Disclaimer: Star Fox © Nintendo. Original Content © Me (See A/N)

Chapter 9: Daybreak

When John woke up, he recalled the skytrain conversation clear as day. I must've been woken up for that somehow, he still, to this day, hadn't gotten used to Cerinian telepathy, even if he honestly should've been by now. It took him a good minute to fully wake up. It was still dark outside, but he could see the edges of daylight slowly approaching. He checked the time. 5:30, and he realized he understood the clock perfectly. He sighed, figuring that Krystal must've left some kind of knowledge in his head to let him read Lylat Standard better. He felt oddly cheated, though perhaps it was just because it meant he didn't get to put in the effort toward learning it by himself.

It was then that he became aware of the presence of something strong and warm pressed up against his back. He tried to look behind him and realized that somehow, Miranda had slipped into the bed with him, and her back was now pressed up against his. He was reminded of a time before the Nanovirus outbreak, and the many peaceful nights he used to have, at least, when he was doing better with his anxiety. His breathing hitched for a moment and he felt tears welling up, but he blinked them away, deciding to focus more on the good feeling that this did remind him of. He glanced behind him again, silently remarking that she reminded him a bit of Sondra, at least in how peaceful she looked when she was asleep. He couldn't help the small grin that formed when he thought of how mortified she would've been to hear even half the crude words that Miranda casually used. Figuring it would be best not to disturb her, he rested his head on the pillow and decided to fall back asleep for a little while.

When he woke up again, it was a half-hour later, and he was vividly aware of grey-furred arms wrapped around his midriff and Miranda's muzzle resting on his neck. It was awkward, to put it simply. At this point, he figured it would probably be best if he did get up. Being as careful as he could, he disentangled himself from the bed and figured he may as well look around in the kitchen. He found that a half-filled pot of coffee was waiting for him. He figured it wouldn't hurt to help himself to a cup.

He was about halfway through his second cup when Miranda walked in, having acquired a robe from somewhere, before pouring herself a cup of coffee and taking a seat at the little table, sitting across from him. She grinned at him, "So, how do ya like it here?"

John sipped at his coffee for a moment, then replied, "It's nice." He was half-expecting to hear Serrin comment on how it didn't compare to Cerinian housing, or Sabre agreeing with him for the sake of being polite. He decided to continue, "It's quiet. And it's kinda what I expected an apartment to look like."

Miranda chuckled, "Living in the lap of luxury has a way of overwhelming you, doesn't it?"

John was about to protest when he paused to think about it for a moment, "...Yeah, kinda." He took a minute to ponder some more, "Although, I won't deny that Yaru has been an accommodating host for three complete strangers."

The lupine nodded, "That's kinda what I expected to hear." At his confused look, she clarified, "Yaru's a great person, and an even greater teacher, I couldn't have asked for a better flight instructor when I was still in the academy. But, he's also always seen himself as more of a father to his students rather than just a teacher. He was more prone to downplaying the reality of a situation whether he realizes it or not so that he can be more 'careful' with his lessons."

John had a feeling he knew where this was going, but he figured he might ask, "Is that a bad thing?"

Miranda shook her head, "Not exactly. There used to be a Mrs. de Pon, but she passed away before they could have children. He told me a bit about that when I asked. It's the reason a lot of people who studied under him remember him as a kinder, more gentle teacher than most." She grimaced, "It's just that reality isn't always as nice." She stood up and began undoing her robe, causing John to blush. She opened up her robes, showing her bright red night-garments and began parting a small section of fur on the side of her midriff. John had to squint his eyes to see it, but he could make out a scar, which she explained, "Drug bust gone messy. That was the day I discovered that sometimes, reputation alone isn't enough to scare some people."

John was going to ask where this was going when she beat him to the punch, "I just want to know. He's treating you right, but he's not coddling you, is he?"

John thought for a moment, recalling everything that had happened over the past couple weeks, "No ma'am. Serrin and Sabre rushing ahead was of their own accord, Yaru was going to warn them about the Ruins. When he wanted me to go with him, he gave me a warning and armed me before we got in touch with you."

Miranda seemed content, "Well, I suppose you had an idea of what you could expect, then?"

John gave a slow, hesitant nod, "Somewhat."

Miranda sat back down after redoing her robes and finished her coffee, "Changing the subject, I'm going to go for a small grocery run a little later today. You think you can handle being alone for an hour or two?"

John pondered the idea for a minute, "Would you mind if I went with you? I might know how to handle a gun, but I'm a little rusty with my hand-to-hand combat. Plus, I haven't really gotten to see much of the city beyond a couple streets."

Miranda grinned, "Okay, if you insist. Lemme get into the shower and get dressed and we'll head out."

"You realize she shot you, right? Why are you so quick to trust her on this?" Miyu did her best to keep her voice down in the hospital lobby as she talked to Saru regarding his vouching for their new ally.

"Look, whether you care or not, she's a valuable resource of information regarding who sent that assassin after you. I trust her."

Miyu huffed, "You've talked to her for less than ten minutes and you want to tell me that you trust her? You do realize who she is, right?" She glared at him, "Are you just that good at reading people?"

"Yes." Saru answered without a second thought, which bugged Miyu, who glanced toward the other side of the lobby, where Krystal sat, clearly hearing them, but trying not to give the impression that she was listening. She turned back to him and was about to ask when he simply replied, "It's complicated. I sincerely don't think you're ready to hear about it."

Miyu gritted her teeth, "This coming from the guy who kept secrets about this investigation from the rest of his team when it's going to put us in danger." Saru raised an eeybrow, to which Miyu continued, "Yeah. Fara told me everything. How come you never told us you had a full-blown investigation going on behind our backs?"

Saru hesitated, "I… didn't want to get you three involved in something so dangerous. What I was looking into was something that had many potential threats, and I thought that by keeping you out of the loop, I could keep you safe if something were to happen to me."

Miyu clenched her first and broke eye-contact with him, "You know all three of us are more than capable of handling ourselves even in the worst situations. But, we still rely on each other for the confidence of knowing that we've got someone watching our backs. Do you not trust us to watch out for you?" She met his eyes once again, "How can we trust you to watch out for us if you keep secrets from your own team?"

Saru sighed, "I… I guess you can't." He looked down at the ground, "For whatever it's worth, I'm sorry. I'll try not to keep anymore secrets if they're dangerous to the team."

Miyu crossed her arms, "Well, how about starting with what really happened in the past that you're so secretive about?"

Saru looked up at her, "You wouldn't believe me-"

"Look, considering everything I've seen by now, I'm willing to give you the benefit of the doubt." Miyu crossed her arms, giving him the indication that she wasn't just his teammate, she was his commander and that he would tell her.

He sighed, "Alright. Fine. I'll tell you. But, not here. If we are going to talk, it's going to be somewhere more private, and I'd rather say it to the whole team."

Miyu's glare softened a bit, "I guess that's fair." She glanced back at Krystal, "But, what about her? Are you sure she's as trustworthy as you say?"

Saru nodded, "Call it an investigator's intuition."

"I've never heard of that." She leveled a skeptical glare at him, before shaking her head, "Okay. I'll get in touch with Fara and Fay and we'll meet up, and then you are going to tell us everything."

A/N

→ Original Content (QuestForce & associated characters) used with permission. Credit goes to Tobias Umbra.