Emotionally Involved
By Major Mike Powell III
When she was about to become Watcher of Island 05 codenamed "Mermaid", alongside the promise of whatever resources that she deemed necessary to perform her tasks, Kazami Torino was issued a single other request, or perhaps even a warning.
"Don't get emotionally involved or attached."
At the time, the woman didn't think much of it and just nodded with a smile and signed the papers that would ensue her discreet and seamless transition to Mermaid Island.
She didn't ask for many resources from her superiors and providers. A simple inn, a safe haven for the poor, scared, lost girls unfortunate enough to be targeted by the ARMED Virus and couldn't live in the citadel under the fist of the Wêlter and their Gestapo-like tendencies.
Kazami Torino was always a woman really fit to be a mother. Sure, she insisted that her tenants call her "Onee-sama", but be that as it may, she didn't deem her caring for those lost girls to be an "involvement" on an emotional level.
If anything, the warmth and comfort that Torino provided for those girls, those Liberators and Extars that chose to live outside, almost marginalized, were actually desperately needed. Especially during the earlier days on Mermaid Island, when there was no order, just lawless scavengers that didn't give a damn about anyone other than themselves by the sheer frustration and rage from being taken away from their homes on the mainland, often with little, bare-bones explanation...or no explanation at all.
Then, she showed up: Hiiragi Akira.
Torino knew that Akira was a woman. Not a single girl infected by the ARMED Virus arrived on Island 05, Mermaid Island, her island without her receiving the newcomer's file.
That night, in her study, her heart ached. Torino felt terrible for that poor girl, Akira, for having to be torn from her home because of the ARMED Virus. At least, the girl did know what was going on, but still. Torino's heart ached for the girl, especially so when she was informed by her superiors as well as Akira's mother, herself, that the girl would basically live a double life.
"Uniqueness brings admiration", were the Hiiragi matriarch's words when she explained to Torino that her daughter would take on the persona of a man to bring order back to the lawless land that Mermaid Island was.
Torino didn't agree with that, but orders were orders.
Life went on in Mermaid Island. Torino welcomed any and all young girls that didn't see a future in living in the Wêlter citadel and castle. The motherly woman gave home to all, no girl was unwelcome at her inn, her Torino Atellier.
Never did she have to question whether or not she was breaking that unspoken rule of "not getting attached"...until Kazami Torino actually met Hiiragi Akira in person.
Torino had seen the girl's profile picture on the folder that she received prior to actually being shipped off to Mermaid Island to begin her mission as Watcher. She already thought Akira was really, really cute.
She had heard all the stories of the dashing and cool "Lord Akira", but Torino paid none of those stories any mind. She knew that "Lord Akira" was not Akira Hiiragi.
Hence Torino's surprise and delight upon finally meeting the auburn-haired girl in question one random day, when she was off to her "secret" hot spring near the shore and she saw the absolutely precious and incredibly curvaceous creature that was Hiiragi Akira, in person, relaxing in the soothingly-hot waters of the spring that, clearly, was no longer just Torino's secret.
"Oh hello there, miss! Have I seen you before~?" Torino cooed with a soft smile as she stood to the side of the hot spring, holding her (rather small) towel over her front, if only for modesty's sake...plus she didn't want to scare the girl away by showing her own voluptuous body fully naked in front of her.
If Torino thought Akira was cute before, then her heart fluttered and a giggle escaped her when the auburn-haired girl had an incredibly adorable moment of shock and surprise, completely caught off-guard by her impromptu visitor.
Hiiragi Akira was just so cute!
"U-Uh, oh gosh, I, I, ah...I'm s-sorry, I didn't know there was anyone else around here at this hour and I just...ahhh..." Akira's face was a cute little blushing mess and the girl bashfully looked away, trying her best not to let her eyes (what beautiful eyes she had, too!) wander for too long on the ample curves of Torino before her.
"Ma, ma, it's quite alright, miss. Don't worry! In fact..." The older woman reassured the younger and she stopped to settle into the hot spring, sighing with bliss as she leaned against the smooth rock that formed a natural seat in the water, brushing shoulders with a blushing and fidgeting Akira. "Seeing as this little place is no longer my secret...then, why don't we make this our secret spot~?" She turned to dazzle Akira with a smile.
At that moment, Kazami Torino's motherly vibe, soothing voice and comforting smile along with that proposal of friendship won Hiiragi Akira over, just like that.
Time went on with just simple, idle chit-chat every other day at the hot spring by the shore. Neither woman asked any personal questions. They just soaked for a good hour every time and enjoyed each other's company. That's all there was to it.
And then, eventually, Torino met the famed Gouvernour of Mermaid Island, the only "man" on the island, "Lord Akira"...and Torino was torn: she preferred the sweet, cute Akira-chan...but this, "Lord Akira"? It was like the girl she knew was nowhere to be found…except in "Lord Akira"'s eyes.
The next time they met for their dip in their secret hot spring, seeing Akira sliding into the water and settling in her seat against the smooth rock...Torino reached out to thread her fingers through Akira's long, beautiful, luscious...and fake mane of auburn tresses.
"Akira-chan..." The girl's attention was all hers as she let off a soft "hm?" and then, the girl gasped when Torino's face went a little too far into her personal space. Then, Akira's eyes widened when she felt Torino's nimble fingers find and undo the clips that held her wig in place. "Does it hurt?"
Akira stared at Torino, dumbfounded, shocked and just stunned by the older woman so effortlessly calling her out on her "other self".
"It's Ok, Akira-chan. It's alright. You're Akira-chan even if you have to play the part of Akira-kun. It's Ok." Torino's face was close to hers. Her eyes were so warm and her smile was so sweet...Akira choked back a small sob and her older companion's thumbs gently wiped away from her blushing cheeks the few rebellious tears that Akira wasn't able to fight off.
