A Valentine Ship

by Windrises

Both Captain Gunzou and Iona fail to see the purpose of Valentine's Day, until they spend the holiday making each other happy.

Note: Aoki Hagane no Arpeggio is an anime that was done by the studio Sanzigen and is based on a manga by Ark Performance.

Captain Gunzou was on his ship, along with his crew. They had been making progress, on their mission. Gunzou straightened his tie and started walking around the ship. He said, "We've been doing a good job. In fact, we're ahead of schedule. We should keep going, no stops."

Kyohei Kashihara was never one to be mature, so he said, "Hey, Valentine's Day is coming up and if you think that I'm going to skip out on that, you don't have common sense!"

Gunzou folded his arms and replied, "You're the one who doesn't have common sense. Skipping out on a day of work, because of Valentine's Day, is a waste of time."

Iori Watanuki said, "I hate to side against the Captain, but I'm afraid that Kyohei has a point."

Gunzou was shocked by what he was hearing. He had a confused look on his face, while asking, "You think that this Valentine's Day thing is important?"

Iori had a passionate look on her face while saying, "Of course I do. It's a day about expressing the deepest feelings of love."

Shizuka Hazumi replied, "I agree with that."

Gunzou looked around and saw that a majority of his crew cared about Valentine's Day. He didn't want him and his crew to get sidetracked, but he also didn't have the heart to keep them from celebrating Valentine's Day. He said, "Very well then. We can delay our ship work, so that you can have your Valentine's Day." The crew was pleasantly surprised by Gunzou's decision.

Gunzou drove the ship to land. Gunzou's crew members started getting off of the ship. Takao walked up to Gunzou and nervously said, "Hi Gunzou."

Gunzou turned around and said, "Hi Takao. Can I help you with something?"

Takao replied, "Well, I was wondering if you'd like to hangout on Valentine's Day."

Gunzou said, "I'm sorry. Celebrating Valentine's Day isn't my type of thing." Takao had disappointed look on her face. She frowned at Gunzou and walked out.

So Oribe walked up to Gunzou and asked, "What are you going to do about Iona?"

Gunzou said, "I'll check up on her, before leaving."

So Oribe replied, "Okay then. Have a good one, old friend."

Gunzou said, "You too."

Gunzou walked up to the part of the ship where Iona's mental model was. Iona looked at him and asked, "Why did the crew leave?"

Gunzou sighed and said, "They left, because of Valentine's Day."

Iona asked, "Valentine's Day? Is that something that benefits our mission?"

Gunzou sat down and said, "Not really. In fact, our mission has been delayed, because of the upcoming holiday."

Iona was confused about what was going on. She asked, "You let your crew leave, so they could do something that would delay your mission? I know I'm not in charge. I'm not even human, but I feel like you're making a mistake."

Gunzou looked at her and said, "You aren't alone in that line of thinking. It's not a decision that I wanted to make. We and the crew have been ahead of schedule and I was proud about that. Delaying our mission brings down my proudness level."

Iona asked, "Then why did you let your crew leave?"

It was hard for Gunzou explain, but he tried to word himself as carefully as possible. He said, "Valentine's Day has a sentimental importance for a lot of people. It seemed important to my crew, so I didn't have the guts to let them not celebrate it."

Iona still felt confused about Gunzou's decision. When she was with other mental models, she heard of the term, pushover. She felt that Gunzou's behavior represented what a pushover was. She considered calling Gunzou that, but she didn't feel like she could do it. She didn't know why it first, but she started realizing that she had traits of a pushover too. She faced Gunzou and asked, "Are you going to celebrate Valentine's Day?"

Gunzou stood up and said, "Valentine's Day isn't my cup of tea."

Iona asked, "Valentine's Day is a type of tea?"

Gunzou tried to hold back a smirk, while saying, "No, it's not about tea. It's a day about love. It can mean any type of love, but it usually applies to romantic love."

Iona replied, "I understand. So, what will you be doing on this Valentine's Day?"

Gunzou thought about it and said, "Nothing productive."

Iona shyly asked, "Can you visit me?"

Gunzou asked, "Visit you?"

Iona kept her head down, while saying, "I haven't spent a day alone, since you became Captain."

Gunzou understood how lonely Iona felt. He didn't have that many close allies either, aside from his crew. He lifted her chin up and gently said, "I'll see you tomorrow." Iona smiled. Gunzou wasn't use to seeing such a big smile, from Iona's face. It was one of the most adorable things he had seen, but he didn't have the guts to tell her that. He hugged Iona. She could feel her heart warming up, but she didn't know why.

The next day, it was Valentine's Day. Gunzou got up and started getting ready for the day. He paused and realized that he hadn't celebrated Valentine's Day in years, which made this day feel even weirder to him. Part of him was wondering why he was giving Valentine's Day another try, but deep down he knew it was because of Iona. She was his closest ally, his dearest companion, and the one who showed the most loyalty to him. Iona had never experienced Valentine's Day and Gunzou cared about her too much to not show her what it's like.

Gunzou went to a nearby store and got some flowers and a Valentine's Day card. He started walking to his ship. A half hour later, he was at the ship. He went inside and walked up to Iona. He shyly said, "Happy Valentine's Day." Iona said the same thing to Gunzou, in a similar tone of voice.

