Chapter Eighteen - Wednesday III - SeaBed

Phase III 

(Threat Level; Critical)

‘I’m sorry, could you say that once more?’

‘We all died in the small hours of this morning. We were killed instantly, when our LSV exploded during a pursuit from a gunship and armed drones.’

‘Kasumi, could you do me a favour and pinch me? I’d like to test out something really quickly.’

With a little wry smile, the black and pink-haired woman closed in behind the bespectacled woman.

Sneaky brat; of all the places, why there?? Now is not the time to be turning me on…

‘It’s very firm, if I’m honest.’

Renka glared, ‘Quiet, you.’ Returning her gaze to the lone woman still surrounded just inside the hangar’s front doors, ‘I definitely received a quick, sharp and kinda pleasurable pain, so I’m pretty sure I’m still alive. Let’s try this again, but maybe this time starting from an earlier point in the story; I, or rather we, want to know exactly why you’re trudging back in here, roughed-up, at sunrise and informing us that we’ve all died,’ she demanded, with an icy stare.

‘After Tsubaki found a way into the information stores, I found one of the components we’d been seeking, so I figured I-, er, we’d pay them a visit, to go and collect it. Long story short; we snuck into one of their prototyping facilities, stole the target component, almost got evaporated by a railgun-wielding mech, ended a bunch more CSS goons and escaped in an LSV.

‘The only snag in the operation is that they were on fairly high alert and dispatched an army of drones and an AH-1W almost instantly, to ensure that we didn’t get away. After being shot to shit on the national route, our LSV blew up, killing us all instantly. How do you all not remember?’ the black and purple-haired woman quizzed, with a defiant expression and playful tone.

‘We don’t remember because it never happened and even if it did, we weren’t there.’

‘Ah, right!’ After a quick search of her skirt, Hikari revealed, ‘This is for you, Hon; I think you’ll like it.’

As Renka and Kasumi silently spectated, the doctor tentatively stepped forward.

Uwah; that’s one pretty impressive case she’s got in the palm of her hand. Titanium I’m guessing and it’s really nicely shaped and finished too.

‘Go ahead; open it. Don’t worry; it’s not an engagement ring,’ Hikari nervously jested. Self-inflicted damage much; I wonder when that day will come, if ever…

With awkward and nervous mumbling as the primary source of sound within the mostly dim hangar space, the small case delicately transferred to a hand with bright green nails at its fingertips.

The lid of the case flipped back.

‘Eek!’ The doctor burst forward, ‘Thank you!’

Well, I didn’t picture this reaction; who knew you were capable of being intimate like this? Kind of bittersweet though; although it’s deeply comforting and satisfying that you’ve got me in such a tight grip, I bet it’s just an impulsive act because of the processor and not so much because of me, Hikari concluded, as she gently wrapped her arms around the doctor’s back.

Uwah, Koneko; is that what you went to all of the trouble for? And here I was, beginning to think that Sensei would never give you anything more than the time of day.

Seconds later, following an embarrassed croak, the doctor abruptly retreated, back to stand beside Kasumi and Renka.

Well, it was nice while it lasted. It’s definitely recharged my desire to make you and that adorable smile of yours mine, Hikari remarked, as she continued to watch the doctor gaily studying the small metal component.

‘Okayyy. So, we know that you definitely had a dance with the enemy. Would you care to explain how we all died, then?’

‘Oh, that, heh. Yeah; I faked all of your presences through holography. You know; usually produced by projecting a 3D image based on scans of a person or thing. I’ve spent enough time around you three to be able to create the illusion of your presence. I used the same phenomenon to ensure that all were present in the vehicle when it detonated. I’m in a rough state partly from almost being obliterated by a mech, but also from jumping out of a moving LSV.’

‘Right. I’m kind of disappointed that you’d run off and have all of the fun without us, Koneko, but I’m at least grateful that you got what you set out to get,’ Renka advised, with a markedly dejected tone and level expression.

‘Umm, not quite… Actually, there’s a bit more for us to do…’ Hikari added, with a little playful smile.

‘Go on…’

‘We need two of those processors, don’t we? One for ground defence and one for air, right? Well, I had a snoop around their delivery logs while onsite and it turns out another one of the processors was supposed to have arrived at a familiar shore, carried by an unmanned RC submersible. The delivery craft ventured into an area and disturbed a pod of orcas, however, and they didn’t exactly give the intruding vehicle a warm welcome for doing so.

