Here we go, next chapter
Thanks for reviews/comment/faves/follows
Thanks to Crimson for edits! She also said sorry because she had this one delayed due to her busy days.
We both are busy lol. But we tried our best to finish this~
A few months passed,
The Soldiers and their officially new member, walked to their dorm room. They embraced each other in a very friendly manner.
"Oh God… that was pretty close. I totally didn't expect it coming…" Nozomi said as she giggled,
"You were great though, to be able to shoot very accurately. I would have missed there…" Umi complimented her fellow soldier.
"Well, I had to add a very small amount of miracle there to make it accurate, I think it was about 5 millimeters too far from the real spot…" Nozomi said.
"Nozomi, don't tell me, you're using that?" Eli frowned slightly,
"Well—as long as I survive, right? That's the only thing that matters…"
"True, but you should be a lot more careful and start depending on your physical skills…"
"It was a very very small amount, besides, you're the one who decided to turn my gun-blade into a katar-shield-gun, you did that so I could use it without anyone knowing, right?"
"It just to help you, but really… people are't that blind… and there are still some haters lurking around you, right?" Eli rested her hands on her hips, "The battlefield is not that friendly, you know… they could shove you down to a burning pit at any time they wished.."
"They can try anytime, but you know I'll survive…" Nozomi replied with a mocking smile.
"But seriously, those people never gave up, do they?" The blue-haired soldier sighed in disgust, "The latest news about them are sick—I mean, why would they try to explode Nozomi's space ship? We're all working so hard for it…"
"They have nothing else to do other than spend their days worshiping their own delusions. Even if they work, I bet they are still browsing and stalking endlessly…" Eli replied.
"…and they'll start complaining if they get fired and forced to clean the sewers to keep their economy on the line…" Maki scoffed.
Nozomi giggled,
"Speaking of which, the job you asked me to do before–it was really fun… I have always loved photography and documentary…" she said.
"I'm surprised you said that, knowing how you treat your own home…" Eli said.
"Sheesh! I'm not that sloppy, Ericchi! I can be extra organized too— anyhow, most of my work pieces are kept in the school library, you should've come to visit there and be amazed of my journalistic skills… and my fortune telling…" Nozomi said.
"Fortune Telling? Give me a break, there's no such thing…" Maki said.
"That would be the last thing I'll ever believe…" Umi said.
"Not going to believe that one…" Eli said.
"There! All of you! You're underestimating my power!"
"That kind of thing is just a scam, we all know that… people just have this luck and misfortune at random times…" Eli said.
"Yes… and you just can't predict future… there is no such thing!" Maki crossed her arms, looking completely uninterested.
"Not to talk about that magic do exist, but then because it exists, the only possibility is that the future is either crafted or well prepared. A cause that comes from the past and obvious result at a later time…" Umi explained.
"Which basically means that the ability to predict the future is nothing more than understanding the past…" Maki added.
"or just an ability to analyze the present…" Eli concluded.
Nozomi frowned after hearing the trio take the mattle of fortune telling lightly.
"Three of you, do you all want to witness the true power of mine?"
"Huh? Are you going to pick a fight with all of us or something?" Maki asked.
"Nozomi… you're not good at the art of brawling yet…." Eli said.
"Can we do that tomorrow? I'm kind of tired after the mission…" Umi said.
"Nope, I was talking about something else! Let's get in the room and do it!"
"It….?" The trio flustered in confusion.
The earth, dusk;
Hanayo and Kotori rode on their horses it as slowly galloped back to the village. The two were awfully quiet, it seems that them being in silence happened more often than not, recently. Hanayo realized that something was wrong with her friend lately, and her slightly thiner figure and messy fashion confirmed her suspicions. It wasn't like Kotori to dress improperly, and the timid girl knew that, and she needed a way to try and have her friend revert back to how she was before.
"Kotori-chan… we're done with the students now, and I have heard that you resigned too… what do have in mind for the future?" Hanayo asked in a very friendly manner.
"I don't know…" she replied weakly.
"Ah—then, why don't you work with me in my farm? I have a lot of spot for workers…" Hanayo said.
"I don't have passion for farming…" Kotori replied.
