Chapter Three - Wednesday I - Thursday I

‘Say, I was thinking; the best way for us to stay hidden would be to commute to your hideout on foot. It’d probably take us about two days to get there, but it would be a lot easier for a military captain to stay off the criminal underworld’s radar if we weren’t regularly running into roadblocks and checkpoints…’ the woman with an orange lock of hair, sitting upright at the edge of her bed informed.

While pulling her skirt up and into position, ‘That makes sense,’ Kasumi replied. ‘What I don’t understand is; why you currently don’t have any clothing on, at all,’ she added, frowning slightly and issuing a disapproving glare.

‘Hmm, well, I’ve been on various assignments for so long that I’ve not had the freedom to enjoy the comfort of sleeping naked in ages,’ Renka replied, smiling innocently. She issued the reply while still sat at the edge of her bed, making no attempt to get dressed. ‘Well, as much as I love the uninhibited freedom of wearing no clothes, it’d be nice to head out under the sunrise,’ Renka added, her voice sounding conflicted as she finished.

Last night it was the starry sky and now you’re gazing longingly at the window? ‘You really do love skyscapes, don’t you?’ Kasumi bluntly enquired.

‘For pretty much the same reason, like sleeping naked, I’ve never really had the chance to enjoy a beautiful sunrise, sunset or starry sky,’ Renka responded, with a downhearted tinge to her voice. Noticing Kasumi’s very slightly dampened facial expression in reaction, she summoned a smile, in mild panic, ‘It’s not like I didn’t enjoy the sense of purpose and the experiences from serving in the SDF though.’

After having got dressed and packing up all of their belongings, both Kasumi and Renka ventured out from the inn that they had stayed in for the night.

The sky above played host to a vivid gradient, fading from purple to a very luminous burning orange in the distance, given texture by a light, scattered layer of clouds.

‘Isn’t it beautiful? Renka asked, so softly that it almost seemed out of character. Her eyes firmly fixed on the scene above, as the pair began to make their way down a relatively narrow street, side-by-side.

Kasumi discreetly looked across.

That’s new; I’ve seen her smile playfully or excitedly a lot over the past couple of days, but the smile she has right now is definitely different.

Kasumi then shifted her gaze upwards and studied the scene for a while. She then answered, with a little smile, sounding slightly less harsh than usual, while still facing the striking skyscape, ‘Yes. It really is.’

❀

Aside from the occasional stop in a convenience shop or at a food stand, the SDF captain and mysterious woman with black and pink hair progressed into the next region of the island smoothly, given the abundance of road checkpoints, conflicts between armed groups and other petty crimes.

The weather for the day remained similar to that of the picturesque scene that they observed at sunrise; clouds only very lightly addled the blue skies, with the sun clearly beaming at all times. Thanks to the nature of the spring weather on the island, the mild temperatures also helped create favourable conditions for a long hike, much to the pair’s mercy.

Renka used the radio on her phone to stay updated with the state of the travel infrastructure and criminal activity hotspots, to ensure that the two women steered clear of trouble as they journeyed.

Conversation remained fairly limited during the journey and what little conversation the pair struck up, never strayed too far beyond aimless small-talk and generic chatter, almost always concluding with a one or two-word answer from the traveller with pink highlights in her hair.

She did however indulge Renka when her attention shifted to sightseeing and taking in the scenes around her, although her behaviour caught Kasumi’s attention, often prompting thoughts along the lines of; She is really into this stuff, huh? I wonder just how little the amount of time that she spent away from active duty must have been...

It’s actually pretty hard to maintain focus or a thought process on anything if I get caught up in that blissful smile of hers while she admires the scenery. In some moments, watching her gives me a strange, slightly warm kind of feeling. I can’t ascertain what it is, but it’s not unpleasant…

Near to the end of the first day of the trek, the region of the island that the pair had ventured into featured two seaside borders, and rather inconveniently (for Renka at least) the halfway point of the trip to Kasumi’s mountain destination laid within 10km of a coast, but two large mountains covered with thick forests stood between her and a view of the seaside.