‘CSS planned to send a “recovery” team out there today, to retrieve the stranded component. Hopefully the orcas have already moved on, but if they haven’t and that team turns up…’

‘Say no more. We’re heading out in twenty minutes; we might not get an aquarium chapter or scene, so I’ll happily settle for a deep-sea dive,’ the captain interjected, with a cheerful smile.

❀

‘I thought you said that we were going in twenty minutes. What are you doing?’

‘I’m doing exactly what it looks like I’m doing, dear Kasumi,’ Renka replied, with an innocent smile.

‘And why are you doing that now?’ Kasumi bluntly asked, with a blank expression.

‘Why would I not do it now? We did just die after all. Don’t you get an Act Three kinda vibe from hearing what our dear kitten got up to?’

Ah, you’re still on that whole fictional story protagonist thing. ‘At some point, you and I are going to have to sit down and have a proper talk about this story of yours. You’re sticking with orange gel polish?’

‘Naturally, but I’m going for something glittery this time though; feeling like bringing a spectacular sort of vibe to the party, which the CSS won’t like,’ Renka playfully replied with a mischievous smile.

‘Ah, is that why you were so quick to jump at the purple one’s suggestion?’

‘Partly. If we’re underwater, I imagine you’d be the star of the show though. Not that that’s a problem, obviously; I’d happily spectate you any day.

‘Jokes aside, we don’t want to let her stray too much. First it was that stunt when that strike team encircled us in here and then that escapade last night; unless Sensei finally gets her shit together and tames her, she’ll probably continue to spiral down a doomed path. That said, we probably need to make an honest effort to save her from herself as well. I know you probably wouldn’t mind if she did get herself offed, but our chances of escaping to safety are better with her around. At least, if we can keep her from taking excessive risks.

‘Speaking of; I know you probably don’t want to sit down and talk to her, so I’m not gonna pressure you, but could you at least try to peacefully coexist? It hurts my heart a little that you two can’t even play nice, even if just for show,’ Renka answered, her playfulness fading toward despondence as she continued.

Ah. Well, that leaves me in a strange place. Suddenly my breath has turned a bit sharp, hearing that something’s upsetting you and probably more so because I’m a part of that something. On the other hand, neither you, nor Tsubaki-Sensei (I’m guessing) has stood millimetres away from being slain by her blade though and her recent antics aren’t helping settle my discomfort.

The two women sat on their beds and stared at each other in silence, maintaining oddly blank expressions.

‘I’ll try.’

‘Thank you. I’m sure that if you gave her a chance, she’d probably try to make amends, you know, not that I’m suggesting you should go out of your way to make it happen, of course. You are still my main priority after all,’ Renka softly concluded, with a warm smile.

❀

‘I’m surprised, Kitten; I thought for sure that you’d take one of the LSVs, rather than risk damaging the new car.’

Kitten? Is that my new nickname or something? ‘Well, in theory we won’t be at risk of having to leave our ride behind, so the car should be fine,’ the black and purple-haired driver replied, as the Lancer slowly rolled up to the edge of the sandy expanse that separated the women from the seas. ‘I’ve already got diving equipment, so I’ll be catching up on sleep while you all do your shopping or whatever,’ she playfully advised, with a smug smile.

After half an hour passed, the Evo’s driver jolted awake and quickly glanced to her right. ‘Oh, it’s you; you sure took your time’, she quietly grumbled, while resting her hand on the interior door handle, ready to pull.

After returning the car to an enclosed state with a firm but careful thrust of the door, the doctor remarked, ‘Really? Even your diving suit is blue and white.’ It’s cute that you’ve got a special case for the water lily attached to the chest harness though, I’ll admit.

‘Uh, yeah; this is one of my uniforms after all. Diving suits don’t usually have weapon holsters and pouches, do they? Besides; you’re wearing green and the captain’s got her usual orange going on, so it’s not like you two are really mixing things up either.’

Tsubaki mumbled in weak protest.

Amid the relative quiet, Hikari’s gaze shifted toward the woman clad in an orange wetsuit, ‘Um, what happened to your girlfriend?’