"Oh…I see…then….what about, tailoring? I know you like tailoring…"
"It's a waste of resources, no one wants to wear it… and there's no use for me to do so…"
"Uhn…then… I guess you're going to focus only on your alchemy, huh?"
Kotori stopped in her tracks, after Hanayo asks her the question,
"Kotori-chan?" Hanayo called again, noticing the adrupt stop.
Kotori not being able to respond suddenly ran away with her horse. Hanayo couldn't get more flustered than this. But even then she decided to just continue moving on slowly as she tried to think of a way to approach her.
The Police station;
Niko, Honoka, and Rin returned to the police station with a few of goods that they were unload from their ship.
"Waah… this is so hard to believe-nya!" Rin said.
"Yeah—considering we've worked so hard to get these things, we finally can get it from those imbecile farts…" Niko huffed.
"Our job is finally almost done! I want to go home!" Honoka said as she stretched.
"Good timing, all of you…." Tsubasa said.
"Eh? What is it?" Honoka turned to face Tsubasa who approached them along with a woman with dark brown with a few strands of white hair, who was wearing a brilliant armor as well…
"This is Eir Rangrid, my friend, a first class Valkyrie recruited from Terra…." Tsubasa introduced her,
"W-woah! V-V-Valkyrie! Really Tsubasa?" Niko said excitedly.
"W-wow! Your armor looks so cool too-nya!" Rin mused along.
"Put the chit-chat aside, I'm not here to joke around…" Eir replied coldly.
"S-So cold…." Niko smirked,
"I'm here to get information that I demanded from long time ago…" Eir continued.
"Oh, well, you see, we just got here and still didn't get to examine our goods…"
"You all lack of discipline, when I said I want you to finish it by today, I want it to be finished today! Understand?!…"
"Y-yeah…but…" Honoka tried to make an excuse.
"No excuses, you're all incompetent…" Eir replied coldly.
"Stay for a while… I'll go examine it quick… Don't worry, it won't take more than 12 hours." Tsubasa said as she turned around and started gathering her tools.
"Very well, mean while, I want to know more about what you all got so far other than these goods…" Eir said as she glanced sharply at Niko, Honoka and Rin.
"A lot of things, firstly it was about the mastermind of the move, we were right about The Seven Stars of the Black Sea, they're indeed the ones who gathered the power, but we don't know where they got such an advanced technology—maybe they caught a few people from each planet to advance? Not sure…" Niko reported.
"Oh—there's also this-nya! Apparently, they also have been recruiting for armies, we didn't try to get in their list, but we know that there should be about 666 big ships with 400 people in each ship. I doubt they will be able to train them all professionally though-nya!" Rin said.
"Yeah, other than because they don't appear to be smart enough to do it, they all seem to be a little too drunk and very consumptive. They spend about 200 gallons of wine each day for 50 people and over a thousand low quality breads and fishes…" Honoka said.
"But that also means, that they're a lot more aggressive and greedy-nya!" Rin said.
"Not to talk about their usual activity—let's just say, brawling all night… what a kid…"
"Brawling is not what kids do— it's what tough people do… know the difference…" Eir said coldly.
"E-eh? W-Well…I'm not trying to offend, but really, why do they have to hit each other over a glass of beer…"
Anjuu—who just came into the room giggled,
"Niko-chan, Brawling in Terra is a custom…" she said as she moved in to help Tsubasa examining the goods.
"W-what?" Niko flustered.
"The point of brawling is not to hit the shit out of people, it's to tell how much you insist… they will do that if they really have to decide something and can't agree with each other…" Erena said as she joined in the room as well.
"Still doesn't make sense…we can always, you know, argue…" Niko said.
"You can join up with the girly girls if you like to argue until your voice runs out… or just play the back stabbing game with them and expect them to kill you in the battlefield…" Eir said in an indifferent tone.
"W-whoa… that's pretty spot on…really… but I don't want to join any of them… thank you." Niko smirked.
"Yeah-nya, we're fine nya…" Rin said.
"Say though, I wonder how much older you are than Eli-chan?" Honoka asked.
Eir raised her eyebrow,
"Eli-chan….?" She tried to confirm.
"Ayase Eli…" Erena said to make it clear.
"What do you know about her?" Eir asked, somewhat very interested in the topic.
"Uh, well, we met her on Earth, and—…"
"The Earth? She went there?" Eir asked before Honoka could finish.