Kinda disappointing that we didn’t get to see much coast during the day but hopefully, somewhere along the line in the future, we’ll get a chance to enjoy a seaside view. On the upside, we did get a second night walking under a mostly clear, starry sky (though the moon had been inconveniently tucked away behind accursed cloud cover most of the time), the captain considered as the pair concluded the day with another stop at an inn, to take a short rest before another eighteen hours of travel the next day. ‘I’m impressed; though I had high expectations, it looks like the hundred or so clicks that we travelled today were a breeze for you,’ Renka suggested to Kasumi, while setting her back up against the pillows and head of her bed, preparing to read a guide, in preparation for the next day’s travel.

‘It was only walking; it’s not like it’s a demanding quest and we didn’t get enough rest before setting off,’ the short-haired woman responded flatly, as she sat on her own bed and slipped her boots off.

‘True,’ Renka remarked, relatively quietly, followed by dispensing a small dejected laugh. Ever the frosty one you are; you’re not irritated with me, surely? Yeah; there’s no way that could be it…

The captain shifted her gaze from the guide, to across the room. As she began observing her travel partner for a minute or so, she also started to evaluate. A whole day and I still know next to nothing about you. Here’s hoping a more homely setting will get you to open up at least a little bit. What will I find when the mist of mystery rises from around you, I wonder...

❀

The second day’s travelling passed in similar fashion to the first, though the distant seaside views were replaced with various sizes of river, mirror-like lakes and lush, green mountain forest scenes as Kasumi and Renka made their way further inland and into more mountainous terrains.

After departing from the roadway that sat closest to Kasumi’s marked destination, the late-night portion of the trek featured both of the women ascending relatively steep gradients and making use of LED torches for the most part, with Renka guiding the pair through the densely-packed wooded area via compass.

No walking under a starlit sky tonight then, I guess; the tree coverage is so thick and comprehensive that I can’t see the sky at all, let alone any stars, Renka thought, as she continued to ramble alongside her black and pink-haired partner. Although we’re pretty much in the middle of nowhere, the woods feel alive, with the chirps and tiny cries of insects, the rustling of leaves in the wind and what’s this? The captain paused and her eyes fixed on a certain point before she switched off her torch.

Rhythmic bright green flashes from a swarm of fireflies! They’re so cool; it’s a shame that we hardly see them around anymore, even in the summertime, when they’re supposed to be most prevalent on the island, she pondered, flitting from a joyful smile to a glum frown.

Following the loss of one pair of footsteps and torchlight beam, a soft click from Kasumi’s torch plunged the women into a not-so dark scene where the fireflies primarily illuminated the woods around them.

After pressing on for another twenty or so minutes, Kasumi voiced-over the natural soundtrack, ‘Ah; there it is,’ she informed, pointing to a small clearing amongst some distant trees.

After another minute or so, Well, this is a neat little surprise; a bamboo cabin, with enough space for a small family to live in. Although it had no doors that could be locked, the interior played host to complete furnishings in the kitchen and living area, Renka thought, as she used torchlight to carry out her initial inspection of the accommodation.

So now all that’s left is the bedrooms, right? Well, that and finding Kasumi; what a terrible host. Shouldn’t she be giving me the guided tour or something right about now?? Speaking of, where is she?

‘Um, Kasumi!?’ she called out from the wooden front deck of the cabin.

With an expression of mild alarm on her face, Renka cautiously proceeded to check the remaining rooms of the cabin, with her torch in her left hand and Leatherhead-SF knife in her right, recently collected from a pocket of her 38 litre HAVYK-2 backpack.

After a brief search, she reached the third of the bedrooms.

Kasumi comfortably installed in a futon, with another set out less than a metre away from her? Judging from how neatly everything is arranged, I don’t think I’ll need to check her pulse. I’ll probably keep the knife out, in case we have uninvited guests though… ‘Heh; you wasted no time there. Goodnight Kasumi,’ she gently offered, with a relieved smile, as she gently lowered her backpack to the floor.

Hmm; I wonder if she’ll get upset at me sleeping with no clothes on in her home? she thought as she stripped away her shirt.