‘Huh? Oh, um, she was still looking around for a wetsuit because she couldn’t find the colour she wanted. She told me not to wait up, so I headed back with Sensei.’ Girlfriend? Is that really how we look to you? Then again, I’ve never really thought about anything besides wanting to stay by her, support her and make her as happy as possible, whatever that’s called…

‘Speak of the devil, it looks like she got more than just a specific-coloured wetsuit, heh,’ Hikari informed, with a light chuckle as she directed her gaze into the distance behind the pair who stood nearby, in front of her.

After quickly turning, ‘Uwahh,’ both women quietly remarked, with wide eyes.

Truly magnificent. That thing has to be over a metre tall, maybe 1.5? Pair it with how the wetsuit complements your muscles and how handsome you normally are and I’m back into that dangerous land of fantasies and inappropriate thoughts. Fighting the desire to run over and unload whatever wild passion has flared up within me is pretty difficult. God, what’s wrong with me? Get a grip… ‘So, the obvious question is; where did you get that spear from?’ Renka queried, with a playful smile.

‘I got it from a local fisherman. It’s only temporary; I traded in my arrows as collateral for the time being.’

‘Well, I think it’s awesome. It totally suits you. It’s like you’ve gone from the fair and noble image of Artemis, to the majestic and powerful picture of a modern-day Poseidon, though I think he used a trident, but you get the idea, heh,’ Renka cheerfully remarked.

‘Okayyy, so, before the captain drifts off into lesbian fantasy land, can we please get started on our plan here?’

Party pooper. Just because you’re having a hard time with Sensei…

‘I guess I’ll be the one leading? I did a bit of reading since the idea came up and it seems like Orcas use different sets of sounds for different purposes; clicks whistles and pulsed calls. The latter two are the more important ones for us; it’s not guaranteed, but if I can replicate the sounds, it should prove helpful down there.’

‘Yeah; it makes sense to swim in formation behind you then. If they’re using sound, then they won’t really need sight, so we can probably use that to our advantage as well.’

‘Cool, and I’ve got the compass, to help us get there. I do also have a knife, but it’s probably best that we keep a tight formation. Is that clear, Koneko?’ Renka firmly questioned, with an intense glare.

I can understand those two staring me down, but you as well, Tsubaki, come on!?

‘Don’t try searching for sympathy; we need cohesion and symbiosis, not fragmentation and recklessness. If we go out there and an orca dies, I’ll personally blame you.’

‘Now, now, Sensei. You were spot on with that first bit though, so I’ll repeat; are we clear?’

‘Crystal,’ the woman with the blue and white wetsuit huffed, before pouting.

‘Great! Now let us venture forth into the deep blue!’ Renka gaily exclaimed, with a bright smile.

After pulling on their mask arrays and adjusting their air tank systems, the four women trudged across the sand and slipped beneath the fairly gentle waves. The quartet traded in the blue skies above their heads for a layer of shimmer, which gradually turned more blue, bordering on green, as they pressed further away from dry land.

‘So, Kasumi, have you ever gone hunting with a spear before?’ Renka asked, briefly looking away from the round tool in her hand, to the woman beside her, who moved through the water using only elegant crawl kicks while keeping the spear tucked against her side.

‘No, though I have seen my grandfather use a relatively small one to catch fish before.’

‘I’m guessing you’ve spent a fair bit of time in the water? I’m not surprised that the Kitten is swimming crawl, I didn’t really know what to expect from you. With arms like those, you could probably swim butterfly without too much trouble, heh.’

‘It’s not my favourite stroke, but I’m alright with it; I like it more than breaststroke at least.’

‘Ehhh? That’s just like me, though I can’t hold butterfly for all that long, heh.’

‘Are you sure you don’t want to join the rest of us in the crawl club, Tsubaki-Sensei?’

‘Before today, the last time I’d done any swimming was back in school, okay? Excuse me for not being a pro-grade swimmer.’

‘Heh; you’re gonna have to give her lessons after today, Kitten.’

A brief period of giggles preceded roughly twenty minutes where the women ventured deeper into the underwater ecosystem, bustling with fish and sea creatures of all shapes, sizes, colours and sounds.

‘I thought something sounded frantic. Looks like it’s time to pick up the pace; there’s trouble up ahead,’ Kasumi advised, with a strong but level tone, as her legs kicked with longer strokes and she burst ahead of the pack.

As the black and pink-haired woman slowed slightly, her greyish-blue eyes quickly focused on one point in particular. Pod of eight, though those trails coming from one of them looks quite bleak. ‘Tsubaki-Sensei, can you put a field on all of the orcas?’ Kasumi hurriedly requested.

