost complete visible access to her breasts. 'Thank Kami I remembered to wear a bra this time or he might be dead.' Mutsumi rose to her feet at once, feeling redness blossoming upon her face.

"I'm Sorry Keitaro; I'm such a klutz sometimes." Mutsumi watched the ground as she said it.

Keitaro finally managed his nosebleed by pinching his nose and leaning back. "It's ok Mutsumi; it's my fault for looking." His voice had an odd tone to it while his nose was pinched.

"No Kei-kun, it's my fault for wearing such a revealing shirt." Mutsumi explained carefully, making sure he didn't try to blame himself.

The apologization fight lasted for almost twenty minutes before they agreed it was a mutual accident, neither of them really minded what had happened however.

Mutsumi's eyes widened with a sudden realization, "Hey, we're near where Tacho lives, let's go visit him!"

Keitaro looked around the area a bit "Yea your right, do you know where he lives though?"

"Of course silly, he's practically my Grandpa…wait…how do you know about Tacho?"

Keitaro scratched behind his head nervously, "Do you remember the other day when Su kicked me into next week, well I kinda almost landed right on top of him…he seemed kind of grumpy and pissed off all the time but he's actually pretty cool."Keitaro cocked his head towards Mutsumi "When did you meet him, he really likes you."

"When I first arrived here in Hinata I got lost and headed in the opposite direction, as you can see, and he helped me out, ever since we've been pretty close, almost like a real grandfather."

Keitaro looked at her quizzically, "So he's not your grandpa?"

"Nope, let's get going shall we?"

"Ok."

Keitaro glanced at his watch before they departed for Tacho's abode, it was 3:58.

Ten minutes later

"Tacho lives here, in these slums?" Keitaro's voiced drifted throughout the small shacks set up within the seedier, darker side of Hinata; already he had been offered opium, Chinese heroin and numerous other illegal substances.

Mutsumi glanced back at him, "Unfortunately yes he does, he has no money, and no source of income since he doesn't have a job."

Keitaro sighed heavily; it broke his heart to see anyone live like this, especially the little old man who had grown on him these past few days.

"Ah it's right over here." Mutsumi pointed out a shack that was a good deal tidier than the others surrounding it. Keitaro was about to speak when a single solitary gunshot rang out, directly from the Tacho's home.

Mutsumi trembled in fear, "TACHO!!" she screamed, and ran into the metal wrought shed.

Keitaro ran after her, if only to make sure she was ok, but the circumstances told him a much different story. He burst through the door to find a grief stricken Mutsumi wailing her dismay, in front of her was Tacho…without the top of Tacho's cranium.

Keitaro stared, his mind enveloping the scene before him…there was no way…not again…Keitaro kneeled next to Mutsumi and embraced her, letting his tears flow the whole time. All the while the same thought made its appearance in their heads...

…why?

AN: And so ends yet another chapter. I hope you don't mind the liberties I took in writing the WW2 scene, I obviously took the NUTS from battle of the bulge but was too lazy to really look anything up ha ha! The character of Tacho was based off a real man who also fought in WW2. That man's name was Tacho as well, in the end I suppose I wrote this chapter for him, to salute him for his service; I regret that he will never read this though… I will follow in his footsteps as an American warrior and I hand my gratitude to those who protected they who could not protect themselves, for the veterans of all America's conflicts, thank you. On a lighter note I hope the rest of you enjoyed this chapter, I am thinking of continuing on to a sequel involving the world of Mahou Sensei Negima, drop me a line telling what you think, or I might just do it any ways. I would like to give a thank you to the Major again, for his continued support, and to randompandattack for a small but crucial piece of advice, and thank you readers, for if it weren't for you I don't think I would continue on with Keitaro's…unique…adventure.

Till next time…Z6don out, HOOAH!!