Summary: Even if love cannot be allowed to bloom, sometimes simply knowing is enough...
Genre(s): Romance/Action
Character(s): Perrine C., M. Sakamoto, Lynette B., Yoshika M.
Disclaimer: I do not own Strike Witches
* Until Then *
It was a bright, sunny, cloudless day at the Strike Witches base. The burning white sun glared down at the runway leading up to the base's hangar bay. Two young girls, one with short brunette hair, the other with a short blonde braid, were sprinting down the runway out towards the sea before turning back towards the base. Another girl, her black ponytail waving lightly in the breeze, stood farther up the runway, her arms crossed over her chest in a solid stance as she observed the two girls.
"What is the basis for strong magic?" she called out as the two girls ran past her, their ragged breathing the only other sound aside from the cool breeze that blew by.
"Stamina!" They both replied in unison as they passed.
"And how will you achieve solid stamina?" The black haired girl said, her force stern and authoritative.
"Training!" The two girls replied as they ran a short distance further up, then turned and headed back towards the black haired girl.
"And do you have solid stamina?" she called out forcefully.
"No ma'am!" The pair cried breathlessly as they slowed in their return sprint.
"So what do you girls need?" The commanding girl called out as she stared at the pair sternly.
"T-training!" They replied in broken unison, their exhaustion clear in their voices, as they slowly passed by the authoritative girl and made their way along the long stretch of concrete. Sakamoto's strict features softened as Lynette and Yoshika passed by her; she could see that they were trying hard.
A little ways in the distance, high up in a tree densely covered in leaves, the glaring sun glinted off a small opening in the foliage.
'Why, Major?' Perrine Clostermann mentally lamented as she viewed Sakamoto drilling the two most underperforming Witches in the 501st. 'Why her?' she mourned again as she gritted her teeth in frustration. Even from her distant perch, she could see the way that Sakamoto's gaze followed Yoshika more than Lynette, and saw how her severe expression lessened as she did.
'Why that...that racoon-dog!' Perrine mentally spat as she grinded her teeth.
Lynette and Yoshika barely made it back to Sakamoto before the pair collapsed into a heap at her feet, panting hard and sweating profusely. Sakamoto lowered her head and sighed as she tapped her finger against her arm.
"You two..." she began but stopped herself. "...Are done for the day, dismissed," she said instead of the berating she had originally intended as a tiny smile spread across her face.
Back up in the tree, Perrine was ecstatic over Yoshika's apparent failure.
'Now's my chance to impress the Major..!' Perrine thought excitedly which caused her to shift in a hurried attempt to back off the branch. However, her sudden movement put the branch under more strain than it already had to deal with and, with a loud crack, it snapped. Perrine squealed as she fell face-first down three sets of branches and smacked into the ground.
The Gallian girl lay on the ground for a moment, face-first, rear stuck in the air, before she swiftly jumped to her feet, the beginnings of an angry bruise on her forehead. Perrine checked to see if Sakamoto had seen her embarrassing tumble, which she had not, before propping her glasses back up her nose in an attempt to salvage her pride.
Perrine then made her way over to Sakamoto as the Fuso girl began heading back into the base, leaving the two younger Witches behind her to rest in their pile. Perrine gave Yoshika and Lynette a quick observation, noting how the pair had fallen asleep, with Yoshika heaped on top of the Britannian girl.
'How uncouth...' Perrine mentally huffed as she hurried in her pace to catch Sakamoto.
"M-Major!" she called which caused Sakamoto to turn and quirk a curious eyebrow.
"Yes, Perrine?" she asked as she stood with her hand on her hip.
"W-w-will you give me a private flight lesson?" Perrine asked as an intense blush entered her cheeks. Sakamoto gave a warm chuckle before walking up and slapping Perrine on the shoulder.
"That's a great idea! Perhaps Miyafuji and Lynne could benefit from a flight lesson as well!" Sakamoto replied, her usual excitement at the idea of more training booming in her voice.
'B-but...Major!' Perrine mentally cried as her heart fell. Sakamoto looked past Perrine, back at Yoshika and Lynette, and noticed that they were happily snoozing away.
