Oscar had always been in the military. Like with Tsukuru, it was in his blood. His father was a four-star general. And sometimes, his father would take him to work with him. And right now, a memory of one of those times was flashing through his mind.
***
A young Oscar, no older than the new First-Year Students at the Military Base, looked out the window of his father's office. As he did, he saw a platoon of soldiers marching in a single-file line across the military outpost.
Further ahead in the room, an old, grizzled man sat at a large desk. He wore a general's outfit, with the left side of his chest adorned with medals. The man had long, stark white hair that reached down his back to the middle of his back. On either side of his face, he had thick bangs that reached down to his ears, covering them. The man also had bushy white eyebrows and a bushy white goatee.
The old man was filling out reports on his desk when there was a knock on his door. He looked up at it.
"Come in." He replied.
A moment later, the door swung open, and a somewhat rattled private stumbled in.
"General White, we have a…situation." The private replied. "You remember that delinquent who got conscripted into the military because he kept getting into fights?" He asked.
General White raised an eyebrow.
"Cadet Mason Drake?" He asked. "Yeah, I remember him."
It was kind of hard for him not to. The boy had hospitalized so many people that the hospital in his hometown had a whole wing dedicated solely to those who picked a fight with him.
General White narrowed his eyes.
"What'd he do this time?" He asked.
The private gulped.
"He…He hit his commanding officer in the head with a softball-sized rock." He replied.
General White pinched the bridge of his nose.
"Then reprimand him!" He said in an exasperated tone.
The private stiffened.
"Sir…he did it without touching the rock." He replied.
Oscar's eyes widened, and he snapped his head towards the private. General White's eyes widened as well.
The room remained silent for a moment. Then, General White spoke up again.
"You mean, he got a catapult or something?" General White asked, now somewhat confused about where a cadet would even get something like that.
The private's face tensed.
"Sir, permission to speak freely?" He asked.
General White sighed.
"...Granted."
The private's eyes narrowed.
"He moved it with his fucking mind." He replied.
***
In the training room, Del and Hayley looked between Tsukuru and Oscar, who seemed to be having a staring contest. Suddenly, Oscar snapped back to his senses and took a step forward towards Tsukuru.
As he did, Tsukuru's two Summons moved.
The Harpie turned so she was facing the left wall, and held her right arm staring out in front of Tsukuru. The long feathers of her wings covered Tsukuru like a curtain, hiding him from Oscar's view.
At the same time, the Haunted Knight stepped in front of them both. She resumed her fighting position, holding her sword in front of her in both hands.
Oscar looked at the actions of the two Beasts. Rather than looking annoyed, he had an amused smirk on his face.
"Magnificent." He replied. He then glanced back at the group he had entered the room with.
"You see this, General Duke?" He asked, as he turned back to Tsukuru. "Now these are soldiers."
Hearing his words, the two Summons relaxed slightly. The Harpie lowered her arm, allowing Tsukuru to be visible to Oscar once again. However, the Haunted Knight retained her stance.
Seeing this, a smile appeared on Oscar's face.
"At the first sign of a perceived threat, they position themselves to protect their commander. Without him even needing to say a word." Oscar's face then hardened. "They don't scheme behind his back, and, more importantly, don't cause him TROUBLE."
Still holding her fighting stance, the Haunted Knight glanced to the side. It was as if she couldn't meet Oscar's gaze after hearing that statement.
Leo narrowed his eyes.
"That's…debatable." He muttered to himself, glancing away. He still remembered that the Knight was the same Beast who had overzealously killed a student just because Tsukuru had a…poor choice of words.
Oscar continued to stare at Tsukuru for a moment.
'Damn, he really is a little runt,' He thought. While the two boys to Tsukuru's right were significantly tall for their age, Tsukuru definitely…stood out. And not for a good reason. While the black-haired boy stood at 6'1" and the blonde-haired boy stood at 6'2", Tsukuru stood at a mere 5'2".
While anybody else would be surprised that a sixteen-year-old could be that short, Oscar was already…aware of Tsukuru's short stature. A memory flashed through his mind.
***
Oscar was sitting at his desk back in his office at Military Base 1, doing paperwork. He lifted the newly-finished piece of paper that was in front of him, and placed it on the "completed" stack. He was just about to reach for the next piece of paper on the stack, when his door was violently thrust open. Oscar's eyes narrowed. There was only one person who entered his office like that.
And, just like Oscar expected, an sixteen-year-old girl with long, brown hair burst her way into the office.
"Commander Oscar, I'm back!" She replied happily.
Oscar let out a sigh. Then, he put on a weary smile.
"Corporal Shizuka." He replied. "How many times do I have to tell you to knock?"
A wicked smirk crept across Shizuka's face.
"Would you prefer I knock like how my dad did?" She asked.
Instantly, Oscar's eyes widened, and his face paled.
"No, I would not!" He said quickly.
He still remembered how Mason Drake "knocked" on doors. He would encase his hands in a thick shell of the hardest rocks he could find, and knock on the door with all his strength. This usually resulted in the door being knocked off its hinges.
Oscar sighed again.
"So, how was your vacation, Corporal Shizuka?" He asked.
Shizuka beamed.
"It was great!" She replied. "I got to hang out with my little Tsu-Tsu for three whole days! I even took a picture!"
Hearing this, Oscar's eyes narrowed.
"Really?" He muttered. He then held out his hand. "Let me see."
Shizuka essentially skipped over to Oscar and held a sleek, futuristic digital camera.
Oscar took the camera and started swiping through photos. Most of them were images of strange Beasts standing next to Humans, likely members of the Bree family. Others were photos of buildings and landscapes. But, finally, near the end, he came across an image of two people. One of which was the woman standing in front of him. Meanwhile, the other was a boy with short, blonde hair and blue eyes.
'So that's Mason's SON, huh?' Oscar thought with a smile. However, his eyes then narrowed. The boy was remarkably short. He only reached up slightly past Shizuka's abdomen.
Oscar glanced back up at her.
"How old did you say he was?" Oscar asked. "Eight?Nine?"
Shizuka narrowed her eyes.
"He's twelve." She said in a sharp tone.
Oscar's eyes widened. Instantly, he snapped his gaze back down at the photo.
"Really." He muttered. "He's so…" Oscar started before Shizuka cut him off.
"'So 'what'?" She growled in a low tone.
Oscar looked up at her and gulped. Shizuka had a dark expression on her face.
"...Nothing," Oscar replied.
***
Oscar snapped back to reality. Then, his gaze shifted to the blonde-haired boy. As he did, his face hardened.
"You must be the Blade boy I've heard so much about." He replied. "It seems you've caused…quite a bit of trouble despite the school year just starting."
Vorden didn't even flinch at Oscar's words. In fact, he narrowed his eyes at him.
Finally, Oscar looked towards Quinn.
"And…just who are you?" He asked. He looked the boy up and down. The boy stood at a significant height, and Oscar had to admit that he had a rather attractive appearance. However, his gaze then instinctively darted down to the boy's wristwatch. Seeing the number "1" being displayed, his expectations immediately plummeted.
"That would be Quinn Talen," Paul replied from behind Oscar.
Oscar glanced back at him.
"He's…a bit of an outlier."
Oscar stared intensely at Quinn for a moment longer, trying to see anything of importance. However, he looked completely average.
"Hmm…I see." Oscar replied.
At the same time, Shizuka was glaring at General Duke.
Seeing the look, Duke glanced away, avoiding her gaze.
Shizuka's grip tightened harder around her weapon. To the point that her skin turned white. Without another word, she lunged at him.
Seeing this, Tsukuru's eyes widened.
'Shit!' He thought.