Shattering Humanity-Chapter 104: Your Rights To Your Life

From outside the "Girl’s Bedroom" in the hall, Saku is pouting, sitting on the floor, back against the wall, and without the broken Ruger on his back.

The rest of the combat and surveillance Takamagahara group, except Shelly and Katsu are around him, in their own conversations.

Daisuki is handing out walkie talkies to the Gunners and Itsuka, then gives Saku a concerning look and shakes his head while handing him a walkie talkie. Saku aggressively takes it and Daisuki sighs.

Daisuki: "That ’RR’ wasn’t even functional anyway, Saku. Are you really pouting about not getting to carry around a broken rifle?"

Saku with his arms crossed doesn’t look up.

Saku: "Because it could be used as a persuasive tool for anyone else with a gun."

Itsuka looks at the black handgun hanging out the pocket of Saku’s black sweatpants.

Itsuka: "But you already have one. I’m pretty sure someone who gets persuaded by a Ruger rifle aimed at them, will react the same way with a Glock pistol pointed at them. Plus, what type of fighting do you plan on doing anyway? If someone with a new eye ability appears, don’t you want them to show you, so you can add it to your arsenal, or do you plan on firing shots at each other and miss out on a useful ability that can be used in the future?"

Saku thinks about it, gets up off the floor, then looks at the woman who loves him.

Saku: "Fine. I’ll keep the shooting mostly to Dom."

He pulls the gun out of his pocket, releases the clip, catches it, and puts it back in the Glock 9.

Saku: "But if at any time I gotta let this thing sing, you better get behind cover and let me deal with the enemy."

Itsuka blushes and nods at the order.

Saku: "And Dom...!"

Dom looks over from his conversation with Charybdis and Scylia, he nods over to let Saku know he has his attention.

Saku: "While you watch over me and Itsuka, I’ll have Sol and Tay with you to watch your back. If we find anyone looking suspicious, don’t shoot unless I hold up a middle finger up to them for longer than 3 seconds, if I do, take out the one who was talking the most to me, that will probably be their group leader and strongest fighter. If we get attacked or ambushed, don’t fire, you got that? You three are to follow me and Itsuka, at a distance, wherever they take us. Don’t worry, I won’t let either of us get embarrassingly slaughtered like cattle to some randoms who think they’re hot shit."

Rveryone listening looks at the new Gunner, and he gives a confident nod with a smile.

Dom: "When me and Aiden decided to join you guys and leave those mountains, I kinda knew, at some point, I might have to kill a stranger, so I wouldn’t have to go through seeing anymore of my friends dead."

The group, even Aiden, gives a surprised and confused look at the over rambunctious one of the group. Dom notices their reaction and realizes he hasn’t told any of them his tragic day before Leviathan invaded.

Dom: "Oh yea, I guess I haven’t told any of you this yet, but my best friends in high school were innocent victims of a drive by."

For once, Dom has a more serious demeanor than usual.

Dom: "Irrational hate, unreasonably aimed at them, just for the way they looked. You guys are the closest thing I’ve had to friends since then. So if ANY stranger aims their hatred at you guys, I’ll take their ass out, before they get a chance to feel any satisfaction from involving you in their hate."

Saku, Itsuka, Scylia and Char smirk at the genuine conviction of the young Gunner.

Saku: "I’m not 100% sure on this, but if you three do end up getting confronted by someone hostile, give Tay some time to charge up his ’Photosynethis Eye’, then use your ’Fuzion Eye’ on him. I don’t know if it will allow you to fuze with another user with their eye in 2nd Stage popped off but it’s worth a try."

Dom salutes and Sol looks at the giant Izanami member.

Sol: "Hopefully the sky has cleared up since this morning, right Big Guy?"

Taylor is now eating saltine crackers. He opens the package of baked crackers and slides the entire sleeve into his drooling open mouth, he chews while nodding at his "Mama’s" question, and swallows the cracker mush down his gullet. He has a few crumbs on his lip.

Taylor : "MaMaaa!"

Sol smiles up at him and gestures for him to come closer. Taylor bends down so she can wipe the cracker crumbs from his face. She kisses his forehead afterwards.

Sol: "Make sure you stay with me, okay Hun?"

TayTay gives her a closed eye smile.

TayTay: "MaMaaa!"

Sol sighs.

Shelly comes out of the Girls Bedroom, her two SunSwords, the .500 Magnum holstered on top of her left buttock and now her katana from the first excursion strapped to her back. Everyone looks in amazement at the fully kitted out woman, 3 swords, a revolver, and her glowing pride to not be a liar to Katsu. Saku folds his arms and starts pouting again.

Saku: "Oh, but when the ’walking weapon wheel’ wants to have a ridiculous set up, nobody has the balls to step up and tell her she looks dumb. EXCEPT ME!"

Shelly gets an angry and aggressive attitude back towards him.