"Well, yes, for vacation…" Honoka replied.
Eir frowned,
"I see…. Then I'll have to do something about it quick…" she said,
"Eh, but she was already back to Terra six months ago-nya!" Rin said.
"Yeah, and Terra is going to move to another galaxy in a week… so I doubt she will be going anywhere…" Niko added.
"That's too bad-nya, I kinda loved their free meals…" Rin said.
"Yeah, the meal was great…." Honoka said,
"You know we can always go wherever they go, we have a ship…" Niko smirked.
"Oh. true!" Honoka replied.
Eir still frowning,
"What did she do on Earth?" she asked,
"A lot of things, but mostly, she spent her time with Nozomi-chan…" Honoka said.
"Nozomi-chan? Who is this Nozomi?" Eir asked aggressively.
"Toujou Nozomi, she is a mage from earth… I think they both were trying to learn from each other right now, it's something positive though…so we don't need to worry about it…" Tsubasa said.
"I know her… but what's their relationship?"
"Uh… girlfriend?" Rin said.
"Girlfriend?" Eir asked again,
"yes…girlfriend… or at least that's what we heard from them recently…" Niko said.
"What's the meaning of that, a warrior shouldn't fall in love… has she gone insane?" Eir said agitatedly.
"Oh come on, that's you, I don't think Eli wants to be a warrior… she might want to run up a workshop instead? Discovering mix technologies and advance the future for everyone…" Tsubasa said.
"Yeah, that's up to her…" Niko said.
Eir shook her head,
"No… that's not how it's supposed to be, she is supposed to be joining us, Valkyries…"
"I wouldn't plan a future for her if I was you.. it's her life, let her decide it…" Tsubasa said.
"No…I have to do something about it…" Eir said before she stormed out of the police station.
"What's with her…so persistent…" Honoka wondered,
"Uh, should we go after her-nya?" Rin asked.
"Just let her go… she won't be a trouble, don't worry…" Tsubasa said calmly.
"I'm kind of worried, but I guess if you say so…" Niko said as she scratched her head in a confused manner.
"Good side, we have more time to examine things properly without having to listen to her rushing us…" Erena said.
"Very true…" Anjuu said.
And they continue to work on their job to examine their goods.
Terra— the Dorm Room;
A tennis table was set on the middle of the room, with Nozomi and Maki on each side and the other two watching them as they were seated in their own chairs.
"Alright—it's show down time, Maki-chan!" Nozomi said energetically as she held her paddle.
"W-why would we play table tennis to prove your point?" Maki asked as she held her own paddle.
"Because, I can show you that I can really predict the future without having to understand the past or the present! It really is magic!"
"Huh? Well…I still can't really see the point…"
"Just let me show you then" Nozomi smirked mischieviously
Taking in a deep breath Nozomi threw the ball up in the air half way and quickly hit it with her paddle, causing the ball to bounce across the table in a quick pace. Maki, noticing the ball proceeded with a counter hit having the ball bouce back to the other side at a faster pace. Nozomi without a second delay managed to do another counter strike, this time the ball with increased speed, but even then the red-head was able to hit it back.
"Not bad!" Nozomi said as she once again made another strike,
"Hah—this is too easy!" Maki smirked, countering the latter's hits rather quickly
"Really?" Nozomi smiled as the glint in her emerald ords turned into something more mischievious, while using the paddle to accurately hit the ball to output a side spin shot which Maki was still able to counter.
"I'm a very well trained assassin, thank you…" Maki responded with a lot of confidence
And before she knew it, Nozomi made an unexpected counter direction— which Maki actually didn't expect.
"Ah!" Maki turned to the side as she could see the ball disappearing behind her and a number appeared on the board.
"Point…." Nozomi smiled.
"That's just your luck…" Maki said as she pressed a button to spawn another ball.
Nozomi giggled,
"Don't worry, it's just the beginning…"
And the two started the new match quietly with much concentration. Eli and Umi watched them intensely, Umi looked amazed by the tactics that Nozomi played while Eli was clearly looking at something else.
Harasho… even though she is wearing that tight rubber suit, I can still see her cleavage….
She thought.