She continued to watch and observe. They really don’t care who lives and dies, do they?

‘Russian amphibious rifle; they can probably tank a few of those rounds, but we do definitely need to get rid of the idiots causing them grief before we can get the injured to safety.’

‘Purple, if you could; keep the fields on the orcas invisible, but make ours bright, to keep the strike team’s attention on us.’

‘Understood,’ Hikari confirmed, as the seabed lit up with a rich green glow.

As the women rapidly approached, Kasumi emitted a long wail, prompting a flurry of metal projectiles to rush through the water, in the direction of the women.

Well, if my heart wasn’t already absolutely hopelessly claimed by her, then it definitely is now. She’s managed to lead us straight in among a pack of these grand, majestic black and white sea creatures as if they’re our allies. Never in my dreams could I imagine somebody nearly as amazing as you, Kasumi.

Without hesitation, she jolted the long metal tool forward and the skewering action forced a deep trail out from the man’s body when the sharp, pointed head emerged from his back. Another trail tainted the water when she retracted the spear.

Another hail of projectiles rushed her way shortly after dispatching the first of the armed men, clad in grey and black diving suits.

‘Stick close to me; if we keep the injured one company, the others should be able to take care of the rest.’

‘Understood,’ the others shouted, amid the storm of metal darts which swished through the water in their direction.

‘Don’t worry, we’ll try to get you out of here as quickly as we can,’ Kasumi offered the least lively of the huge sea creatures in the pod, as she swam beside it and gently laid a hand near its left eye and ear.

She emitted another wail shortly after and amid the chaos, her newfound allies turned away from the injured party.

‘Here we go…’ Hikari murmured, as she watched the dominant, menacing presence dart towards the men. Have fun dealing with a 3-6 tonne champion swimmer that’s upset with you for attacking one of their family.

‘Oh, fuck. And we thought the kitten was a killing machine; they’re not using weapons and still dishing out a conclusive beatdown.’ Fins, tails and the occasional body-blow, though judging from how crippled the frogmen look and how little movement they’re left with afterward, it’s pretty obvious that the tail strikes are the ones you definitely don’t want. I wouldn’t be at all surprised if single hits have been enough to cause cardiac arrest. Much like the kitten, they too move with an admirable level of grace and flow as well.

The four women spectated while guarding the injured party, as their newfound allies continued to brutally batter the enemy until their bodies and weapons littered the seafloor.

Pretty poor showing from the CSS guys TBH; at best they’re lying completely still and at worst they have limbs orientated in very unnatural ways. Yep; the big guys and girls definitely have me beat, hats off to all of you. You’ve definitely lived up to your status as apex predators and you looked wonderful while doing so, I must say.

‘So, how do we go about getting this one to surface? The wounds aren’t massive, but they do need air in order for a clot to form,’ Tsubaki pondered.

Hikari hurried to respond, ‘They are pretty intelligent creatures, if Kasumi communicates with them and we gesture, they might be willing to follow us to the surface, if they haven’t already got that idea in mind.’

As the more energetic orcas swiftly returned to their injured member, the women briefly flinched and squirmed.

‘Eeek!’ Tsubaki loudly squeaked as the commanding black and white presences rapidly closed in.

With little delay, three of them banded together, and attempted to scoop the stranded member from the floor starting from the tail.

The four women watched on, nervously frowning and remaining silent for a lengthy period.

Amid the flurry of whale song, the three assistants backed away, leaving one orca laying belly-up on the seafloor, alone.

The sight introduced a fearful whimper or two from the spectators.

Huh? Please tell me that’s not the last of its life making a speedy geta-

Within half a minute, the lingering mass began to wriggle a bit.

Ah. Well, I guess that confirms it’s a mother. A new member enters the pod and it’s not much taller or longer than I am.

EEEEEEEEE! So cute!!! A baby orca!!

Sneaky girl; she just wanted a lie down so that she could give birth. She’s back up and swimming like a champion, which is a massive relief. You really had us going there for a long while there. Ugh; my aching heart.

Without much delay, the mother proceeded toward the women, slowing gently before them, as her new-born calf drew alongside.

‘I think she’s trying to say thanks. You led us, so it’s only right that you go to her, well that and we can’t communicate with whales or dolphins, heh,’ Renka encouraged, with a friendly smile and a hand rested on Kasumi’s shoulder.

