Chapter 19

In the end, we ended up watching a few episodes in a row. It was a slow, happy story, even if it was made for a younger audience, and their company lifted my mood, and the thoughts that lingered in my mind earlier were gone, at least for now.

It was late when they finally left, Mai’Ri carrying the sleeping An’Ri in her arms. I accompanied them to the balcony, even if it was only a few metres away. We still had many episodes left, so we’d promised An’Ri we would keep watching tomorrow. I smiled. It would be nice.

I stayed on the balcony, gazing out over the dark city stretching towards the sea. I could have a cigarette now. I sighed. I guess it was for the best. I glanced at the gate, still swung open against the wall. How long had it been since I left it like that? A week at best. A lot had changed since then.

Most of my unwanted thoughts were gone, for most of the time at least, but weird questions had taken their place instead. Questions I neither understood nor dared to ask, as I didn’t know what sort of weird answer I might find if I did. It was probably better not to dwell on it anyway.

I went inside and made myself ready for sleep. I sat on my bed, and my gaze fell on the poster hanging on the wall. I smiled. It had been such a nice movie, but it ended where our story began, leaving me with no answers about what the future might look like. Maybe I could look for a story that took it further, so I could at least see the potential future before I would do something I might regret or, even worse, fuck something up without realising it.

Despite everything, I fell asleep with ease and woke up rested when my alarm rang. I was excited as I got outside and started my workout, wondering what Major Takahasi had found. He’d said that he would see what he could do, and I knew he’d meant it.

I left early, having only a cup of coffee and a can of chocolate for breakfast. I could eat something later, but my time with the Major was limited.

He waited for me when I arrived, a cup of coffee in his hand like always. I got myself one as well from the nearby machine and followed him to his office, trying to hide my excitement.

“I got you the basic permission and some supplies. We can pick it up tomorrow when I do food delivery.”

He smiled and looked at me.

“But my friend in P&D really liked the idea.”

He paused and looked at me, trying to judge my reaction, but I just blinked.

“What does it mean?”

“They would allow us to run it as an official unity initiative, not an independent one, if we want.”

He chuckled at my confusion.

“It would give us more resources, simply put. Much more than some seeds, a few tools and bags of fertiliser.”

I nodded.

“What do we need to do for it?”

He leaned back in his chair.

“That’s the problem. They like it, and they are willing to support it, but they don’t have time to manage it.”

I sighed. I couldn’t imagine he would have time, either. If he had, he would have offered it already, and I couldn’t abandon my post even if they allowed me to be reassigned. Fenrir was such a game-changer for what we did.

“What about your friend? What was her name? ”

“Mai’Ri”

“Yes”

He smiled.

“Could she do it?”

I had no idea. And even if she could, what about An’Ri?

“Bring her with you tomorrow. Let's see what we can do.”

I hadn’t expected this turn of events. He stood up, and I followed him to the briefing room. We were late again, but it seemed like no one cared. Maybe everyone just accepted the Military for Peace's lax discipline, or maybe the memories of yesterday were still fresh, so everyone was hesitant to start working, wondering what we might find today. Could she even do it? She had been in the military, so I guess she knew how to keep things together. Although dealing with the civis and people was another matter.

At least work turned out to be easier that day, as we kept securing the area we had worked on yesterday and didn’t make any more unwanted discoveries. I stayed with the team for another quiet smoke, and still feeling lightheaded, I rushed back home.

I knocked on their sliding door straight after the shower, but to my dismay, no one opened. Where could they be? Was it today that they were going to pick up their rations? I wasn’t sure, but where else could they be?

I went back to my flat and sat down on the sofa when I heard the door to their flat open, and soon after, An’Ri ran through the sliding doors, her tail flailing from side to side.

“Fu’Ri!”

She briefly touched my forehead with hers and quickly pulled away from the hug.

“We got a lot of good things today!”

She leapt into the air. So they had done the food run as I’d thought.

“You must be hungry”, I said.

She nodded.

“You too.”

I smiled and picked a few ration packages from the shelf.

“Shall we eat together?”

She smiled and pulled my hand.

“Come!”

When I entered their flat, Mai’Ri was still unpacking the food from the boxes.

“We got something for you, too.”

“You didn’t need to.”

She smiled, rested her forehead against mine, and then hugged me. Somehow, it made me so happy.

“We can get more food tomorrow”, I said.

“How?”

“I have my food run. You can come with me and pick whatever you want.”

I didn’t mention that she was cooking for me all the time anyway. I didn’t walk into that minefield in case I fucked something up. She nodded but didn’t say anything. Had I said something wrong? I glanced at her for a moment, then gestured for them to sit down and explained what the Major had said and what we would need to do. An’Ri was excited, but Mai’Ri stayed strangely quiet. I rested my head on her shoulder, and we stayed like that until she sighed and quietly said,

“We can come with you tomorrow.”

I wished I knew what had happened, but I didn’t dare to ask. Some things were better left unspoken.

We ate the rations I’d brought. They tasted strangely familiar and gave me a nostalgic feeling after eating with them for the last few days. After that, I invited them to my flat to watch a few more episodes of School of Tomorrow. Part of me wished it would cheer up Mai’Ri’s mood as it had done with me yesterday