I wonder how it looks like by now? It's been a while since I've seen her naked, now that I think about it… she has been eating our food and excercising too…
She mentally started to blush while keeping her composed look on the outside.
As the time passed by, Maki and Nozomi finally got the result from their intense match.
"Yup… I'm a very lucky girl…" Nozomi chuckled.
"S-sheesh! But it still doesn't prove anything, you just won the game…." Maki retorted,
"Sure-sure, but anyhow, the thing is not in the match— it's here…." Nozomi placed down her paddle, then looked into the newest cupboard that the Trio made for her to keep her belongings temporary...
Nozomi took out a deck of tarot cards.
"Huh? Cards?" Maki raised her eyebrow confusedly,
"Yup, shuffle it—and think about your future while you're at it!"
Maki smirked slightly, though because she lost to her—she had no choice but to agree. Umi and Eli still watching them quietly, wondered what was coming up next…
As Maki shuffled, Nozomi kept her eyes on her fingers that carefully shuffled the cards. Then after a minute,
"Alright, that's enough… give me the cards…" Nozomi said.
Maki handed over the deck of cards. After having the deck in her hands, Nozomi picked up the top most card-
"The Fortune, hmm…. you're still on the roll… Maki-chan, a lot of options for the future that you can get… just be honest to yourself and everything is fine…. but I hope you know what I'm talking about." Nozomi said.
"Eh? Well…I hope you're right on that…" Maki replied still not so sure about the whole fortune telling thing.
"Now-now, its your turn, Umi-chan…" Nozomi turned to Umi.
"Can we just skip to the card picking?" Umi asked.
"Ohh! You are interested—I'm so happy…" Nozomi said as she cheerfully handed the card to Umi, who carefully shuffled the cards.
Then after a while, she handed the cards back to Nozomi.
Nozomi picked up the card on top of the deck, and widened her eyes…
"Hmm… there must be something wrong with this… you should really think about your future, ok? Don't just shuffle without thinking of anything…" Nozomi said.
"E-Eh? But I did…" Umi said.
"Then, let's try again…" Nozomi said as she handed over the cards to the archer.
Once again, Umi shuffled the cards, then handed it back to Nozomi a while later.
Nozomi picked up the card from the top of the deck again….
"Hmmm…. This is…. uh… strange, it can't be true, let's try again, Umi-chan…." Nozomi said.
"Again…? Alright…."
And again they repeated the same process…
This time, Nozomi pulled the card on top of the deck again, though she pushed it back to the deck and switched to another card under it.
Reverse Chariot.
"Ah—alright, here is your result. You have to be quick to decide… because it does matter in your future. Also, you have to be very careful or you'll meet an end that you don't want to meet…" Nozomi said.
"I see… that's pretty interesting…" Umi said.
"I know, right…" Nozomi chuckled,
Then before they could do anything else, there was an incoming a phone call.
"Ah—phone…." Umi said before she quickly got up to accept it.
"Hello—…" and before Umi able to finish her greeting,
"Waaaaahh! U-Umi-chan!" Honoka shouted through the phone.
"W-whoa! Honoka! Don't be too loud!" Umi place a hand over her ears to recover from the painful ringing.
"Umi-chan! Umi-chan! I need you!" Honoka said.
"W-what? What do you need me for?" Umi asked.
"Well. uh…Let me connect you, hang on!" Honoka said before Umi could hear her trying to connect her to another call. Umi turned on the loud speaker,
"H-hello?" Hanayo's voice heard from the phone.
"Ah, Hanayo… can I help you?" Umi asked politely.
"W-well…th-this is bad…." Hanayo said in panic.
"Hmm…what kind of thing is bad?" Nozomi asked.
"W-wah! N-N-Nozomi-chan! I-Is that you?" Hanayo asked.
"Yup… what's up…?"
"P-p-please help! K-K-Kotori-chan is missing!" Hanayo said.
"She might be just going out to look for materials…" Nozomi said.
"I-I'm afraid it's not that simple! Sh-She is gone with all of her poisons! It-It's unusual!" Hanayo said.
"Hmm… with all of her poison, huh? Wonder what she want to do with it, maybe she is gone to the city to sell them?" Nozomi replied.
"At this time of night?" Hanayo asked.
"Night….? I didn't even realize it's night time…" Nozomi said.