❀

‘Good morning, Sleepyhead,’ a smiling woman with an orange streak in her hair sat, half-dressed on the front deck of the cabin, bathed in the diffracting light of the sunrise through the trees. Her eyes remained locked onto the figure freshly-emerged from the cabin, wiping her eyes and quietly yawning, despite being completely dressed (sans her boots and jacket).

Gazing more at Renka’s sports bra than her face, ‘Good morning. You know, just because there’s a low chance of anybody else being out here, it doesn’t mean you can go frolicking around in your underwear,’ the black and pink-haired woman blankly asserted.

‘Don’t worry; I wore everything when I headed out to gather firewood earlier,’ Renka responded, with an innocent smile and slightly dismissive hint in her speech.

After a short pause, she added, ‘You know; I never got given a tour of this place when we arrived. As my host, would you care to do the honours?’ seeking out Kasumi’s eyes with her own and flashing a playfully condemning smile.

‘You’ve probably seen all of the rooms, but fine, whatever,’ Kasumi replied without much resistance. She turned to head back inside, leaving the captain to hastily spring up from the hut’s front deck.

‘This cabin belonged to my grandparents, well, it still does belong to them. I spent a lot of summers here when I was younger. I haven’t been back for almost five years now, though; they vacated it in favour of somewhere where it would be easier to get everyday supplies,’ Kasumi briefly explained.

After re-introducing the living area, kitchen and bedrooms, Kasumi added, ‘There’s also a store room back there, where my grandfather kept his hunting weaponry.’

Renka’s eyes lit up with excitement, before intensely staring at the black and pink-haired woman. ‘So, you’re just gonna say that and not show me what’s in there??’

Kasumi slid open the entrance that lay discreetly at the end of one of the bedrooms.

Oof; they’ve got pretty much everything here; a generous selection of trap-making resources, as well as a number of different longbows, crossbows and wrist-mounted arrow launchers.

Oh ho? What’s this?

They’ve also got a pair of bolt-action rifles, neatly stood the corner. Naturally, such an assortment of weapons and materials wouldn’t be complete without the healthy amount of arrows and rifle ammunition that they’ve got stacked up on the shelves.

Eventually, Renka concluded, warmly, with a very satisfied smile on her face, ‘I see your grandfather was a person of culture, as well.’ After a brief pause, she added, ‘It’s like a hunter’s paradise in here.’ She leaned in, for closer inspection of one of the more decorative-looking bows and after a short while, she asked, with a mischievous smile, ‘Saayyy… You wouldn’t happen to know how to use any of these?’

Whilst raising a hand to issue a halt signal, ‘Wait; don’t answer that!’ the captain quickly blurted out. Moving the hand to her chin and smiling with a hint of smugness, she explained, ‘I have an idea that would much better answer the question instead.’

After another brief pause, she instructed, ‘Pick your favourites, get them prepared and I’ll go and set up outside,’ presenting a friendly smile, as she turned to make her exit.

After about half an hour, in which she spent more time cleaning than actually checking the condition of the weapons in the store room, Kasumi emerged from the cabin.

Oh? What do we have here? The dark, beautiful and undisturbed flowing grain of the woodwork and the pink upholstered grip… There’s no way that metre-plus tall bow could be a basic or ordinary piece of equipment.

She’s also got a pouch resting on her back. I guess that gentle swaying is thanks to her only using one of the two thin shoulder straps, helping to keep it offset towards her left hand.

She’s got different types of arrow in there, from what I can see peeking over her shoulder as well; it’s good to see that she’s taking this seriously. Now she’s got my expectations set pretty high.

After emerging onto the cabin’s front deck, Kasumi slid back on her almost knee-high boots.

After rising to her feet, Renka closely observed. The powerful, stoic image presented as she stands tall, with weapons and all; it is pretty cool, I’ll admit. The black, partly fingerless glove that she’s just slipped on is a nice touch as well.

Eyes wide with admiration and fixed on the taller woman, ‘Uwah; you look like a modern-day Artemis, complete with ice-cold body language and all. I love it!’ Renka exclaimed, as Kasumi departed from the cabin’s deck.

