"So you're the new trainee, huh?" Taruru asked as he fell into step with Yumomo. "How's it going with training? It's been a while since I was new." It sounded like he was flaunting his experience implicatively, but on the other hand, he had a way too oblivious look on his face.
Yumomo wasn't sure whether he was a showoff or just stupid.
"You don't look well. Are you alright?" Pururu asked Yumomo with a look of concern, frowning. She was excited, though, to finally have another female on board. It got lonely being surrounded by the guys every day, nice as they were...
This was exactly what Yumomo had hoped wouldn't happen: small talk. She kept her head down, trying to hide the blush that tinted her cheeks a light pink.
Seeing how composed Garuru was, not even looking at them as he walked ahead of the group with perfect posture, she then realized how ridiculous she must've looked. She inhaled deeply to calm herself, reminding herself that appearing calm and respectable was important. Her rank in the army depended on it.
Although she could force herself to converse, she still couldn't force a smile. "My training... It keeps me busy. But I enjoy it." she replied flatly to Taruru, careful to keep herself a certain distance from him. She didn't like being close to anyone. Or being touched.
Pururu's question had gotten her thinking, though. Boy, she must've looked strung out... The train ride was a few days long. She had trouble sleeping, what with all the other aliens stinking up the place. She devised an excuse in her head, though it wasn't a false one. "I'm really fatigued from the train ride..."
She hoped she wouldn't have to start any work right away, and could at least have time to get acquainted with her mentor. The thought of a nap made her eyes burn with longing.
Pururu smiled understandingly and seemed to read her mind. "You can rest once we get back to the ship." she said, and looked up in the direction of the parking zones. They were on one of the upper air strips.
After a while of walking, they reached the ship, and it opened to let them in as they approached the door.
"Isn't it cool that we get our own ship?!" Taruru said with enthusiasm as they went ahead inside.
"Tororo Shinpei is in that room." Garuru informed as the door closed behind them and they stood around in the main deck where the five cockpits were. Just around the corner where the Lieutenant was looking was a door with the Digital Hazard symbol on it.
Tororo? It wasn't Freckles? Thank god. She had dodged a bullet. Yumomo's memory was groggy on the subject, seeing as she was more focused on her work than with plans the officers had in store for her.
She swallowed hard, suddenly feeling an eerie shiver crawl down her spine as she looked at the door. She'd have to meet Tororo Shinpei before her nap...
"We cleared this room out for you. You can leave your things and rest up here." Pururu added as she went up to a different door closer to them and opened it. It had been used for storage and was quite large. Only part of the room was cleared and sectioned off. The rest contained assortments of weapons and other supplies.
Just the kind of thing that would keep Yumomo happily occupied. She was interested in the supplies that were in her room and inwardly smiled at the thought of continuing her normal work developing weapons while they trained her. Who knows? Maybe she could provide the platoon with new and improved firearms.
She turned to the others and thanked them sheepishly—being as she didn't usually thank others.
She glanced down the hall at Tororo's door again, feeling her knees start to become jelly underneath her. She didn't understand what made her so nervous, but she tried to ignore it as she made her way towards the Shinpei's lair.
It was difficult for Pururu to let Yumomo walk away. She looked forward to getting to know her better, but she knew the trainee needed time to settle in, and to meet Tororo right away. There would be more time for chit-chat later.
Soon, everyone was back at their work stations and ready to bring the ship up and leave the planet.
Zoruru, per usual, worked separately from the rest of his platoon. He had guarded the ship while they were parked and now kept an eye on the trainee from the shadows.
He wasn't the only one watching Yumomo, though. Tororo saw Yumomo long before she went to his door and not once did he have to look away from his work to do so.
When Yumomo opened the door, he already knew she was behind him. He had his back to her and did not turn around. There were a number of parts laid out around him: loose wires, circuity, and the casing for an odd little device labeled with his symbol and some sloppy handwriting in a sharpie that said 'V.05.'
Yumomo stared at the young Keronian from behind. She was content with the fact that he ignored her, but something else dug at her nerves... This was some kid, she realized. He looked like he was no older than she was...
This must've been some kind of joke. Yumomo was the first in her class; and she felt slight rage at having to be schooled by a child. She started to glare at him, feeling as though her eyes would burn right through the Shinpei if it weren't for her glasses shielding them.
Tororo could feel spite radiating off her like an aura. For what, who knew, but it amused him and he continued to work with a grin on his face, purposely ignoring her. She looked like she didn't have much nerve, he thought. Judging by what he had seen so far, she was probably the whimp-out type and would shy back out the door and leave him alone if he ignored her long enough.
After a moment, Yumomo didn't seem to mind the mess and stepped over his things to get to him, kicking boxes and snacks aside casually. With the competitive fury that'd built up inside her, she didn't feel as tired as she had just minutes ago.
Standing right behind him now, she stared at his computer screen. Whatever he was doing, she hardly cared. She'd never admit to Tororo that his skill with numbers was several steps ahead of hers, she having struggled with doing calculations in her head as well as she could on paper. A burning feeling of envy built up in her chest as she watched him.
She wouldn't let this little punk outsmart her, she decided... Her pride, and her drive to impress her father wouldn't allow it.
She composed herself, taking a deep breath to extinguish the small flame burning in her chest, before dropping her sketchbook at his side.
According to her officers, she was required to show Tororo what she knew or was currently working on. As displeased as she was with having to do so, she left the sketchbook for him to look through and began walking back towards the exit. "I'll be in my room, Sir." she said dully as she left the lab.
Her stomach churned with nervous energy. She had never shown anyone the drawings in that sketchbook besides her father. It contained all of her latest and greatest explosives with drawn out equations littered everywhere next to diagrams of weapons. Mainly bombs.
She clenched her fists, her whole body so tensed up she could barely reach her hand out to open the door of her new room. Thankfully, she managed, walking over to the bed. She removed her lenses, setting them on a nearby nightstand.
Tororo's shoulders shook with quiet laughter after she left. "Pu-pu-pu... " That was it? He could get used to being addressed as 'Sir,' and she wasn't as annoying as he thought. She had some attitude, though. A dark shadow formed over his face from the brim of his helmet as he looked down at the sketchbook she deposited on the floor, and a grin slowly spread across his face. He had an idea to really test her nerve.
Her work wasn't bad, he thought as he skimmed through the sketchbook, but he could find mistakes in it... And boy did he pick out every single error. He was a stickler for details and took a red pen to her sketchbook without mercy. He was ruthless in crossing out numbers and editing her work, 'fixing' even the most minuscule errors in her equations (that was where she seemed to have the most trouble).
He knew it would annoy her, but more importantly, it would keep her busy and out of his lab.