"Uh… who forgot to turn on the auto day and night window…." Maki said.
"Ah–Sorry, that was me… was enjoying the view and plus that table tennis match too much…" Eli said.
"Sheesh, Ericchi….!"
"P-put that aside! This could be something serious!" Hanayo said.
"Relax, it's just Kotori-chan going off somewhere with all of her poison. She might be looking for something and needed the poison to assist her…" Nozomi replied.
"S-She has been acting really strange lately!" Hanayo said.
"Hmm… when is her actions not strange? She is an alchemist after all, she will act strange and make something strange as well…"
"No! Not that kind of strange! It's really strange and it's in a bad way!" Hanayo tried to explain without getting frustrated. Umi looked concerned as she heard it.
"Then, go on, look for her, we can't be going all the way from Terra to Earth just to look for her… this ship is going to move to another galaxy in a week…" Nozomi replied.
"But….I…I don't know where she went off to…."
"That's why you're looking for her, my guess, if she needed a place to brood, she should be in Spicaterrible, just a few kilometers to the west from Love Marginal Mountain—and she will sit on the abandoned train called the Blueberry Train… if you can't find her there, then I don't know where else to suggest.." Nozomi replied.
"I'll help you look for her Hanayo-chan!" Honoka volunteered loudly.
"T-Thanks! Honoka-chan!" Hanayo replied.
Then the call suddenly cut off,
"That was fast…." Maki said.
"Hey, should I try to help out?" Umi asked.
"That should be your decision, but I wouldn't be so worried if I were you. I just believe that Kotori-chan is doing fine without us… she is always that person who obeys the rules and do all the good things and enjoying her time… while Hanayo-chan is always that person who gets worried too fast…." Nozomi said.
"Then, I'll go…" Umi replied before she quickly left the room,
"Heh—she is taking your advice…" Maki said.
"You should too…" Nozomi shot back innocently.
"Hey, Umi—take this professional lover's advice! Never come empty handed!" Eli shouted teasingly.
"Shut up…Eli! this is just a friendly kindness!" Umi shouted from a distance.
"Well...there are some things in my mind right now… but…" Maki paused,
She averted her eyes,
"I'll be back, ok? I'm going to look for something…." she continued before she headed out of the room.
Nozomi chuckled,
"You are all so cute, really… I swear you all denied everything two hours ago…"
"I'm not going to believe it until it can be proven me, you know…" Eli said, leaning back on her chair and crossing her arms over her chest.
Nozomi turned to her,
"Then, Ericchi should give it a try too…" Nozomi held the cards in front of the blonde, who sighed and unravelled her hangs to accept it.
As Eli began to shuffle the cards, someone suddenly rang the door bell.
"Ah, I'll get it…" Nozomi said before she quickly walked over to the door.
"Toujou Nozomi….?" A man in black and red uniform said as he stood in front of the door.
"Yup, that's me…" Nozomi replied.
"Someone wants to meet you in the lobby, she refuses to leave you the details, but she said she wants to meet you personally…" he continued.
"To meet me personally? I'm honored…" Nozomi giggled,
Then she turned to the blonde who seemed to be a little confused,
"I'll be back, Ericchi. Just wait, ok?" the torquoise eyes winked at her suggestively before she left the room and closed the door behind her.
Eli remain quiet for a moment before she chuckled,
Sheesh, Nozomi… moving up so quickly… did she get a new fan or something?"
She thought s she kept shuffling the cards.
But anyhow, to think about my future huh? Even though I'm not quite sure about it…
She keep shuffling and as she stop to do so, she pulled out the top of the deck.
The Hanged Man….
She raised her eyebrow.
What is this silly looking hanged man…
She chuckled before she pushes the card back to the lowest part of the deck.
More importantly though, who would believe that a deck of cards can predict the future? That's foolish….
The earth, night time;
Hanayo waited on the big grass field with a lantern in her hands. Then after a few minutes passed, a dark blue space ship landed on the field carefully.
Hanayo tilted her head slightly to the side, wondering why she was not the person that she was expecting, though she was glad to see a familiar someone step down from the ship—someone in a black armored dark blue suit.
"Umi-chan…?" Hanayo said.
"Hanayo, sorry if I kept you waiting…" Umi said.