Once Kasumi had made her way over to Renka, the latter assumed a stiff pose and began, ‘Welcome to the archery evaluation centre, young lady,’ with a friendly smile. The smile faded quickly, as Renka explained, ‘What you have before you is a basic assault course, which will be used by the invigilator, yours truly (putting a hand to her collarbone area), to assess your combat proficiency. The first stage will purely be testing accuracy.’

Renka gestured with an outstretched hand into a part of the dense, well-shaded, wooded area, in the general direction of life-size figures, ‘I made a few of these from wood that I planned to use as firewood later on in the day. That branch not far from your feet there is your mark and the targets are about twenty metres, up to about fifty metres or so away, mingling within the trees. I’ll give you a moment to familiarise yourself with their locations,’ she advised with a little friendly smile as she finished.

‘Of course, the time it takes for you to strike all targets will be recorded and considered along with the accuracy when you’ve completed this course,’ Renka added, with a serious tone and facial expression. ‘Let me know when you’re ready and I’ll count you in and set the stopwatch rolling,’ she concluded, with an encouraging smile.

Without much hesitation and little adjustment of her pose, Kasumi replied calmly, ‘I’m ready.’

No messing around; nice… Renka counted Kasumi in and as soon as the session commenced, Kasumi calmly set her footing into a powerful stance while she collected an arrow from over her exposed shoulder.

Good start; even with the prep time, she’s dispatched the first of the closer targets within ten seconds.

I might have hit the jackpot here; I’m almost certain that arrow connected dead-centre on the target. If the impression she’s given off so far is anything to go by, I wouldn’t be at all surprised if she maintains this accuracy for all of them.

Gaze very firmly fixed on the black and pink-haired woman, Renka pondered. What a sight to behold; this tall, short-haired woman sending arrows tearing through the forest and the composed and commanding presence that she carries while she does so is something pretty special.

Renka’s thoughts also drifted for a short while. Thank goodness I’m not an immature teenager anymore; the whole “modern-day huntress” look that she’s got going on, those powerful and expertly-positioned feet and legs, and the strength of her arms and shoulders, perfectly in view and highlighted by the sunlight diffracting through the trees, would almost definitely have turned me on to the point of being too much to handle.

I’d be lying if I said I’m not turned on by her right now, though.

The captain silently spectated as Kasumi dispensed rapid arrows which struck each target with almost machine-like efficiency and body language. After a bit beyond four or five minutes, the woman lowered the large, wooden launcher.

‘Good work!’ Renka enthusiastically remarked, after stopping the stopwatch and scrawling on a sticky-note. After a short pause, the captain quietly laughed to herself and playfully continued, ‘So, you’ve completed the first section of the examination. In reality, you won’t only have targets in front of you and guess what? If you spin 180 degrees, you’ll find that those targets you just hit have friends. You know the drill; feet behind the line and the clock stops when all of the targets have been dispatched.’

No signs of breathlessness or wear otherwise; well played, so far, young grasshopper. Although I half-expected you to maintain good accuracy throughout the course, I’m impressed that you managed to do it despite the breeze that’s been blowing through the trees up here.

After being set off for a second time, Kasumi once again took to dispatching the wood targets, silently, with the same lack of expression and high level of focus that she did for the first set of targets.

Similar completion time to the first set; so you’re both strong and have decent muscular and cardio endurance as well… ‘Well done. If I’m honest; I’m impressed by your performance… so far.’ Renka dispensed another mischievous laugh, afterwards adding, ‘So, you’ve mastered targets at ground level. Next up, we’re going to simulate some riflemen and Designated Marksman Rifle operators being stationed above you.’

Renka pointed up, to a branch with an affixed wrapper from some of the food that they had eaten while travelling the previous day. ‘If you look up into the trees, you’ll find some elevated targets. You’re free to stay on the spot or move to a more advantageous position for this part of the assessment; I’ll not penalise you either way.’

Relatively quietly, with a flirtatious smile, she added, ‘Personally, I wanna see you move, so I highly recommend the latter.’

After being counted in, Kasumi set about striking the targets in the upper levels of the trees.

