A/N: This is how chapters involving heavy character interaction will go from now on; lil' misadventures involving the two bonding and growing closer to each other as result. Enjoy~!
... ... ...
As she exited the containment center, Agent 4 caught sight of Pascal, Marie, Agent 8, and Agent 3 talking among each other. She gulped for a moment, stopping as she caught sight of the more experienced agent. Taking a deep breath, she approached the four.
"Hm?" Marie peeped out, turning and setting her umbrella on her shoulder before chuckling. "Ah, Agent 4. How did the interrogation go?"
"It could've gone better, that I'll say, Four responded as she crossed her arms, sighing. "I barely got any information from jerk. Ugh, I'll have to interrogate him when I get back." Her eyes had a hint of annoyance to them. Then, remembering who was nearby, cleared her throat. "Anyways, you must be Agent 3," she warmly greeted. "Marie told me plenty about you. It's finally good to see you in person, Sir!"
"Ah, she was just speaking to me about you as well," Agent 3 cooly replied, which had an odd effect on Four. "She said that you were battling in my place while I was aiding Agent 8."
"Exactly~" Four chirped. "She mentioned that you're quite strong, so I look forward to working with you today!" She brightly smiled, and could hear Marie chuckle for some unknown reason.
"Speaking of which," Pascal piped up, and Three and Four drew their attention to her. "You two are heading out to the Raywing City today. We've gotten reports from the Survey Corps that herds of boar and elk have been seen there. We need you to cull their numbers and hopefully bring back meat and herbs."
"Understood," both Inklings replied.
"Be careful, though," Pascal warned. "The boars there are known to be a little, well… territorial."
"I'll make sure they're both on guard," Marie mused, glancing at Three and Four. "It's their first venture together, so I'll be there to guide Agent 4, as usual."
Not noticing that she was holding her breath, Four let out a relieved sigh at the fact. "Thank you, Marie," Three had piped up, turning and starting off towards the exit to the camp. "Now, then. We don't have that much daylight to waste. Agent 4?"
"Coming!"
… … …
Cloudy skies today, Four noted to herself as she and Three trekked through the forests to find the flooded city. As the canopy of trees cleared, both found themselves running towards the city. Four's short legs couldn't keep up with Three's elegant stride, and at times she had to call for him to slow down. She caught her breath for a moment before running after her ally.
"Condition yourself!" He barked after they had to stop for the fifth time to let Four catch her breath. "If you can't keep up with me, you can't chase an enemy," he added on as he turned, and the intercom buzzed in their headsets.
"Agent 3? Agent 4?" Marie piped up. "Can you hear me?"
"Loud and clear," Three spoke. "Are we close to the destination?"
"In a few miles," Marie said. "You should see a pack of boar nearby."
Four scoured the region to look, then spotted a herd of boar. Some were young, others were old, but all were being lead by the largest one in the group. "Right there!" She called.
"Good eye," Marie praised. "You wanna go after the males."
"The males?" Three asked. "... Ah, so the females can raise their young."
"Precisely," Marie spoke. "This place is an ecosystem, after all; we're not at the top of the food chain. Be careful."
"We will, promise," Four hummed as the channel shut off. "So, shall we?"
Three nodded in response. "There should be some hunting weapons we can use nearby, left by some of the guards. Follow me, and keep up!" He called as he dashed off, Four running right behind him.
"Wait up!" She called after a bit, losing sight of her friend. "... Agent 3, Sir?"
… … ...
Hours passed.
Three had thought Four simply couldn't keep up with him, and here he was, sitting and tinkering with the crossbow in his hands as he waited for her. Nearby were a garden of herbs the village had grown, and some elk began munching on them. Quickly, Three shot one of them in the heart- a large buck. "That should be good for the night, at least…" He mused. The intercom flared to life, a signature brzzt in his ear. He immediately know who it was.
"Yes, Marie?" Three spoke, hauling the buck over his shoulders and leaving it by the crossbow and supplies.
"Hey, have you tried contacting Agent 4 yet?" The idol asked.
"No, why?"
"She isn't responding to me…"
"If she's not responding, then her headset's probably off. Simple as that," Three hummed. "She probably found somewhere peaceful and took a nap."
"You know, if she took a nap, she'd be back at base," Marie replied. "Can you go look for her for me? I've got my hands tied with Taiyaki and Agent 8."
Three sighed. "If she's napping somewhere, you owe me a meal."
"Deal." With that, the intercom shut off, and Three began to go back the way he came. She probably got lost, found somewhere nice to lay down, and went right to sleep.
As he traced his steps, Three felt that something was… off. Footprints, obviously not his, lead astray. As he followed the odd trail, he began hearing the huffs and puffs of a boar. And, turning the corner, it took him all he had not to snicker at the scene before him.
On the ground was Four, shakily holding a crossbow in her arms as she backed to a tree, the large boar they saw earlier breathing down her. "N-nice, Boary…" She peeped out, squeaking as the boar pinned her to a tree. It was not happy.
"Four!" Three called. "What the hell is go-"
"A little help here!" Four yelled back as the boar's tusks inched a little too close to her arm. "Please!"