"No-no, you actually came a lot earlier than Honoka-chan…"
"Oh, really? Then I'll go on first, this is an emergency, right?"
"Uh…yes… because….Kotori-chan has been acting really strange from ever since you all left with Nozomi-chan…and I think, she just had enough and ….uh…I don't want to say it…"
"I understand, that's why I'm here. I already knew something was wrong from ever since back then…" Umi replied.
"I-Is that so?"
"Yup, but let's put that aside, I want you to hold on to this…" Umi handed her a cellphone,
"Uh? What's this?"
"It's a cellphone, I will call you once I find Kotori… you just need to press this button…" Umi showed her how the cellphone works.
"Oh, ok…."
"And now…." Umi turned back to her ship.
Terra—The Lobby's Private room;
Nozomi arrived in the room—and saw a very familiar woman with dark brown hair with a few white strands sticking out, sitting on the sofa. Nozomi smiled at her,
"Eir Rangrid, isn't it? Are you here to ask questions about my briefing or just to chat?" Nozomi asked.
"I'm not here to chat nor am I here to ask questions…." she replied coldly.
The purple haired woman chuckled amusedly as she approached the sofa, taking a seat right in front of her.
"Ohh….alright, I know, you want to have a staring contest instead?" Nozomi teased.
Eir frowned,
"Don't fuck with me!" she yelled,
"Who wants to fuck you anyway—I already have someone else to fuck with…" Nozomi mocked, completely unfazed by the other's attitude.
"Youuu!" she intimidated.
Nozomi chuckled,
"Now-now, you're the one who is wasting your time here. If you need something, you should just say it…" Nozomi leaned back on the couch and brought her leg over the other.
Eir frowned more, completely hating the first impression she had gotten from the purple-head, though she tried to calm herself down.
"I'm just here to confirm, are you Ayase Eli's girlfriend?"
Nozomi chuckled again,
"Oh my… you're here to just confirm that? That's really funny…"
"Just answer me!" she asked desperately.
Nozomi laughed at her,
"Yes…of course I am…" she replied.
Eir remain quiet for a moment as she heard it, then she took out her tablet and placed it on the table–projecting a set of articles.
"You're in a grave danger…" she said.
Nozomi scanned through the articles; a lot of it talked about how many kills Eli had done in each year–then also about her achievements in every battle.
"She is not what you think she is…." Eir continued,
"If you're just trying to tell me that she is a cold blooded murderer—I already know that… and I'm still in love with her anyway…"
"If you really love her—you must break her up and let her join the Valkyries…" Eir said.
"What? That's ridiculous. If I love her, I should let her choose where she wants to go and support her…"
"That's not the case! Eli's blood is corrupted—and the only way to purify her is to let her join us…"
"My, is this some kind of religion stuff? I have my own beliefs so I hope you're not trying to shove me in with yours…"
"No, it has nothing to do with religion! It's related to what happened to her long time ago…"
Nozomi raised her eyebrow,
"About her arm?" Nozomi asked.
"Yes, I suppose you already know how she lost it…"
"The Planet Parasite?"
"Yes, but it's not a usual type. We Valkyries conducted a research about them—and apparently they carry a virus from the Endless Citadel..She didn't know this yet, no one else know but us!"
"Endless Citadel—you mean the city that was known to be the very first flying city?"
"Yes, I suppose you already know about the virus that ended the glory of the city…"
"Not really, I've heard about how it ended—but it was related to a curse, not a virus…"
"We can argue about that later, but either curse or virus, both will still give us one conclusion, Eli is infected… and you shouldn't get too close with her…"
"My—then I must've been infected too? I've been intimate with her for countless times now… "
"No, it doesn't work that way. The infection only spreads through the fully-transformed infected victim… it will take a really long time for one to transform, but it will hasten up as she gets close to another that is fully transformed…"
"…so while we're still safe, we need to prevent her from transforming into those creature…"
"What creatures are you talking about now?" Nozomi crossed her arms.
"The Berserker, what else? They're all caused by the same virus that contracts different creatures, including the planet parasite. but they don't make you stupid— they just give you an uncontrollable blood lust while also duplicating powers… just imagine if a tough soldier like Eli infected with such virus, it will be a lot of trouble… so that's why, you have to give up and let her join us…"
"I'm still not convinced… there's still too many holes in your excuses.."
