The Anime World

The Cook Off

     He perched atop of a roof and watched the trainees from a distance. You could tell by the looks on their faces that they were excited to show off their skills to Commander Pixis. If only he felt the same. He was so tired and complaining the whole time. I gave the signal and another group of soldiers rang the bell that announced that the training had started. 

     The trainees eagerly took off and raced to score more brownie points. I took a look through the telescope and watched as they split into their formations. The citizens who were running the evacuation drill did quite nicely, but some of the trainees got reckless and pulled too far ahead. 

Anka: Commander. The 21st Squad have left their post. 

     No response. 

Anka: Commander? 

     The old fart was fast asleep while still standing up. His cheeks were rosy and he had a strange expression on his face. Oh no. Don't tell me he drank last night? I slowly stood up and closed my telescope. I leaned into his ear and yelled in it. 

Anka: Commander! 

     He woke up startled and looked around confused. 

Pixis: Oh um. Is it already time to eat? 

     The old buffoon. I let out a heavy sigh.

Anka: You only had lunch a little while ago. 

     He held up his flask of who knows what kind of nonsense and tried to take a swig. I couldn't let him get anymore drunk, so I just snatched it out of his hands and set it down. I made my way over to Gustav who was leaning against a cannon.

Anka: He should take this more seriously. 

Gustav: Well. for him, this counts as downtime. Let him be. 

     I rolled my eyes at this. While completely true, I hated having to smell booze everywhere I go. Besides, there's nothing like taking orders from a drunk old man when you don't know if he is think straight or not. He needed to take it easy now that he was aging more. I was just being cautious of his own well-being. However, Gustav had a point. Maybe I should cut him a little slack today. This could be a break for me too. Having to babysit an ancient old man who drinks like a newly legal adult can be a huge pain anyway. I mean, I am getting paid handsomely in obolus for following around, doing him favors, and providing opinions. He took a huge sip from his canteen that I confiscated from him. 

Pixis: I wonder what we're having for dinner. 

     This guy was hopeless. 

     As we walked through the streets, Commander Pixis handed out complements and advice to some of the trainees, despite not even paying attention. That's when we heard loud shouting. Pixis started to head over that way to investigate. Gustav just shrugged and followed behind him. As we approached, I could see that Jean was getting in a really heated argument with Sasha and Connie. 

Jean: When we finish up our training tomorrow, we'll see who can take out more targets. 

Pixis: Interesting!

     Everyone jumped up. Looks like the commander was going to get involved. I couldn't help but feel proud of him for taking charge of the situation and breaking up a fight. Everyone moved out of our way and saluted as we walked by. He simply walked by like he owned the place. Not surprised. He had the respect of every trainee there. All eyes were on us as Pixis cleared his throat. 

Jean: commander Pixis. 

Pixis: I'll adjudicate. Your fighting spirit is certainly commendable. However, using a training exercise to win an argument is unacceptable.