Nearby was a stray shot, probably a misfire from Four's crossbow. Three set the arrow into his crossbow, aiming and shooting at the boar to kill it. Four ducked under as the boar's massive tusks grazed her head, her eyes dazed and confused as she ran over to hug Three. "Thankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouuuuu!"
"H-hands off!" Three called as he pushed the younger away, noting her lack of a headset. "What are you doing here?" His gaze was piercing and cool, yet Four didn't seem phased. In fact, it reminded her of the looks Marie would give her when she'd fail a mission.
Four sighed, rubbing her arm after a bit. "... I thought that if I got that boar I'd be able to bring back enough for the whole village," she admitted, looking away. "You saw how horrible that went."
She didn't even notice it until Three brought it up. "You look so downcast," he noted. "There must be more to it."
"... It's nothing other than that, sir," Four said after a few moments of silence. "Come on. Let's go gather some herbs and be on our way." She tried maintaining her usual cheerful demeanor, yet the tone fell flat as she and Three began to walk towards the herb garden.
… … …
As they were picking herbs, Three heard his intercom flare to life with Marie on the other end. "Agent 3," she began. "Is Agent 4 alright?"
"Perfectly fine," Three spoke as he turned to see Four gathering marigold and aloe vera. "Why do you ask?"
"I was just wondering," Marie said. "It's nice to know that she's alright, considering her experience level."
"Well, I can assure you, she's fine," Three said. "Although… Something may be bothering her."
"Then ask her what's wrong," Marie bluntly said.
"I-" Before he could continue, Marie cut off the channel, evidenced by the fritz. He sighed, looking at Four as she continued to pick through the herbs. "... Hey," he called.
"Yeah? We going yet? I've got plenty of marigold, chamomile, and aloe!" Agent 4 chirped, smiling brightly. "I even found some herbs and spices for cooking~!"
Well, she certainly shifted gears… Three thought, then sighed. "We're heading back at sundown," he said calmly, humming. "Try and gather as much as you can."
"Yessir!" Four chirped as she went back to work, Three looking onwards as she happily began gathering more herbs. Following her lead, his eyes would occasionally drifted to her, hoping he'd get another chance to talk to her. Yet, the time passed by quickly. Soon enough, the two had to return back.
Four was cheerfully walking beside him as the two began going back. She attempted to make no conversation, just skipping along the path home. As they approached the village, though, she seemed to notice something. "... Yo, Three," she called, and the older stopped in his tracks to look behind. She kneeled on the ground, smiling at a small patch of flowers.
"... What are you doing?" Three questioned as he turned, and Four giggled.
"Picking flowers, silly!" She teased with a warm smile. "See? There are daisies, brilliant red roses… Ah!" Her eyes drifted to a pink flower nearby. "Oh, these are my favorite! Carnations~!" She chirped as she began collecting some.
Three sighed. "Look, we need to get back before Pascal and Marie get worried," he advised. "We can't spend time on… ugh, flowers."
Four puffed up her cheeks. "Oh, excuse me for wanting to at least enjoy myself a little!" She huffed. "We got seperated, I almost got murdered by a boar, and on top of that, I didn't get any information from that Octoling you beat up last night. At least let me have this luxury!" She went back to picking her flowers, and Three once more sighed.
Marie was gonna kill him if he didn't bring her back, and he doubt that she knew the way, considering the previous incident. "Hurry up," he barked.
"We have plenty of daylight hours left, Mr. Hero~!" Four teased. "Hey, what's your favorite flower? I'll go find you some~!"
"... I don't have a particular favorite," Three said. "And besides, you can't get-"
Too late, she was already running off. "Hey! Get back here!" Three called as he ran after her. "The forest is too big! You're gonna get lost!" He said as he bumped into something small. Four was standing right there, her eyes lost. "Ugh, thank cod you didn't… Four?"
"They're beautiful…" Four said, and in the darkness, Three could catch a glimpse of shining white flowers dotting the meadow. The experience was short lived, however, as he grabbed her wrist.
"Come on, let's go. Flower viewing can wait until we can have a break," he sternly called, and Four sighed as he lead her back through the forest. When he glanced back at her, he could see the disappointment in her eyes, yet decided to pay no mind until they were at the entrance to the village. Then, he stopped to gaze at her, only to look away and remember his saying. "We'll deliver the herbs and the meat to Pascal," he said as he lead her inside. "From there, we can both return to our quarters for the night."
"Yes, sir," Four spoke, straightening herself and beginning to walk to Pascal's home.
"And another thing," Three called before she could get too far off. "... You don't have to call me "Sir" if you don't want to. Three is fine."
She blinked for a few moments, then warmly smiled, giggling. "Alright~! Three it is!" With that, she started off, Three right behind her. He sneezed after a few moments.
"Eh?" Four piped up. "Someone must be talking about you!" She chirped.
"... Perhaps," was all Three said. When they got to Pascal's room, he saw Marie there, the two engaged deeply in conversation. It was almost is if they hadn't noticed them, but when Marie gave him a look of warmth, he knew that something was up.