Gunzou handed the card to Iona and said, "It's a common tradition for people to give Valentine's Day cards to each other."

Iona had a guilty look on her face, while saying, "I didn't get you a card."

Gunzou gently patted Iona's shoulder, while saying, "You don't understand the rules of the holiday, so it's completely understandable."

Iona lightly smiled and said, "Thank you for being so understanding."

Gunzou replied, "To be honest, I often feel like you're the only one who truly understands me."

Iona responded, "That's ironic." She opened up the card and read what it said silently. On the card, Gunzou had written, "Happy Valentine's Day to the girl who understands the day the least, but, oddly enough, puts more of the holiday's spirit in my heart than anybody I've ever met. Love, Gunzou."

Gunzou looked at the card and was mad at himself. He was planning on writing sincerely, instead of love. He wondered how he made such a big mistake. He handed Iona some flowers and said, "This is another Valentine's Day tradition."

Iona looked at the flowers. They were roses. She enjoyed their appearance and how nice they smelt. She said, "It's a beautiful gift."

Gunzou replied, "I'm glad that you like it."

Iona felt bad, while saying, "I feel like I'm being a jerk. I wasn't able to get you any gifts. I must look pretty selfish right now, don't I?"

Gunzou couldn't believe what he was hearing. He asked, "Selfish? You think that you're selfish? Do you have any idea how much you've done for me? You gave me the ship I needed for my mission, the loyalty I needed in a teammate, and most importantly, you've been my best friend."

Iona felt comforted by Gunzou's words. Gunzou had been the most supportive and noble person she had ever met. She was glad to know that Gunzou had similar feelings. She asked, "Best friend? I'm flattered, but I thought that So Oribe was your best friend."

Gunzou explained, "He's my best guy friend."

Iona asked, "So, I'm your best girl friend?"

Gunzou felt a little embarrassed, while saying, "Um, female friend, not girlfriend."

Iona asked, "What's the difference between those two terms? They seem to have the same meaning."

Gunzou said, "A female friend is the same as a male friend. A girlfriend is a romantic partner."

Iona replied, "Oh, that is quite the difference. Have you ever had a girlfriend?"

Gunzou said, "No, it's not something I've thought much about."

Iona put her hand on Gunzou's shoulder and replied, "I hope I'm not speaking out of line, but I think you'd be a good boyfriend."

Gunzou responded, "Thank you. You'd make a great girlfriend."

Iona replied, "Yeah right. No guy could tolerate my eccentric way of acting."

Gunzou said, "I tolerate how you act, everyday. I don't find it frustrating or annoying. In fact, it's what makes you stand-out, in a good way." He and Iona hugged each other.

Iona had never experienced such support and comfort. She didn't want her new happiness to end, but she feared it might. She faced Gunzou and said, "Gunzou, when our mission is all done, will you have to leave my side?"

Gunzou replied, "I admit that we were just supposed to be work colleagues, on a temporary mission, but I think we're both too important to each other. I'm not going to leave you." He held hands with Iona, while saying, "You may not be a real human, but you have more human integrity and heart than most people."

Iona handed Gunzou a piece of paper and said, "I just wrote a Valentine's Day card for you."

Gunzou looked at it. It said, "Dear Gunzou, Nobody and nothing has brought me more happiness than you. In fact, you taught me what happiness is. I love you. I'm always going to love you. My only wish is to have you with me, forever." Gunzou had tears of happiness coming down his eyes.

Iona nervously asked, "Did I make you cry?"

Gunzou explained, "These are happy tears." Iona felt relieved.

Iona asked, "On Valentine's Day, how do people express their affectionate feelings?"

Gunzou said, "Well, hugs and kisses are the two most common things." Iona kissed Gunzou. Gunzou felt shocked. He asked, "What's going on?"

Iona shyly said, "I love you."

Gunzou replied, "Iona, I should go. If we keep this up, you might seem like my girlfriend, instead of my female friend."

Iona blushed, while saying, "If I could ever date anybody, I'd want it to be you."

Gunzou replied, "That wouldn't be a good idea."

Iona responded, "It would be paradise."

Gunzou got on his jacket, while saying, "I understand. I'm sorry about all this."

Iona replied, "No, it's been a wonderful day."

Gunzou was about to leave, but his heart wouldn't let him. He sat down, next to Iona, and said, "It's only noon, so this day is far from over." Iona rested her head on Gunzou's shoulder. It was the best day that Iona had ever had. Deep down, Gunzou knew it was the best day he had experienced, in a long time.

Iona said, "Gunzou, I hope this doesn't immature of me. After all, we're just friends, but if you fall in love, I'm going to get jealous."

Gunzou replied, "In order for me to fall in love, she'd have to be as good as you and nobody could live up to your legacy."

Iona smirked and said, "You're in love with me, aren't you?"

Gunzou nervously sweated and replied, "Yeah right."

Iona responded, "I'm terrible at human emotions, but I know the feelings you have for me." She blushed and said, "I'm in love with you too, so there's no need to feel embarrassed."

Gunzou wanted to deny his feelings, but he couldn't. He said, "I've never loved anybody, as much as I love you." Gunzou and Iona kissed each other. Valentine's Day didn't benefit their mission, but it benefited their hearts. It also helped them realize that they'll have each other, forever.