The tallest member of the quartet slowly advanced and gently rested a hand near the right eye and ear of the massive black and white sea creature. She quietly hummed for a short period before retreating, with a small friendly smile.

‘So, it’s not just me that you’ve won over then. In case she didn’t say it, I think you’re amazing, Kasumi, I really do,’ Renka quietly offered, with a warm smile, as she gazed directly into the cool, steely, blue eyes of the black and pink-haired woman before fumbling with and through the diving equipment, to wrap her arms around her.

‘Thank you.’ That especially rare, extra-warm smile of yours shines again. I’m glad that I could help you find it.

‘See; that could be us, if you ever get your thoughts straightened out,’ Hikari sulked.

‘Please.’ Tsubaki rolled her eyes and sighed.

‘Honestly. You two... I’ll spare you the awkwardness and let you know that we’ll be following them out of here; the last thing we need is reinforcement turning up to slaughter them. It’ll probably be a while before they turn up, so we’ll probably escort them for half a click and then collect the package on the way back. Maybe a leisurely swim through the ocean ecosystem will help you two and that weird angsty vibe between you,’ Renka jested, with a mocking smile. ‘Let’s go, before we get left behind.’

Once again cutting through the deep indigo water and the myriad of plants and animals which made up the underwater ecosystem, the four women swam, each accompanied by one of the eight giant black and white sea creatures. Among the group, one markedly smaller addition flitted about, beside its mother, playfully tossing and turning as the pod advanced.

‘Huh? Not that I don’t want to see you, but I thought we were all accompanying an orca each.’

‘I’d rather swim with you though. Seeing as we’re no longer fighting those guys, I’d like to have the memory of exploring the sea with you. I’m sure they’ll understand.’

This is bad; I think she’s figured me out or at least figured out some soft spot of mine. I really need to get my thoughts under control and get used to this, otherwise I really will end up doing something that genuinely weirds her out. Thankfully, the wetsuits make it pretty impractical for me let loose and make love to you, but were it not for them… Gah! I’m such a mess… ‘Fine, but no speaking, unless it’s about the seascape. If you turn me on or melt my heart any further I’ll probably end up too weak to get back to shore. Show some mercy, please, heh.’ I guess I might have overdone it? For it to be too much for her, that’s got to be pretty bad. I guess apologising is off the cards until we resurface as well…

It’s beautiful; pretty much every colour that you could imagine, either gently swaying on the seafloor or bustling about amid the torrent of traffic. Everything, from small fish, molluscs and sea turtles, up to the orcas, dolphins and whales. It’s wonderful. I always thought that landscapes were the pinnacle of natural beauty, but now I’m not so- ‘Eep! When did you get there??’

‘I’ve been here for like the last five minutes, so, your time to complain has long passed, I think, Tsubaki. Besides, do you really want your memory of this to be you swimming alone while the captain and her girlfriend enjoyed it like they just got married or something? I’ll even keep quiet, if it helps.’ Ugh; I should have known a visit to the SeaBed would be bittersweet, here’s hoping for a better ending…

Not good; I don’t think I’ve heard that much weakness or genuine longing in your voice before. The watery eyes and acting upset aren’t anything new, but the voice has a significant effect. There’s no good option here now; I let you stay, I worry about you rather than admiring the sea. I let you go and then end up lost in a whirlpool of incoherent thoughts, or just avoid thinking altogether. ‘Fine; you can stay, but no talking, please.’ At least she hasn’t attempted to kill me yet, though I suspect something worse is probably headed my way instead. She started off really playful when we met, but for the past few days, she’s defaulted to getting upset with me over pretty much everything rather than hitting back.

Sort of like a flower which has been poisoned and has wilted as a result.

How do I fix this? Can I fix this?

❀

Ugh, finally. Dry land’s in sight and this pretty meh experience is almost over. So much for having this as a good memory. At least we recovered the processor without issue; the others should be a bit less pissed with me now, right?

A few minutes later, ‘That was a pretty good workout, right?’ the woman with an orange streak in her hair asked the black and pink–haired woman as their pair removed their outer face mask units.

‘Not bad; I could probably swim for another few Ks though.’

‘Would it have killed you to just say yes, like a normal person?’ Renka remarked with a playful irritated tone.

I’m just being honest; why are you condemning me?

‘Not that I mind, of course, heh.’ With a mischievous smile appearing, ‘I’ll be sure to thoroughly test out that muscular endurance of yours at a later point.’