Shelly: "That’s because every weapon on my body right now is useful, especially if that Nephilim guy or even an enemy with an average IQ sees them. I’m not using any of these weapons to look like a fake ’gangster’ like you are."

Saku sucks his teeth and looks away.

Saku: "We’ll see who’s a ’fake’, bitch. By the way, where’s your keeper?"

Shelly gets surprised and looks around then at Daisuki.

Shelly: "Sensei, where’s Katsu?"

Daisuki holds his tatted pointer up to signal for "1 minute". He pops off his 2nd Stage Eye and looks at the empty tan wall. A small portal begins to open and Katsu can be seen turning around from inside the connected "Leader Bedroom". He smiles seeing his friends and charges for the opening. He hops and wiggles into the portal that is just large enough for him to squeeze through.

Shelly: "Hold on Katsu, be careful! Why did you go back to your room anyway?"

Katsu falls to the floor in front of her and Daisuki relaxes his eye to the base-kit. From the floor, Katsu smiles up at Shelly and takes the hand she offers to help pick him up. He pops back up to his feet and rummages through his pocket andhe pulls out the pocket knife his parents gave him on his birthday 3 years ago, the morning of the invasion."Respect" is still clearly engraved into the wood on the side of the folding blade.Daisuki’s eyes widen seeing Katsu’s old present.

Daisuki: "Katsu. Where did you get that combat knife?"

Katsu looks confused at his Big Bro’s question.

Katsu: "My Mom and Dad gave it to me 3 years ago on my birthday."

He looks at Shelly and remembers what his mother told him, why his mother and father gave their son a weapon for his 15th birthday.

Katsu: "When my mom gave it to me, she said it was to be used to protect Shelly."

He looks back at the knife, especially the engraving.

Katsu: "I always wondered why they chose to engrave ’Respect’ of all the world’s words."

Daisuki walks swiftly to the 18 year old reminiscing about his dead parents gift. It scares Katsu and he clutches the closed knife to his chest.

Daisuki: "Let me see that!"

Everyone is now surprised by Daisuki’s seeming aggressiveness and Katsu thinks twice about handing it over. He looks at Shelly and then back at his Big Bro. Katsu hands over the knife to the "Jupiter" of Takamagahara. The man examines the engraved knife closely and then a smile creeps on his face. He looks at Katsu and the smile fades.

Daisuki: "Katsu, was your father in the military when he was younger?"

Katsu nods.

Katsu: "Yeah. But, for as long as I can remember, he’s always tried keeping me away from the ethics and practices of militaries that invade other people’s land. He would say that a father cannot defend his home on the soil of another father fighting to defend his home."

While Daisuki is still silently examining the knife, Saku scoffs at Katsu’s father’s analogy and Dom thinks about it then has a question.

Dom: "So what happens, when that country comes and attacks your neighborhood, with your house getting affected? The ability to protect yourself, doesn’t necessarily mean you could survive an invading army."

Everyone stares in shock at the surprisingly incisive question. Katsu smiles at Dom and chuckles back but Saku quickly answers with conviction in his voice.

Saku: "Because, if any invading forces know the majority of a population is armed with firearms, it’s basically like a poisonous animal displaying its body colors. The poisonous beings aren’t covered in specific colors for their own sake. In actuality, it’s white, yellow, black, and red patterns are designed out of kindness for other creatures that are thinking of making it fodder."

Char adds more to the conversation backing up both Saku and Katsu’s deceased father.

Char: "When you think about it, where would an invading country have any success even landing paratroopers on the soil of a country they don’t know which apartment building or house the military weaponry could be attacking them from. Maybe invading from the ocean but that’s why the Coast Guard and Navy exist."

Scylia: "Like Saku said, when the people of a society are allowed to protect themselves and the potential invading forces know this, the invaders will tend to try not to stick their own men into hellfire. Most of those who pillage or forcibly seize the happiness of others don’t have a reason to sacrifice it all like that."

Daisuki wipes the wood on one of the sides of Katsu’s pocket knife. An amateur carving, done with another knife, can barely be seen, as if someone had tried to use sandpaper and remove it. The legible letters barely show "Y.T.".

Sol: "Yea, but when you let just anyone have the availability to ’defend themselves’, there’s always evil people willing to kill the innocent with that ’defense weapon’."

She shoots a look at Dom, who moments before, fumbled a loaded handgun with the safety off.

Sol: "Even if the user isn’t necessarily evil or doesn’t intend on hurting others, I still think the trained professionals should be the only ones allowed to carry those deadly weapons."

Saku shakes his head and pinches the bridge of his nose.Saku: "Yea? Then what happens when one of those ’evil people’ you’re in fear of, becomes a ’trained professional’?"

Saku looks over at Katsu, the two EyeEngage briefly.

Saku: "The most toxic trait that humans have is the ability to lie, and pretend to be something or someone they’re not, just to accomplish their own hidden agenda."

He looks back at Sol.

Saku: "As soon as you allow a stranger to be the decider of your fate, you’ve essentially given them your rights to your life."