"...Or maybe not," Sakamoto said as she gave an exasperated sigh, though Perrine was more than elated. The pair headed off to the hangars, with Perrine following Sakamoto like a lost puppy. The two Witches walked up their Striker mounts and hopped into the magical devices. Their blue magical fields expanded on the floor below their Strikers as the rotors materialized and began to hum loudly.
Perrine gazed over at Sakamoto as her ears and tail came out, a blush of admiration washing over her cheeks.
"Mio Sakamoto, taking off!" Sakamoto called out as she unbuckled from the mount and took off down the runway. Perrine snapped out of her trance and unbuckled from her own mount.
"Perrine H. Clostermann, taking off!" she called out as she joined the major down the runway. Perrine skated along the concrete alongside Sakamoto as the two began to lift into the blue sky. Yoshika was startled awake by the sound of Perrine rushing by her, and could have sworn she saw a mocking look on the blonde's face as she lifted into the air.
* Strike Witches *
Once in the air, the two Witches fell into formation beside each other, effortlessly gliding through the clear blue sky. Perrine blissfully closed her eyes, enjoying the feel of the wind whipping her blonde locks around.
'The Major is giving me a private lesson...private...with the Major!' she mentally gushed as a joyful smile spread across her face with a blush to match.
"Alright, Perrine, look alive!" Sakamoto called out which startled Perrine out of her reverie.
"Y-yes ma'am!" Perrine replied as she tensed in preparation for the lesson. The pair headed progressively further out to sea, the base becoming a tiny speck on the horizon. Sakamoto began to impart her techniques unto Perrine, even the sacred left twist maneuver. Perrine did her best to grasp the advanced moves, but even in her failings, Sakamoto was patient with her.
'C'mon, Perrine, you can do it!' Perrine mentally encouraged as she attempted to perform a technique Sakamoto had just showed her.
"That's good, Perrine, but you need to bank quicker and twist further to the right," Sakamoto said as she nodded her head in approval with her eyes closed and arms crossed.
"T-thank you, Major!" Perrine replied, her voice gushing with admiration.
"Now, try it again," Sakamoto ordered as she floated a good distance away to observe.
'Now's my chance to impress the Major!' Perrine thought excitedly as she revved her engines in preparation to attempt Sakamoto's signature technique, rather than the less advanced one she had just attempted. Perrine shot off from her starting position and felt the surge of magical enhancement she forced through her engines as she feinted to the right, spun then banked upwards to the left. Perrine continued her curved ascent upward, feeling the strain on her engines and her body as gravity worked against her. But she managed to pull through it, and successfully arrived back at her starting position.
'I did it!' Perrine mentally cheered as she looked over to Sakamoto, expecting to see an approving look on the Fuso girl's face.
"Major! I did-" Perrine began but stopped when she saw that, not only was Sakamoto not watching, she was turned in the opposite direction.
'M-Major!' Perrine mentally cried as she realized Sakamoto had not witnessed her success. When Sakamoto did not turn around, Perrine hovered over to her, a look of distress on her face.
"Major! Why weren't you watching..?" Perrine asked pitifully, the beginnings of a sob in her throat. "Major Sakamoto..?" Perrine asked when Sakamoto did not respond. Perrine hovered around to be in front of Sakamoto then noticed the focused look on her face.
"Are you alright?" Perrine asked, worry replacing the sadness in her voice. Sakamoto's set gaze did not falter, she had her eye patch up and Perrine could see the contractions of her magical pupil.
"Something isn't right..." Sakamoto muttered to herself as she lowered her eye patch back over her eye.
"What's wrong, Major?" Perrine inquired in concern.
"It feels like there's something out there, but I don't see anything," Sakamoto replied, a tinge of confusion in her voice. Perrine turned her gaze out into the distance, but she saw nothing.
'What could she have sensed..?' Perrine wondered, but she did not have to wait long before it was revealed. The air in front of the two Witches suddenly hissed, a shape shimmered, electricity pulsing through it. Before either girl had time to react, an enormous ring of crackling energy shot out from the spot in the air, heading straight towards the pair. Perrine barely had time to think, but she recognized that it was an electricity-based attack, and she did the first thing that popped into her head.