‘Um, as much as I hate to cut your flirting time short, could we please get packed up? It’d be nice if we could get home while the sun is still decently high in the sky.’ I could really do without the painful reminder of how far away I am from having something remotely resembling what you’ve got.

‘Tsubaki-Sensei, did you forget to feed her or something?’

‘You realise I can still hear you.’ Hikari fired back at Kasumi, with a cold glare.

Amid the silence, Kasumi responded with a little teasing smile.

‘Ugh; just hurry up and get sorted out, so we can go home,’ Hikari huffed, with an irritated tone, before turning, to head off in the opposite direction of the other three women.

As the remaining three women set off, Renka quietly queried, with a fairly serious tone, ‘Did something happen between you two back there, Sensei?’

‘Um, noo, why do you ask?’ And why are you putting a palm to your face, Kasumi?

‘Good grief; normally this’d be the part where I’d make a joke about you two being useless and Kasumi and I would laugh, but at this point it’s frankly getting painful to watch, especially as your problems are now apparently not far from becoming my problem. In case you haven’t noticed, your purple-haired sweetheart is unravelling, quickly. She seemed alright when we first(?) met her, but in the past couple of days she’s gone a bit wild, do you really expect us to believe you know nothing about it?’

I know some things about it, I think? I don’t really understand it myself, so I don’t really know what to tell you. I guess last night was prompted by her telling me that story, but what would have made he-

‘Hellooo… Sensei? Are you still there?’ Renka questioned, waving a hand, centimetres in front of the doctor’s face.

‘Yes! Um, I don’t know? Or, rather I do know, but don’t know the solution? No… That’s not right… I know some of the problems? Also, I don’t have any ideas for solutions?’

‘Is that a question, Sesnsei?’ Now I regret having asked. I can imagine the gears of your brain jamming, rough grinding sounds and steam pouring out of your ears.

‘Give me a break; not everybody can have a perfect relationship like you two. You’ve been together for ages, how did you two figure things out?’ Tsubaki weakly asked.

Renka and Kasumi lightly smirked in response before Renka answered. ‘Pfft; us? Together for ages? I wish; we’ve not known each other for more than two weeks. How did we figure things out? Yeahhh; we haven’t, heh. It might look like we’ve been together for ages, but that’d only be because we kinda naturally drifted towards each other. That said, we do need to have ourselves a little talk about what happened earlier today.’ The captain concluded with a playful smile, gazing directly at Kasumi. ‘If you’re having a hard time figuring Kitten out, then maybe you should try talking to her.’

Kitten? When did you two get on nickname or callsign terms? ‘Yeah; that’s easier said than done.’ Not that I’m not happy for you two, but it sounds like you’re both operating on the same wavelength, while Hikari and I are out of phase and have different amplitudes as well.

‘Try not to spend too much time thinking about it; before you get lost in thinking and put yourself completely off talking to her. Speaking of talking to her, we’re gonna head off so that dear Kasumi can trade back her equipment. I guess we’ll meet you back at the car.’

‘Right, thanks… I guess I’ll see you in a while then…’ Tsubaki waywardly replied. I am not heading straight back to that car. Maybe a bit of time sat on the shore will help me find some clarity…

The captain beamed a friendly smile, before turning away and departing linked to one of Kasumi’s arms.

After a short while of walking arm in arm along the beach, Renka quietly jested, while keeping her eyes fixed ahead. ‘We’ve been together for ages, huh? What an impression to give off, hehe.’

‘But, something was definitely wrong while in the water, no? Normally, you’re overflowing with energy, so I got the sense that I must have made a mistake somewhere down there. Was the-,’

‘Stop right there. I don’t want to hear any more of that.’ The captain had paused and forced Kasumi to peer directly into her eyes as they stood almost chest to chest. ‘It sounds like you’re planning on apologising for something and I won’t have it. If anything, it’s my own shortcomings that caused the problems today; if you’re guilty of anything it’d be being too awesome for me to handle, heh. I don’t know if it’s the wetsuit, your athleticism, your beauty or simply how you behave around me, but whatever it was, or whoever it was kinda drove me crazy all day.’

‘Excuse me?’ Kasumi blankly asked.

‘Can I kiss you?’

Uwah; where did that come from?? Though that quiet and calm voice does sound like you’re completely serious and your gaze is equally sincere; I’ve only seen you behave this vulnerable once before. ‘In the middle of the beach, where everybody can see us?’