As Kasumi pulled back the bowstring, ready to send the arrow resting against her left index finger ripping through the forest, she internally replied to Renka’s comment. Although she wants me to move around, there’s not much point if I want to best balance time spent moving with focusing on the targets and taking aim. Sorry, not sorry, Renka.

The captain also commented again, though within the confines of her mind as she closely spectated the archer’s performance. You’re one promising woman; there’s a little sweat appearing on your forehead and exposed shoulders, but you continue on, striking targets with similar accuracy to the previous sessions, despite their relatively small size and bizarre positioning.

All targets down in a bit under six minutes. Renka stopped the stopwatch, raised a hand and shouted, ‘Right!’ She scribed while jogging over to Kasumi and when she drew near, added, ‘That’s it; that was some pretty impressive work back there. That was the concluding component of your assessment, madam,’ with a friendly smile.

‘So, when do I get the results?’ Kasumi questioned, slightly panting, though her voice and facial expression remained as calm and composed as usual.

‘Ah, um, I’ll provide you the results at dinnertime. I’ve got to collect up all of the firewood that I used to make the targets and the recycled food packets, in order to complete my evaluation,’ Renka replied.

❀

I guess sunset is only a few hours away now; who’d have thought that collecting up the firewood and heading out to the nearest stream would take so long…

As the specs-wearing woman approached the cabin, she smiled mischievously. Hmm, I wonder if I can evade Kasumi’s senses and sneak up on her… Military vs huntress; who shall reign supreme in a battle of stealth?

The captain’s playful smile faded away as she gently and quietly set down the water butt strapped to her back, on the grass outside the cabin.

Renka discarded her boots in the grass. The boots against the wood deck and flooring in there would no doubt emit enough noise to give away my presence, so proceeding on tights should better keep me off her radar…

She paused in front of one of the exterior’s sliding doors, directing her ear towards the cabin’s interior. The advantage is mine, I guess. That clatter and commotion of items being sorted should give me enough audible cover to advance undetected. It’d be funny if she set up a trap, but, alas, I honestly don’t think she has that kind of humour...

After slowly and delicately passing through one of the sliding doors on the cabin’s exterior, Renka carefully proceeded through the passage, knees bent in a combat-ready stance, up to the room which emitted the clattering din.

I’m almost certain that she’ll know I’m coming if I tried to slowly sneak up behind her, so a standard breach entry it is. Ready or not, here I come.

With a firm but careful pull, the door flew open.

‘Hey, hey!’ Did I startle you? That’s an awfully hurried slamming shut of that case.

Frozen for a brief moment, Kasumi assessed. Probably best to play as if I’d have closed and put the case away even if she didn’t arrive. At least, there’s no way she’s seen its contents.

Renka’s gaze tracked the kneeling woman’s hands. That sturdy black case is still in your hands, dear.

She calmly began to set the case down among other cases neatly arranged on the floor when she felt a hand on her left shoulder. ‘Hmm.’

Kasumi turned her head toward the voice. Here we go; that’s clearly the smile of somebody about to enjoy some trifling.

‘Say… What’s in the mysterious case?’ Renka questioned, with childlike cheerful curiosity evident in her voice.

Kasumi remained silent, and expressionless, but after a short period of deliberation, she declared, ‘It’s nothing important; you needn’t be concerned about it.’

‘Hmmmmmm,’ Renka responded, closely eyeing the woman through narrowed eyes.

She retreated from Kasumi a bit. ‘Trade offer; you receive me quietly helping you with your cleaning for the rest of the afternoon. I receive; you bringing that case to dinner, opening it up and explaining what’s inside,’ she offered, with a slightly teasing but mostly friendly smile and tone of voice.

A chance to assuredly get you to be quiet for a while? That almost sounds too good to be true.

Kasumi issued her response, making sure not to signal any exceptional irritation, ‘Fine; I agree to your terms.’

‘Hehe; great,’ Renka smiled brightly and laughed lightly before picking up the nearest dusting tool and starting on her agreed cleaning. Well, that reaction wasn’t nearly as interesting as I’d hoped for. Still; I class this as a win; a chance to learn something about her emerged by surprise, she thought, smiling with delight.

