unforgiven ➽ a Halilintar-centric fic

32 | they will burn

"Lance Corporal Taufan," Gopal said from behind him. "You're also required to undergo a medical checkup. Please proceed to the screening room on the left."

Taufan whipped towards him, glaring. This was the last thing he should be doing. He couldn't blast the man out of the place because of his identity, so he settled for ignoring him for now. He can't in good conscience leave Gempa when he was obviously suffering from a panic attack.

"Hey, Gem," he said softly, putting a hand on his shoulder. It took him aback when he realized how tense he was, and how Gempa almost jerked away from his touch. "You with me?"

"Lance Corporal Taufan," said a deeper, older voice. "Your presence is required in General Amato's ship."

This time Taufan didn't give a flying feather of how important that person was. He'll blast them to orbit even if that's the last thing he'll—

Never mind. It's Kaizo.

"What does he want? What does he want?" Taufan stressed, broadly gesturing to a very emotionally vulnerable Gempa. "This is not the best time here!"

"I will stay with Lance Corporal Gempa," Kaizo said evenly. "One of your wards, Api, is already waiting for you."

Api? Gempa's kid? Why was he there too?

"I'm not aware of the specifics, but this is regarding an equally dire, but separate issue altogether." Kaizo looked around. "Your brother is in good hands. I have more than enough experience in handling mentally unavailable individuals."

Hopefully Amato wasn't one of them. Still, Taufan was hesitant to leave his brother's side. They didn't have the best history with Kaizo after all. Sure, he can trust him to not run a sword through his head, but can he be trusted to look after Gempa when his PTSD is flaring?

Besides, Kaizo looked different. His mask and jacket were slightly damaged and his face was covered by burns and soot, but there was an important detail that was missing from his ensemble.

"Where's your sword?" he asked, finally noticing the empty hilt on his waist. He'd never seen the Captain unarmed; and if Fang's horror stories were something to stand by, his paranoia extended into his sleeping habits where he treated his sheathed sword like another pillow. A very pointy, dangerous pillow.

Kaizo huffed. "It's in maintenance with the mechanics." He crossed his arms. "Electricity and energy aren't exactly compatible."

Taufan grimaced. Yeah, neither was flesh either. Despite his insane healing factor, he'll be hyper-charged with static for days to come.

"This is besides the point," Kaizo interjected. "You're only wasting your time."

Taufan groaned and buried his face in his palm. As much as he didn't like it, Kaizo was right. He didn't like it, but General Amato was strict when it came to work. Despite his carefree personality in missions and his overbearing attitude when it came to his son, he was one of the most serious people he knew in this line of work. Not even Yaya from said intelligence department could hold a candle to his professionalism, and that's saying a lot.

With a chill up his spine, Taufan realized that he truly had no other choice than to attend the stupid meeting.

The first thing he noticed when he stepped into Amato's ship were the people present. Amato and his son were a given, but Taufan had not expected to see both Api and Daun sitting by the desk across the General. They fidgeted in their seats, choosing to look everywhere but anyone's eyes.

As he made his way towards his seat between Api and Daun, the hangar door hissed shut behind him, closing them off from any potential eavesdroppers or loiterers. The hum of an electrical current whirred to life, and Taufan swallowed knowing that if Amato needed to soundproof the ship, he meant business.