"Tonnerre!" she cried as she swished her fingers out, sending out a small storm of electricity around herself. The electrical force she threw up caused the ring of energy to pass by her harmlessly.
However, Sakamoto was not as quick to dodge out of the way, and she was struck by the ring. As it passed through her, her Strikers whirred loudly followed by a loud bang as the engines exploded, blowing the magical devices off of Sakamoto's legs as she cried out.
"Major Sakamoto!" Perrine cried as Sakamoto began to plummet towards the ocean. She shot after Sakamoto, her arms outstretched towards the black haired Witch. Perrine grasped her fingers out for Sakamoto's hand, then finally clasped it in her own and braked to stop her descent.
Perrine hoisted Sakamoto up into her arms protectively, then looked up and saw their attacker.
"N-Neuroi?" Perrine gazed in fear as a small Neuroi, only about twice as big as she was, shimmered and materialized in the air above her. "W-what are we going to do, Major?" Perrine asked in fright, they did not have their guns with them. Sakamoto glared up at the Neuroi as it visibly began to charge a second attack.
"Perrine, save yourself," Sakamoto urged as she looked up into Perrine's eyes.
"No, Major! I won't leave you behind!" Perrine replied adamantly.
Sakamoto did not have time to rebuff as the Neuroi shot out another ring of energy at the two girls. Perrine was unable to use her Tonnerre with Sakamoto in her arms, however, and she clenched her eyes shut as the ring quickly approached. It was too large for her to dodge, especially whilst holding Sakamoto and the ring passed through them, causing Perrine to cry out as her body surged with electricity.
Her Strikers groaned, then parts began to systematically blow out until the engines finally exploded.
'No!' Perrine mentally cried as she and Sakamoto began to fall. 'This is the end...' Perrine thought in despair as she clutched Sakamoto tightly against her chest. Just as Perrine was about to close her eyes and accept their fate, she spied their salvation: a small island just a short distance below them. Perrine acted quickly as they swiftly plummeted towards the unforgiving waves.
'Work! Work!' Perrine urged as she channeled every ounce of raw magical power she could muster into her shot Striker engines. Even though the engines were completely blown, the rotor on her right Striker re-materialized and sputtered to life just long enough for Perrine to slow their ascent and alter their course towards the island.
"Hold on, Major!" Perrine cried as she braced for impact. At the last moment, Perrine twisted in the air and hit the sand on her back, digging a deep trench into the ground until she finally came to a stop. Perrine let out a pained gasp through her gritted teeth as she got a short glimpse into the overly bright sky, seeing the Neuroi descending towards them.
'M-Major...Sakamoto...' Perrine thought before her eyes slowly closed and she passed out, but not before seeing a shadow rising above her.
Perrine drifted in and out of consciousness in short bursts: she felt herself being dragged away from the crater, then she saw a Neuroi beam cut across the sand, shortly followed by an explosion from the crater, finally she felt the cool shade of trees as she was dragged into the shadows, before finally blacking out again.
* Strike Witches *
Perrine groaned as she came to, sitting up and opening her eyes. She saw the pale bark and low, sweeping branches of birch trees overhead as she looked around but could see no sign of Sakamoto.
"Major! Major Sakamoto!" she called out as panic began to set in.
"Hmm?"
Perrine turned at the noise and saw Sakamoto slouched against a large tree.
"Major..!" Perrine cried in breathless relief as tears welled in her eyes. "I'm so glad you're ok!" she said as she shakily stood up. Sakamoto rushed over to her and supported her as she rose.
"Don't try to move so quickly," Sakamoto cautioned.
"I'm fine, Major," Perrine replied as she absently blushed from the contact. Sakamoto backed away and gave a smile as Perrine stubbornly stood.
"What you did was very brave, Perrine," Sakamoto remarked warmly.
"I-it was nothing, M-Major!" Perrine replied awkwardly as her blush intensified. After a moment of silence, Perrine spoke up again. "Is the Neuroi gone?" she asked as she began to stabilize on her feet. Sakamoto took on a deeply thoughtful look.