"I'm not trying to make excuses, I'm trying to save you from being killed by her…"
"She won't… She has been very gentle to me—even though we play things roughly at times…"
"It's not a joke!"
"I'm not joking…I know she loves me and I love her too…"
Eir grunted in frustration,
"You're stubborn!"
"I know… and I know I made the right choice, so you don't need to tell me what to do…"
"Urgh! I hate you!"
"Yup, I hate you too… now if you'll excuse me…" Nozomi stood up and started to walk out of the room.
"Hey! Wait! We're not done yet!"
The Police station;
Niko, Rin, Tsubasa, Anjuu and Erena just finished examining the goods,
"….hmm..this is pretty interesting…" Tsubasa said.
"I would absolutely fund for this if it was planted for safety…" Erena said.
"I agree—the creator of this business plan must be a very brilliant and talented person… or perhaps a professional?" Anjuu said.
"From what we know though, those pirates themselves never actually have a relation with their mastermind, it's like none of them know how their big boss looks like…" Niko said.
"…but we know that the Seven Stars of the Black Sea are the ones giving the order from the big boss-nya, so if we can get information from them—…"
"That's impossible, the seven stars of the black sea are a tough enemy, they're very sneaky and very cruel, they won't even hesitate to impale you with their harpoon… they have a strong relationship like brothers and sisters, and trained as well as Terra's army, and as well equipped as us, the polices…." Erena said.
"Basically, they are what we fear… that's why we told you to spy on the regular pirates not them…alas, if we didn't fear them, we could've raided all pirates and force them to speak up about them."
"We don't want the event from 7 years ago to repeated again, those pirates really know how to blackmail us…" Anjuu said.
"Ah—yeah…. 7 years ago was a real mess…" Niko said.
"And by the way, this is just hypothetical, but what if these goods are related to the sentences…?" Anjuu asked.
"The sentences?"
"Yes, even though I'm not quite sure… but for some reason, I think if we bring these goods to Terra, they could try and re-build it back into an engine and see if it really is related or not.…" Anjuu suggested.
"Are you sure it's fine to do that? Do they even care?" Erena asked.
"Yup, I'm sure… this is for everyone after all, and remember that Terra always prioritize to protect all nearby planets, including the earth even though they're always rejected…"
"So what are we waiting for, we should hurry up and send these goods…" Tsubasa said.
"Alright then, let's pack them up everyone…" Erena said.
"Ok-nya!" Rin replied as she started to work along with Niko and the others.
The Valhala— Valkyrie's Hall;
The Valkyries seemed to be busy with preparation, Valkyrie Minami led the support as she kept her eyes on the tablet that she brought.
"Valkyrie Minami!" another valkyrie called.
"Yes?"
"I want to confirm this… According to the explanation from Toujou Nozomi that we received a few months back, she found a spot where The Seven Stars of the Black Sea sailed their first attack—and it will be at the Centaurus in 2 weeks, by then, the other pirates will do smaller attacks to three other planets including the earth. If we're able to defend against the first sail, they will try to attack to the second galaxy, which will be held about 5 days after the first sail, the third—if they are desperate enough, the earth will be their next target, but it will take approximately 4 months to get there with whole army of pirates. By then, we will have to set up out strongest defense and make sure that the police are ready… and leave the main ship to the…. Uh… µ's….?"
"Yes…" Valkyrie Minami replied.
"Who is this µ's? I've never heard of them…"
Valkyrie Minami chuckled.
"It's a group that will be naturally formed during the preparation time… I don't really understand why the hardest part should be left to them, but I'm sure Nozomi knows well about it… after all, she is a professional mind mage, despite her colorful history…" she said as she continued to chuckle.
"I see, then I'll go on to making contacts with the leaders of each related planets to make their preparation…"
"Thank you, may the God bless you…"
The Earth—Spicaterrible;
Spicaterrible is an abandoned train station, with moss, grasses, bushes and all other wild plants growing around the area along with the phosphoric light and colorful glow bugs floating—lighting the dark blue haired warrior's path.
She may not know the exact location of this blueberry train, but she tried to keep keen eyes and her ears sharp for any and every noise. Bravely searching through the darkness.