❀

The cleaning lasted until into the evening and when Renka headed into the kitchen, to collect some cooking utensils, serving bowls and some extra seasoning, yeah; it’s definitely too dark now. Time to break out the torches…

After setting all of the cooking equipment outside, she returned to the cabin, to ask Kasumi, ‘Hey, um, you wouldn’t mind if we borrowed a couple of those cushions for outside?’

With a confused expression, Kasumi replied, ‘Sure.’

‘Great! Well, there’s no more business left inside and I’ve already secured the mystery black case, so let’s go,’ Renka insisted, before taking hold of Kasumi’s right wrist and leading her outside, into the clearing.

Colour me surprised; I’d never have predicted you would have the deft to tow me along so carefully. It feels strangely reassuring.

Amid the darkness, a vivid cone of orange made its presence abundantly obvious, sitting about ten metres or so away from the women’s temporary home.

Uwah; where did you find the time to construct a large firewood stack, an elevated platform for pots and pans and seating platforms? You’ve even carved a pair of miniature women figures as well, which is pretty neat. I never had you pegged for a craftsperson, so it’s nice to know we have that in common at least. I’m actually impressed. Despite her thought process, Kasumi’s facial expression remained neutral as the captain led her towards the crafted site.

After Renka had released her grip on the taller woman’s wrist, Kasumi’s gaze then drifted towards the sky for a short while, as the stars took full advantage of the darkening scape above the clearing.

After Renka had set down the cushions, she turned and invited, ‘M’lady, if you don’t mind,’ while gesturing to the seats (both were less than a metre apart from each other) and directly displaying a warm smile in Kasumi’s direction.

‘So, first thing’s first; I’ll begin with the results of your assessment,’ Renka began, her dark, brown eyes peering directly into the cool greyish-blue eyes of the black and pink-haired woman.

‘If I’m completely honest; there was no numeric or calculated system for your evaluation,’ she admitted, with a guilty smile. ‘Although there was no calculated basis, I was keenly interested in your efficiency in something akin to an urban assault situation. I have to say; your ability to strike targets so accurately and in such a short space of time was pretty impressive; even the elevated targets. Well, that and you looked stunning while doing it.’

Am I really that fascinating? Kasumi rolled her eyes, though made no further indication of irritation.

Renka continued, ‘I wanted to check out your ability, to see how much you’d be able to help me with the operation that I’d planned to carry out tomorrow.’

Opening up her map, Renka pointed to an area in the nearby city and continued to explain, ‘One of the gentlemen who took part in the shelter raid was kind enough to inform me where some of his buddies are congregated. I planned on having a look into the organisation, as well as leaving a nice gift for the police. We would have to observe the site for a while during the day and then take advantage of the reduced visibility at night, to neutralise all of the targets without getting ourselves injured or killed.’

Renka paused for a short moment and then blurted out, ‘Ah, before I forget! It’ll be up to you to get things started, because I don’t have a weapon aside from my knife. Given that I’m still officially an SDF captain, it would be a big pain for me if law enforcement found that an SDF-issued service weapon was repeatedly being used. That said, it’d also be a problem if we went in and killed everybody, so we’re gonna be prioritising live capture or non-lethal engagement, if you’d be so kind as to consider my request,’ she pleaded, with hands pressed together as she finished speaking.

Following a short period where the rustling leaves and chirping crickets became the dominant sounds, ‘I presume there are other details that you’re yet to mention, but at a basic level, it sounds like an interesting plan that I can work with,’ Kasumi responded calmly, while maintaining a neutral expression.

‘Awesome!’ Renka smiled gleefully at her companion’s response.

‘With that out of the way, how about we get started on dinner…’ she quietly uttered, setting a pot on the platform, and leaving her seat, to collect some water.

‘Sooooooo, Kasumi, I was wondering; where did you learn your archery technique and skills? Renka enquired, her voice tinged with curiosity, despite being keeping her eyes fixed on the cooking pot and stirring its contents.

‘Right here, in these mountains as a youngster, during the summers. Mostly it was my grandfather that taught me archery, though my grandmother also did teach me from time to time.’