"Yes, but...I've never seen a Neuroi attack in such a manner..." she said softly, though worry laced her voice. "It was invisible, and used an attack that directly disabled our Strikers..." she continued, then came out of her concentrated look.
"But it's gone now, we can wait on the beach for the others to find us," she finished with a slightly more upbeat tone to her voice. "A-alright, Major," Perrine replied softly as she smiled at Sakamoto's ability to inspire confidence, then began following her as she headed out of the copse of trees and onto a bleak stretch of grassland leading down to the beach.
'I'm going to be all alone here...with the Major...' Perrine thought blissfully until suddenly Sakamoto stopped.
"Perrine," she said as she turned and looked into Perrine's eyes. "You don't have to call me 'Major' all the time, call me Mio," she said warmly. Perrine's entire head went completely scarlet at Sakamoto's proposition.
"Yes, Maj-...M-Mio-san," Perrine stuttered out as her head nearly exploded from her blush. Sakamoto turned back around and lead the way back out onto the beach where they had crash landed. Perrine gave the deep trench a glance, sadness flashing over her face as she spied the remnants of her Strikers in the crater.
Sakamoto sat down on the coarse sand, shortly accompanied by Perrine, who sat down next to her. Perrine stared out to sea, casually watching the waves crash up against the shoreline. As silence washed over the two girls, almost like the waves the blonde was observing, her thoughts drifted off to her black haired companion.
'Who knows when we'll be found...' she thought as she tentatively glanced over at Sakamoto. '...All alone here, with...Mio-san...' Perrine thought as an intense blush rose up her neck again. 'Now's my chance to...tell her how I feel...' she thought then gulped nervously. She had rehearsed her confession over and over a thousand times in her head in the past:
'Major, I've always loved and admired you!'
But she had never had the nerve to actually confess. Perrine tried to work up the courage as she stared at Sakamoto out of the corner of her eye, but as she did, she began to physically take her in.
'Her legs look so...long and elegant against the sand...' Perrine thought as her heart began to pound in her chest. She then shook her head vigorously to rid herself of the mental images of Sakamoto that cropped up. 'You can do this, Perrine...' she mentally encouraged then turned to the Major.
"M-Mio-san, I've always lov-" she began but suddenly Sakamoto spoke up for the first time since they sat down.
"I'm sure they'll find us soon, Perrine, don't worry," she said without shifting her gaze from the sea.
"N-no, M-Mio-san, what I wanted to say is-" but again Sakamoto cut Perrine off.
"We've been gone several hours now without reporting back in, Minna should send out a search and rescue team soon," Sakamoto said as she turned her gaze to Perrine and gave her a comforting smile.
"Mio-san, I-" for a third time, Perrine was cut off, but not by Sakamoto speaking, rather by her standing up in the sand.
"We should build a signal fire to help them find us," Sakamoto commented as Perrine watched helplessly from the ground. A feeling of despair and frustration washed over Perrine as Sakamoto began to walk back inland.
'Why can't I confess...I just want to tell you how I feel!' Perrine despaired as her heart began to ache. Tears formed in the corners of her eyes as a surge of stubborn frustration raced through her veins. Perrine gritted her teeth and jumped to her feet, turning to face Sakamoto.
"Mio-san!" she called out fiercely, finding the courage somewhere inside herself to not sound awkward. Sakamoto turned around and was momentarily surprised by the fierce look on Perrine's face.
"Mio-san, I want to tell you something!" Perrine continued, keeping her momentum going.
"Perrine, wait-" Sakamoto started but it was Perrine's turn to cut her off.
"I've always...loved and admired you!" Perrine said, yelling the last part as she clenched her fists and eyes closed, taking a solid stance in the sand. A long silence followed as the icy sea breeze blew by before anyone spoke.
"I know..."
Perrine's eyes shot open then she saw the saddened look on Sakamoto's face.
"You...knew?" Perrine asked, her voice unable to convey the level of shock she felt. Sakamoto simply nodded in reply.
"I've always known, Perrine, you didn't do a good job hiding it," she replied with a slight joking tone to her voice.