"T-Torino-san...I...I had no other choice. Mother did her very best and then some! But she couldn't keep the government from sending me away here...she said uniqueness brings admiration, and she was right! But..." The younger woman whimpered and when Torino wrapped her arms around her, pushing their soft, plush torsos together in the first and most soothing and comforting hug Akira had ever shared with another person on this island...Hiiragi Akira learned that she could finally be herself, if only in Torino's presence. She could be just herself.
Torino held Akira for what felt like an eternity, but she knew that the girl desperately needed that, the embrace and comfort that only another woman could provide.
The auburn-haired girl (whose long mane of hair would no doubt one day grow back) cried softly in the brunette's embrace, her face buried in the motherly bosom of Torino as she let it all out.
And as Akira cried away her anguish and conflict that had been festering in her as a result of her "other life" as the dashing heart throb "Lord Akira"...when she held the girl in her arms was when Torino knew that she had become "emotionally involved".
She knew she could get into some serious trouble later down the line, but that was Ok, because Akira was there, in her arms, entrusting her with her biggest secret.
"Everything is going to be Ok, Akira-chan." Torino cooed to the girl as Akira sat in her lap in the soothing hot water of the hot spring, their secret hot spring; face resting on Torino's collarbone and arms wrapped tightly around her waist. Torino meanwhile gently squeezed Akira's lovely hip and rubbed her upper back as the girl clung to her.
"Torino-san...thank you. Thank you so much." Akira's words came from the bottom of her heart and Torino felt those words reach her own heart under the bosom Akira rested her face on.
And from that moment on, things grew between the two women.
In hindsight, how could they not? Their time spent together was the thing that Akira and Torino truly looked forward to every day, every chance that they had. Their hearts ached when they weren't able to meet up for their dip in their secret hot spring. Also, it didn't help matters that, well, the entire population of Mermaid Island consisted of only women and said women, all young and blooming ladies going through the same physical changes and the emotional rollercoasters that said changes and processes entailed...well, it was no easy feat to go a day on Mermaid Island without lesbian encounters taking place repeatedly. There were temptations aplenty.
Oh yes, and there was also the fact that an Extar could not transform into her ARM form without first having an orgasm at her Liberator's hands.
And last but not least...Torino found Akira to be so incredibly cute and irresistible! And as for Akira's feelings and physical attraction to Torino? Well, the part-time "Lord Akira" couldn't get enough of her older friend's mature woman's beauty and motherly personality and just, Torino's presence was incredibly soothing and simply made Akira feel happy and safe...and loved so very much.
When the time came and the two women confessed their love for one another during a fateful sunset while they stood waist-deep in the waters of their hot spring...they spoke their "I love you"'s and sealed their commitment via a long yet soft and chaste kiss while joining hands and pulling each other as close and flush as they could (and as close as their incredibly-abundant chests could allow) as they shared that tender caress of lips...that's when Torino knew that the "no emotional involvement/attachment" rule had long-since been broken and forgotten.
Kazami Torino was the Watcher of Island 05 codenamed "Mermaid Island" and she was also just a woman and she was in love with Hiiragi Akira, the Gouvernour of Mermaid Island, who was also just a maiden that wanted to be loved and make life on the island better for everyone.
Besides, this experience, this love they shared, while Torino would never be able to tell Akira that she was a Watcher...it could very well provide more evidence to the higher-ups that the Liberators and Extars of Mermaid Island, the super-powered women infected by the ARMED Virus, were people too and they could fall in love, just like any other human being...and wasn't that what every girl on Mermaid Island wanted to prove?
But for the moment, Torino filed all those questions away, pushed them to the back of her mind for later consideration, for her next report back to the mainland.
That moment there was for her and Akira, and them alone as the short-haired girl straddled her older lover's lap and squeezed their joined hands as she dove back in to kiss her again and, at the same time, Akira seized Torino's other hand to bring it to her ample bottom. Both women gasped into their kiss and their eyes remained open as Torino groped the butt cheek of Akira in her grasp and they both shuddered as their huge breasts rubbed and brushed and mashed together. They just smiled and deepened their kiss and added tongues to the equation.
And as the two curvaceous women began to lose themselves to one another's sweet and erotic caresses, the sun fully set and disappeared below the horizon and the waves on the beach crashed just a little harder. It was almost as if the nature surrounding them deemed it appropriate to provide Kazami Torino and Hiiragi Akira with some privacy.
That hot spring was their secret spot, after all.
The End
Special thank you and shout-out to YuriChan220 for being my "audience" as I typed this out on chat. :3
The second that I saw Akira and Torino enjoying a soak in the hot spring by the beach back in episode 6, I knew I had to write a story for those two, and at long last, I got that damn idea out of my head and here, all out here, for you fellas to enjoy~
So, here's hopin' that the "Valkyrie Drive Mermaid" game or games will be successful enough here in the West, so that the sales numbers merit a second season in the near future! X3 Be it the continuation of Mamori and Mirei's journey to use their Valkyrie Drive powers and cure the Liberators and Extars of the other islands, or be it the tale of another couple in another island, I just wish to see a second season one day soon. *O*
Anyway, just because I feel the need to make it clear: No. There will NOT be a sequel to this story. There will NOT be another chapter or anything. This story is a one-shot, meaning this story is complete. It's over. Don't be greedy, folks, so don't leave reviews asking for more, please.
With that out of the way, again, thank you Yuri-chan for lending me your ear and thus, helping me get this story out of my head! :3
Semper-Fi! Carry on!