Nanaba opened her eyes and found herself lying on a bed that was not her own. She tried to sit up and was welcomed by a throbbing headache. She moaned and touched her forehead, which she realized was covered in bandages. She scanned the room she was in and saw other injured soldiers lying in beds too. Am I in the infirmary? What happened? She thought to herself.
Nanaba closed her eyes and tried to remember what had happened during the latest mission. The squad was in a forest, fighting titans…I was using the 3D maneuver gear…flying around and killing…there was a tree…oh. Nanaba hit herself in the head when she realized her stupidity.
"Ow…I shouldn't have done that," she muttered as she rested her head in her hands when it began to throb more.
"How are you feeling?" said someone in the corner of the room. Nanaba jumped and relaxed when she saw it was only Mike.
"Ah, squad leader, you scared me. I feel like my horse stomped on my head a thousand times," replied Nanaba. Mike took a seat on the stool next to her bed and smirked.
"How long has it been since we came back from expedition?" she asked.
"About three days now," he said.
"Three days?" her face went red, "I've been out for that long?"
Mike nodded, "Well you did fly into a tree."
Nanaba sighed, "Don't remind me."
"Hey," Mike said, gently grabbing the top of her head, "Don't worry about it. You're still a rookie who's bound to make mistakes." Nanaba looked at him and gave him a small smile.
"Thanks, Squad Leader." Mike let go of the top of her head and sat on her bed. He held her close and smelled her hair.
"W-what are you doing?" she whispered. Her face burned with embarrassment as she scanned the room to see if anybody was looking.
"You smell nice," was all he said. Nanaba's face burned even more.
"Someone might see."
"Your hair smells like lilacs and apples."
"Squad leader, you're really embarrassing me," squeaked Nanaba.
"It's a good thing nothing too bad happened to you. I'd miss your smell otherwise," he said as he continued to ignore what she said. Nanaba went quiet. His words surprised her for a moment and she smiled shyly to herself. Nanaba relaxed in his arms and hold on her tightened. That and him continually smelling her hair were the last thing she remembered before falling asleep in his arms.