"B-but...I don't understand..." Perrine said, her brain slowing to a crawl as it tried to comprehend the revelation she had just received. Sakamoto walked up to Perrine and placed a hand on her shoulder, squeezing it comfortingly before dropping her hand back to her side.
"We're at war, Perrine," Sakamoto began as Perrine speechlessly listened. "We're facing an enemy with unknown numbers and strength, anything could happen, at any time, both of us have witnessed that today..." she continued. "And, I'm growing older too, I'm not the Witch I once was," Sakamoto said, her voice saddening. "...Those two factors mean I could die at any time."
"Don't say that, Mio!" Perrine cried, breaking her stunned silence as tears streaked down her cheeks. "You'll never die!"
Sakamoto held up her hand which silenced Perrine, then she dropped her hand as her features softened.
"You can't deny it, Perrine, I'm just a Witch, like any other," she said.
"That's not true! You're...special…" Perrine trailed off sadly, though deep down she understood.
"All of this is why...I've kept my distance emotionally from you, Perrine," Sakamoto said which caused a look of confusion to wash over Perrine. "I didn't want to get close to you, then for something to happen to me..." she continued as she raised her hand and held Perrine's cheek against her palm, wiping away the blonde's tears with her thumb. "I couldn't do that to you, Perrine," she finished, her tone soft and surprisingly vulnerable.
"M-Mio-san..." Perrine said softly, as she mentally reeled from shock at the situation. Then, hope began to swell in Perrine's heart as her rattled mind reached a logical conclusion.
"...Does this mean...you...love me too?" Perrine asked breathlessly, her voice filled with idealistic hope and daring. Sakamoto looked down at the sand for a moment, then back up at Perrine, a strange, intense look in her eye.
"...Yes, I do," Sakamoto replied after a moment. Perrine was so utterly stunned that her mouth simply hung open. Sakamoto took advantage of Perrine's shock to continue.
"I just hoped that if I was distant, our feelings would gradually lessen," Sakamoto said as the way she stroked Perrine's cheek elicited a deeper blush from the Gallian.
"I-I could never stop loving you!" Perrine cried as she regained her senses. Sakamoto smirked light-heartedly.
"I realize that now," she replied. A joyful smile broke out over Perrine's face as she realized what all of it meant.
"Will you go out with me, Mio-san?" Perrine asked gleefully. Sakamoto chuckled at Perrine's enthusiasm, then smiled warmly at her.
"I wish we could, Perrine, but..." she said, which shattered the joyful look on Perrine's face. "...Everything I said earlier still stands, I don't want us to get involved, and then something happen to me, I couldn't bear the thought of you being hurt like that."
Perrine's face nearly fell to the ground as renewed tears welled in her eyes and she sniffled a few times.
"I...understand, Major," Perrine whispered softly, her voice filled with dejection. The change in name use did not go unnoticed by Sakamoto either.
"Perrine," she said as she raised Perrine's chin back up. "If we survive this war..." Sakamoto could not even finish her sentence as Perrine sucked in a lung full of air in excitement then leapt forward and encased Sakamoto in a hug.
"Oh, Mio-san!" she cried as tears of joy streaked down her cheeks. Sakamoto smiled in amusement as she patted Perrine on the back. The two girls parted with Perrine gazing joyfully into Sakamoto's eye as the older girl placed both hands on Perrine's shoulders.
"Until then, we have to maintain a strictly professional relationship," Sakamoto said sternly, though a small smile betrayed her stern intent.
"Yes, ma'am!" Perrine replied with admiration in her voice.
"Sakamoto-san!" The sound of Yoshika's voice caused the two Witches to separate, they had been so wrapped up in themselves they had not heard the sound of Strikers approaching them.
Perrine and Sakamoto looked up to the sky and saw Yoshika, Charlotte, Lynette, and Lucchini all floating above them. Perrine and Sakamoto then exchanged a subtle, knowing gaze.
'Until then...'
END
Author's Commentary: My first Perrine/Sakamoto story, I hope you all enjoyed reading it! I totally made up the Neuroi, if anybody was wondering, it is simply a catalyst. All feedback is happily welcomed.