Good Luck, Yukikaze

“Wanna let me in on the joke?” Captain Foss asked from behind him, wondering why he was suddenly smiling.

“Lieutenant Katsuragi probably doesn’t own his own mirror. I just thought that was funny,” Rei replied.

And even as he said it, Rei realized just how much he really had changed.

“You can ask him about that yourself when he arrives,” she said.

Deciding that would be how he would initiate phase two of this mission, Rei started planning his report to Major Booker. And just for a change, he would write it by hand.

VI STRATEGIC RECONNAISSANCE — PHASE 2

1

MAJOR BOOKER SUMMONED Rei to his office, where the captain got to meet Lieutenant Katsuragi in the flesh. After being introduced by the major, he saluted Rei, but silently, his face devoid of expression. He didn’t even say hello.

Just as predicted, Rei thought.

He had neither the sour expression reading, I wasn’t expecting to get transferred here and consider this a demotion, nor the easy wit of one trying to win friends. He simply felt that nothing needed to be said, and so he said nothing. Jesus, Rei thought, this guy really is just like me. If he wasn’t, then the only other explanation might be that he was nervous.

“I’m Captain Fukai,” Rei said, introducing himself. “Pilot of SAF Unit 1: Yukikaze.”

“I’ve heard talk that you’re an expert Sylphid driver,” Lieutenant Katsuragi replied. “But you haven’t logged much flight time on the new Maeve, have you?”

“That’s right,” Rei answered, becoming aware of the anger building within him. “There something you want to say?”

“That means your skill as a Maeve driver is an unknown quantity.”

“And?” said Rei.

“It goes without saying that I’m new at being an EWO in a Maeve. If you’re as new at this as I am, then there’s a high probability of an unexpected situation arising.”

“So?” Rei replied.

“So, if anything goes wrong, I don’t want to bear all the responsibility.”

“Are you saying I’m the sort of man who’d put all the blame on you? Did Colonel Rombert tell you to watch out for that?”

“No, Captain,” Lieutenant Katsuragi replied, his face as expressionless as ever. “I’m just stating my wishes. I thought it best to say it from the start.”

“At this point, I don’t even know if you have what it takes to be Yukikaze’s flight officer and what you want means about as much to me as a load of shit, but fine,” Rei said. “If you’re going to say that, then I’ll say this from the start: aboard Yukikaze, I’m the pilot, making me the leader. You follow my orders. If I say everything is your responsibility, then like it or not, everything is your responsibility. Never forget that.”

“I didn’t think people in the SAF ever put on the boss face,” Lieutenant Katsuragi muttered. “I heard you especially didn’t do that —”

“There’s a difference between a boss and a leader,” Major Booker said, interrupting him. “A boss can be an idiot who gets by with just brute force, but that won’t work for a leader. We have leaders in the SAF, not idiots. Lieutenant Katsuragi, once you climb out of Yukikaze, I think you’ll find the environment of the SAF suits you. Is there anything else you wish to say to Captain Fukai?”

“No, Major. Nothing.”

“Your first mission will be as you’ve been told. Good hunting. You’re dismissed.”

“Yes, Major Booker. Excuse me, sir.”

Lieutenant Katsuragi saluted and was about to leave when Rei stopped him.

“Hold it. I have a question.”

“What?” asked the lieutenant.

“Did you bring your mirror with you?”

“Pardon?”

“Your mirror. The thing you look at your face with,” Rei said.

“I don’t understand the point of the question. What do you mean?”

“There’s nothing to understand. I’m asking if you brought your own mirror with you.”

“If you mean the one that comes with my electric shaver, then yes, I did,” Katsuragi said.

“All right, I expect you’ll be a fine flight officer. You may go.”

“Yes, Captain. If you’ll excuse me.”

After Lieutenant Katsuragi left the office, Major Booker burst out laughing.

“What’s so funny?”

“Captain Fukai, you can leave as well,” the major said. “Why did you stay behind?”

“Because you still haven’t told me the details of my sortie, Major Booker.”

“Haven’t I? Well, it’s a masterpiece. I wanted to see your face when I laid it out for you. I wish you’d brought a mirror too.”

“Just as predicted, he isn’t interested in looking at his own face. I’ll bet the mirror that comes with his shaver distorts his image.”

“Well, there you have it: hard proof that he’s just like the old you. Man, that profacting stuff is amazing,” Major Booker said, still laughing.

“If he stays here for good, he’s going to really start pissing me off. Coming in here with prejudices just isn’t right. He isn’t like me. He didn’t even say hello. And when you think about what he said, it’s just an excuse to avoid his responsibility in advance. I never made excuses like that.”

“Lieutenant Katsuragi didn’t make any excuses. He was just saying what he thought. And he said hello to you by saluting, didn’t he? Well, I suppose you should actually say something as a greeting when you take up a new post. Still, you did tell him to say what he wanted to say. My point is that he doesn’t have much sense of his place in the organization yet. You used to be like that too. Really, that whole exchange was hilarious. There was nothing for you to get angry over. Besides, it’s better if he’s easy to understand, right? We can use him. He’s like you used to be.”

“I’m not useful the way I am now?”

“You’re useful as a leader. The change in you really is amazing. According to Captain Foss, it’s comparable to a complete personality makeover,” the major said. “She says it’s something that a healthy person shouldn’t be able to achieve in their lifetime. It should be impossible, unless you suffered from schizophrenia or dissociative identity disorder. I agree with her. In your case, being ejected from Yukikaze was like pulling the trigger for you —”

“She said I’m abnormal?”

“Captain Foss won’t admit that your personality has completely changed. She says that if there was ever anything abnormal about you, it was your previous personality. Her opinion is that a part of your personality that was being suppressed by your connection with Yukikaze has been released. It’s like something Wordsworth wrote: ‘The child is the father of the man.’ Your soul hasn’t changed. If not that, then maybe you actually died for a moment and were reborn. Is that something you think might have happened?”

“There’s no way... is what I’d like to say, but I won’t. After I regained consciousness, flying in the new Yukikaze when chasing Lieutenant Yagashira’s plane, there was a moment when I didn’t even know who I was. It was a shock.”

“Hm... Still, Lieutenant Katsuragi rubbing you the wrong way in how he speaks and acts shouldn’t get in the way of you doing your job. I understand why he irritates you. It must feel like you’re getting angry with yourself. I can imagine that it must be unbearable, but Lieutenant Katsuragi isn’t you. It’s like you just said: he’s a totally different person. Perhaps one day he’ll develop the same self-awareness as a leader that you now have. If you can’t