Kasumi paused.

Why have you stopped? Renka internally questioned, before diverting her eyes away from the pot. Uhh, Kasumi? Spacing out, are you? I guess I shouldn’t be surprised; you’re probably reliving the past now.

The captain summoned a warm smile and lightly suggested, ‘Your grandparents sound like great people.’

I guess you do have your comforting and compassionate moments. The childhood memories flowing through her mind, combined with Renka’s comment resulted in Kasumi lightly smiling back at her.

Yes! Finally; a smile! It’s only a small one, but I’ll take this as a win. I guess there is a way through to you, after all! Renka thought, as she continued to maintain eye contact with Kasumi and wallow in the warm atmosphere of the moment.

Her eyes darted away however, abruptly yanked back to reality by a threatening hissing sound from nearby. ‘Uwah!’ she exclaimed while hurrying to stir the pot and settle it back down.

When Renka and the cooking returned to a quiet and relaxed state, Kasumi continued. ‘Like I mentioned earlier, I spent my summers here, up until my grandparents vacated the cabin. There wasn’t much to do beyond outdoor activities, so we spent most of the time on hunting practise, survival training and generally athletic activities. The two rifles that were in the store room belong to my grandparents as well; both of them know how to maintain and effectively use them. I mostly learned how to use one from my grandmother, along with a number of crafting techniques. My grandfather taught me everything to do with archery and hunting in general. They both also encouraged me to work on my physical fitness, for the sake of making my own life in these mountains easier.’

While Kasumi told tales of how her summers were spent, Renka listened closely and took every opportunity that she could afford to regain eye-contact while making progress with her cooking.

After transferring the pot of cooked noodles to a second platform, she returned to the fire and began to work on another element of the dinner. An assortment of ingredients were tossed into the pan and mixed until a faint, low bubbling sound began to emanate from it, at which point the noodles from the first pot were added in and cooked for another five minutes or so.

During the latter stages of this process, Kasumi absently stared at the bright flickering orange cone and silently reflected on the times in the past that she spent in the mountains and the people that she had spent the time with.

‘Alright! Here we go!’ Renka delicately presented a bowl to Kasumi.

Let’s see… Cooked soba noodles, with a colourful combination of peppers, onions and spring onions, swimming in a healthy amount of sauce. So, you fabricated an improvised kitchen and cooked a mouth-watering meal too? The spicy-yet-sweet aroma is a treat for the senses, that much is true. I feel kind of bad being given this much service without offering anything in return. I guess you’ll come to detest me soon enough too, at this rate…

After explaining the contents of the meal and preparing her own serving, Renka took her seat. She spoke softly, ‘Here you go,’ smiling as she offered a pair of chopsticks with an outstretched hand.

‘Ah, thank you,’ Kasumi accepted and after separating her chopsticks, she continued, ‘Thanks for the meal,’ with the relative positivity in her tone of voice being met with a friendly smile from the woman sat next to her.

After the woman with rose-coloured highlights ate her first mouthful of the noodle dish, ‘It’s great; tastes just as good as it smells,’ she remarked, though her characteristically neutral tone of voice threatened to contradict the sentiment.

For the remainder of the mealtime, the pair of women ate quietly, with the main background score being a competition between the rustling of trees in the wind and the crackle of the flames that continued to vividly burn away in front of them.

When both women had finished eating, Renka retrieved the mystery black case from the nearby stash spot. Handing it back to Kasumi, whilst attempting to make eye contact, she asserted, ‘Time for the big reveal!’ and added a welcoming smile after saying so.

‘You didn’t open it up and take a look inside?’

‘Ehhh?’ Pouting, Renka protested in a somewhat childish voice, ‘That’s pretty mean, don’t you think? I honoured my end of the deal to the letter and even made you dinner! I may be a bit weird, but I’m no cheater. Hmph.’

‘Right.’ Kasumi flicked the series of latches and opened the case, to reveal a brass instrument, made up of tubes, with one large bell-end and three valves mounted to one of the thinner piping regions, roughly in the middle of the unit’s length. Delicately lifting the instrument out of the case, she continued, ‘It’s a B flat trumpet; likely the most common key in use for the instrument.’

