Strike Witches

Love-struck Perrine

Perrine stood outside of the bathroom, listening to Yoshika and Sakamoto as they bathed together in the giant bath. She clenched her teeth angrily as her fists shook. Once again Sakamoto was spending all of her time with Yoshika, and not herself.

"Damn that Miyafuji, stealing the Major's affection like that!" she snarled. "I won't have it!"

However, she made no move to step into the room and put a stop to the activities that she could only imagine. She was always like this around Major Sakamoto. She would become suddenly afraid and couldn't make a move to even talk to her. She always hid and waited until she was gone, but would be left alone again with her failure.

Not this time, however. She would not be beaten my Miyafuji yet again. She was tired of seeing that new girl take all of Major Sakamoto's attention. This time she would ask. It was her dream to join Sakamoto in the bath, alone, and all she had to do was wait for Yoshika to leave. Then she would rush in there and jump in with her beloved major.

She had been there for about an hour already, waiting, and she could finally hear someone step out of the bath. Their feet slapped across the wet floor, and that voice was unmistakably her enemy's.

"Enjoy the rest of your bath, Miss Sakamoto," Yoshika said kindly.

Sakamoto replied politely. "I certainly will. Take care, Miyafuji."

A moment of silence passed and Perrine waited with baited breath. She leaned against the wall beside the door, waiting. Yoshika did not walk out, but her voice was gone. Perrine assumed she must be in the changing room. She was finished with her bath. Now was her time to act.

Perrine took a deep breath, let her heart slow, then opened the door and stepped inside. She slipped into the changing room, ignored Yoshika as she greeted her, and tore her clothes off. She took another breath to stop herself from passing out, and stepped out towards the bath.

Yoshika watched Perrine as she walked out. She knew that Perrine didn't like her, so she hadn't pressed into a conversation, but she wished she would at least have the decency to say 'hello' to her. It wasn't until she saw her approaching the bath with shaking hands that she realised why she was so quiet. Yoshika was more observant that the others gave her credit for. She could see from a mile away that Perrine had feelings for the Major.

Unfortunately, she was about to be disappointed.

Sakamoto wasn't there. She wasn't in the bath. Perrine's breath caught in her throat, and she deflated like a balloon. Disappointment flowed through her, but she would not give in now. She started pacing up and down beside the bath, tapping a finger to her chin.

"Where would she have gone?" She would not ask Miyafuji. Not in a million ideas. She peered into the water. Sakamoto certainly wasn't beneath the surface anywhere, though who knew why she would be in the first place. For a moment, she had suspected that maybe Sakamoto had somehow accidentally drowned, but only for a fleeting moment. Her Major was not useless at anything, swimming included.

She continued to walk up and down beside the bath, closer to the edge. "Maybe she's still changing?" She looked back to the changing room, but could only see Miyafuji with her back to her working herself back into her normal clothes. She had not seen Sakamoto before, and she couldn't see her now.

Her heart sank. "Damn! If I had gathered the courage earlier, I wouldn't have missed her." She paced faster, her anger driving her. "It's not fair! Not fair! Not-" She hadn't noticed that she was walking too close to the edge of the bath. Her feet slipped on the wet ground and she fell face-first into the pool of water. It was shallow and her forehead smacked right into the bottom.

She was instantly surrounded by darkness.

"Perrine?" Yoshika was standing in the changing room, just about to leave when she heard the splash. She stepped back into the misty bathroom and saw no sigh of either Perrine or Sakamoto.

She approached the edge of the bathing pool slowly, anxiety beginning to gnaw at her. She stepped up to the edge carefully and peered down through the steam to see Perrine lying face down.

Panic surged through her. "Perrine!" she cried. She looked around. Sakamoto wasn't there. Where was she? No, she couldn't waste time. She slipped into the shallow water and reached out to grasp Perrine around the middle, trying to ignore the hot blush that coloured her cheeks as the remembered that Perrine was naked.

"Miyafuji, what is going on?" Sakamoto had stepped back into the room wrapped in her towel with a pair of clothes in her arms. "I just went to get a fresh towel and I heard…" She trailed off as she saw Perrine hanging limply over Yoshika's shoulder.

"Miss Sakamoto, please help! She must have slipped in!" Yoshika said, panicking as she tried to get Perrine up onto the side of the bath.

"Damn it, she's so clumsy!" Sakamoto rushed over and yanked Perrine out of the pool and onto the floor, leaving Yoshika to pull herself out.

"Is she alright?" Yoshika asked.