‘Marriage may still be outlawed for us but this form of expression isn’t,’ the captain weakly replied. The strength of her voice increased, ‘Forget them; I don’t care what the rest of the world thinks about how I feel about you. I only care about what you think.’

Without answering, the black and pink-haired woman set the spear down without taking her eyes off the captain, before wrapping her arms around her and leaning in, with a little pleased smile on her face.

❀

Ah; no wonder I couldn’t find you anywhere in or around the hangar. ‘So, you’ve been up here admiring the sunset? I thought we would be finishing off the drone this evening?’ the tall woman with rose-coloured highlights in her black hair asked, as she sat down on the rooftop, painted a vivid orange by the sinking sun on the horizon.

‘Oh, hey,’ the captain gently replied, with a friendly smile. ‘I’d have loved to, but it’s probably for the best that we let things lie this evening. Below us, Sensei is busy adding some more parameters, instructions and contingencies to her AI. If you give me a second…’ The captain leaned back a bit, ‘If you look out there, to our left, down on the shore, you can see that the kitten is taking a breather.

‘I don’t really wanna interfere with those two, but it’s pretty obvious they’re having communication issues or something, so before I have to actively get involved, I figured I’d passively support them. I know you and her don’t get on well, but she’s probably the main reason we haven’t been clocked by law enforcement, with the light tricks and whatever. That said, even if we don’t like her that much, we do need her…

‘So those two are busy and I’m taking up defensive duty, from a place where I can keep an eye on our weak link and pretty much everywhere else. I didn’t just come up here to watch the sunset.’ The captain concluded with a playful irritated expression.

The captain turned her head, to face Kasumi and gently queried, ‘While you’re up here, I’d been kinda wondering, after what happened on the beach today… Say we do escape our hunters and you find yourself with a chance to start over again, what would you do?’

‘I would probably return to music performances, either with an orchestra or failing that, a solo venture. Ultimately, I want to be able to open a new shop, so that I could help others on their musical journeys. That’s why I opened up the first shop, well, that and it felt like a good way to maintain my parents’ legacy.’

Why did I ask? Hearing that you’ve actually given it some thought definitely bears down on me pretty heavily; the responsibility that I have to make it happen or at least help in whatever way I can. It’s unlike me, but my breathing’s shortened up a bit as well; probably the nerves, thinking that failure is a real possibility, considering our current situation. ‘Your aspirations definitely sound way more lovely than mine do, here’s hoping we can turn them into a reality when we’re done here…’

Your voice is weakening again? Well, if there is one thing I’ve learned in the past two weeks, it’s that leaving things unsaid is probably a good way to end up like the one downstairs and the one on the shore… ‘What would you do, if you could start again?’ Kasumi calmly asked, gaze still firmly linked with the captain’s.

‘I honestly don’t know; I’ve been linked to the military for over a decade now and even if we are the protagonists of a fictional story, I doubt the SDF would simply discharge me if told them that I wanted leave in favour of helping my supremely wonderful girlfriend achieve her dreams, heh.’ The captain emitted a dejected chuckle as she concluded, her face coming to rest with a worried frown.

After a brief pause, where the crashing waves against the rocky shores provided the dominant background soundtrack, the captain continued. ‘Maybe I could go into private security work or head off into engineering; either of those would probably work better for me actually being around to support you… Ugh, I don’t know… I’ll start looking into it this evening, when we swap over.’ The captain sighed and summoned a slightly irritated frown. I’m so far behind, I really need to catch up… Huh? Why are you getting up already??

‘Um, where are you going so soon?’ Renka questioned, with a playful upset expression.

‘Heading down to collect the G28 and our phones. I’ll help you with the defensive duty and give you some time to think about what you want to do next.’

‘You… Despite having emerged victorious from countless battles, I really am no match for you,’ Renka softly admitted, staring up at the tall figure looming nearby. ‘I genuinely forget that this is your first relationship, with how thoughtful and understanding you can be sometimes,’ she added, with a warm smile. Be careful though; too much of that and I’d probably suggest that what I want to do next is you…

‘Thank you; I’ll be back in a minute or two then,’ Kasumi coolly replied, faintly displaying a friendly smile. It looks like the effort is beginning to pay off, though I can’t help but think it’s only because it’s her. It had never been this easy getting close to anybody in the past; maybe all that was missing was the right person?