Renka interjected, eyes sparkling with anticipation, ‘That’s amazing! So, you are or you were also a musician!?’ The question belted out loudly enough to trigger a slightly unsettled facial expression from Kasumi.

‘Yes; I can play the trumpet, flute, violin and piano, a bit, as well as vocal performances.’ After setting the trumpet back into its case, she drew characters in the air with her right index finger, ‘It’s probably no surprise, but when my parents named me, they gave me a name consisting of song (歌) and pure (純). I guess they always intended for me to be a musician, which is why they often lent me their instruments for lessons or practise. My father leaned more towards the brass family of instruments and my mother leaned more toward woodwind and sometimes the strings family.’

The captain’s voice exhibited yet more excitement, ‘Could you play something for me now then? Pleeease!?’ She also summoned a pleading gesture, complete with insistently peering at the woman sat beside her.

‘No,’ Kasumi replied bluntly.

‘Awww, why not!?’ Renka queried, adding an upset frown to the pleading eyes.

‘I didn’t expect to be playing it, so I haven’t fully cleaned the internals and moving parts of the trumpet or my mouthpiece. I’d likely damage the instrument if I played it for any considerable length of time,’ she confidently stated.

‘You couldn’t play just a little bit then??’ Renka dropped to her knees, and persisted with the gesturing.

Uwah; really?? Even for you, that’s pretty low. This is so embarrassing that even I’m getting second-hand embarrassment.

‘I can maybe give you two bars, but nothing more,’ Kasumi reluctantly conceded, taking the trumpet out of the case and one of her mouthpieces from a slot in the lid of the case.

After a minute or so of playing seemingly random notes, with no rhythm, the clearing briefly came alive with a majestic flurry of notes, spanning two measures.

Although she played for less than fifteen seconds, Kasumi’s performance prompted a standing ovation from her audience.

‘Magnificent! You play about as well as you loose an arrow; I’d love to hear you play more!’ Renka energetically remarked, before lowering back to her seat. ‘I’m impressed by how well you play and also your choice of song. I remember hearing that melody in an anime that I watched before joining the SDF, like forever ago. It’s um… what was it?... Ah! The main concert piece from that series about the Euphonium, right!?’

Well, I didn’t see that one coming; you’re not a complete philistine after all then, Kasumi thought. Her eyes slightly lit up in reaction to the new bearing of the conversation. I genuinely can’t remember the last time I spoke and connected with anybody in the same way that I am with you right now. ‘Yes, that’s right; it’s the first two measures of the composition,’ she confirmed, with a small smile.

‘So; you’re a great-looking ace archer, who’s athletic and also a distinguished musician. I’m surprised you haven’t been married off yet, heh,’ Renka commented and abruptly stopped, face becoming slightly pale. After a brief pause, where her face transitioned from pale to red, she nervously fidgeted.

I said that as a joke, but what if it’s true?? Judging from how that reckless train of thought has managed to choke me up, I’ve clearly let my emotions run wild and unmonitored. Time to face the music I guess… Whilst pressing her index fingers together and avoiding eye contact, she asked, ‘Y- you’re not m- ma- married, r- right?’

Of course; you’re back to being strange again. Am I supposed to take that question seriously? Kasumi responded flatly, ‘No, I’m not married.’

Renka sighed loudly in relief, ‘Ohthankgoodness.’ After softening her tone, she resumed, more gently, holding Kasumi’s gaze. ‘That’s just as well; I guess that leaves a perfectly vacant spot for me to stay by your side.’

The captain paused briefly, before smiling warmly. ‘I’ve no idea where this adventure will end up, but I think it’ll be awesome if I’m partnered with you for it.’

Well; into the uncharted waters we go. I’ve never been in a scenario like this ever before, so I don’t know what answer you’re looking for. You’ve got that unusually warm smile again though, which is at least somewhat reassuring? While the fire tints your face the same strong shade of orange as your hair accent, the rustling of the mountain forest trees and the glint of the stars above fade into irrelevance as you stare at me with those deep, brown eyes.

‘I look forward to working with you too.’