Sakamoto held her palm flat above Perrine's nose and mouth, trying to feel a breath. Yoshika waited fearfully once she had clambered out of the water and sat at Sakamoto's side.

Sakamoto started listening for Perrine's breathing by hanging her ear close to her face where she had kept her palm. The results were the same and she pinched her nose tightly. Yoshika sucked in a short breath as she realised that Perrine wasn't breathing. Sakamoto sealed her mouth over Perrine's and forced air into her. Perrine's chest rose as though she had taken a normal breath, but as Sakamoto broke the seal of her mouth, Perrine's chest fell, deflated.

Yoshika felt tears pricking her eyes, but she didn't do anything lest she distract Sakamoto.

Clenching her teeth in anger and fear, Sakamoto tried again. She pressed her lips to Perrine's and breathed into her. Her chest rose up again and she began to tremble. Sakamoto pulled herself away quickly, releasing Perrine's nose, and the blonde girl coughed and spluttered back to life.

"Perrine, thank goodness!" Yoshika gasped, coming forward to hug her or pat her on the back or anything to let her know how relieved she was, but Sakamoto held her back.

"Let her breathe for now, Miyafuji," she said. She moved back to Perrine and rolled her onto her side. Perrine coughed up all of the bath water she had swallowed, and then she fell back heavily. Sakamoto caught her and cradled her. "Perrine?"

Perrine opened her eyes slowly. Everything was blurry and white. She blinked a few times. It was hard to tell what was steam and what was the mist of unconsciousness. A face was in front of her, a girl with a blazing stormy eye with the other covered by a patch.

"Saka…moto," Perrine gasped.

Sakamoto nodded, though she didn't smile. "Can you speak, Perrine?" she asked.

Perrine nodded, noticing Yoshika behind the Major. If she had the strength she would glower.

"If you can speak, then do you mind explaining what the hell happened?" Sakamoto asked harshly.

"I… what…?" Perrine could barely remember herself. All she could think about at that moment was the fact that Sakamoto was wearing nothing but a towel.

Sakamoto, looking concerned now, turned to Yoshika. "Did you see her fall in, Miyafuji?"

Yoshika shook her head. "No, I just heard a big splash and ran in here to see her floating in the water."

Perrine's memory returned with a force equivalent to a sledgehammer. She groaned with embarrassment. Trying to get Sakamoto's attention had resulted in her knocking herself out in the bathing pool. Could life truly be so harsh?

Wait. If she had knocked herself out, then she had drowned herself, and if Sakamoto was leaning over her like this, than that meant…

"What happened?" she asked weakly, silently praying for the answer she desired so desperately.

Sakamoto sighed. "I came in here and found Yoshika pulling you out. You weren't breathing, so I had no choice but to give you mouth-to-mouth. I don't know what you were doing, Perrine, but I hope you've learned your lesson now." Her voice became gentler. "You need to be more careful."

Of course, all that Perrine had heard in that short speech was 'mouth-to-mouth' and her heart soared. Before she could control herself she was a giggling mess on the floor, all nausea and exhaustion forgotten.

Frowning, Sakamoto turned to Yoshika. "Do you have any idea what's wrong with her?"

Yoshika looked down at the red-faced Perrine. This was her opportunity to let Sakamoto figure out the truth, for at that moment it was clear enough to see from space. It wouldn't take her long. But she wasn't like that. Despite the fact that Perrine tortured her all of the time she was a kind person and she would not stoop to her level.

She laughed innocently instead and said, "She must have hit her head pretty hard, huh?"

Sakamoto regarded her seriously as though trying to decide whether she believed her, then she turned back to Perrine and nodded. "I guess she did. I'll go and get a nurse to come down here and look at her. Miyafuji, stay with her, and… put a towel over her."

"R-right." Miyafuji kneeled at Perrine's side as Sakamoto hurried out of the bathroom.

Once Perrine could breathe again, she sat up and wiped her teary eyes. "I don't know what you were thinking," she said as soon as she had the control to speak.

Yoshika stiffened, expecting another insult to come her way. "What do you mean?"

Perrine rolled her eyes and turned away. "Hiding my secret like that. Why did you do it?"

"I…" Yoshika sighed and shook her head. "Perrine, of course I kept your secret. I know what it would do to you if Sakamoto ever found out."

Perrine 'hmphed' and rose to her feet. "Well, I suppose I should thank you, so… thanks, Yoshika."

Yoshika beamed, but she knew better than to push it with Perrine. "You're welcome."