She moves quietly and as she caught a glimpse of a lantern light in the corner. Orange light shines through the abandoned train wagon from it's blurry glass window. A faint image of a girl seen through it— good thing that the blueberry bushes aren't covering the windows.
And now she knows where she is…
Though as she is about to approach her—something comes up in her mind.
Never go empty handed!
"Darn you Eli…"she muttered to herself.
She tried to look around.
Lucky her—there's an Anemone Heart—that special flower, growing next to the rustic dirty wall. She decided to pick it up fully, including the roots.
She walked closer to the gloomy girl who seemed really surprised as she looked into her Amber eyes.
"Umi-chan…..?" Kotori blinked a couple of times to make sure she wasn't dreaming.
Umi smiled gently,
"Good evening…" she greeted in her polite and gentle tone.
"But… how? I mean…why are you here?" Kotori asked.
"To meet you…"
Kotori blushed slightly,
"W-why? I mean… uh…how did you know I was here?"
"Hanayo told me about you…and Nozomi told me about where you should be at the gloomiest state…" Umi replied.
Kotori smiled faintly,
"Nozomi-chan worried about me too…huh?" Kotori replied.
"It will be a lie if I said that she doesn't, but it will also be a lie if I said she does…"
"So you basically don't know if she actually does or not?"
"Yep, but that's because I'm not her and she isn't me…"
Kotori sighed weakly.
Umi decided to hand over the flower that she had just picked up.
"I want you to know that there's a lot of people that care about you…" she said.
Kotori remained quiet for a while before she decided to accept it.
"Umi-chan…." she smiled at her softly.
"I don't know what exactly is bothering you, but if I assume things right, you're having problems with being honest to everyone and yourself…"
Kotori nodded slightly.
"I think so…" she replied.
"But I can't be myself… I don't think I can…" she continued.
Umi kept her mouth shut to listen.
"Have you ever felt like that no matter how hard we try, everyone judges you as being unpassionate about what you're doing?"
"Lack of skill, lack of discipline, or lack of knowledge, or ability to understand, I've got that a lot…" Umi replied.
"Especially with a senior like Eli… I hardly look passionate with what I'm doing, I feel like a crap.. and everyone always compares me with her when we work together…" she continued.
Kotori nodded,
"I'm glad to hear that you've experienced it. Nozomi-chan has written a lot of history and people knows her—either because she is bad or good, everyone will always remember her. It's nice to hear it when people say that we're better, but it hurts when people say that we're the worse… It's pretty normal, but it gets frustrating after a while…"
"For a few months, I tried to get over that— and I tried so hard to resist the pain when her students always say things like, Nozomi-sensei did this, Nozomi sensei did that, Nozomi-sensei can do this and that, then they always compare my teaching style with hers. They say I'm too boring and I'm trying too hard, then sometimes they even say that my work is too easy and not challenging, or too hard and ridiculous. It's so hard to please them…" she continued.
"You can't please everyone…" Umi said.
Kotori nodded,
"I know, and I know they're just trying to make excuses to be lazy, and I know not all of them speak up to help me improve… just want to hate and nothing else… but it still gets too frustrating for me… I began to realize that being a teacher is really not for me…"
"What do you mean by, 'is really not me'…?" Umi asked.
"I just don't fit the image I suppose? Or at least that's what everyone says about me…"
"I think you're a great teacher, you just have to work harder…"
"…. That's what everyone says too… but I know I don't belong there, just look at how much people dislike me for who I am..."
"Well, are you happy when you're doing it?"
Kotori tried to come up with an answer,
"….if you're happy, then you might belongs there…" Umi added.
"But… I'm always happy when I can do something—and I'm always happy when someone appreciates me, but then, at the same time, people are on hating me for what I've been doing…"
"As long as you feel like you're happy, then that's where you belong… and if you say you're happy with everything you do, no matter where you are, then you belong everywhere… you can choose your own way of living, why bother with what people say about you?"
"It just bothers me when people are unhappy for me… I know I shouldn't care… but, its just really hard and—I don't know…. I feel…. I feel like I can't do any good for anyone… not even for Honoka-chan, who I try my best to care about…"
"Then… maybe this is a time for you to start anew instead of trying so hard to fix the past… let's try to arrange something…" Umi replied.
"What is this something?"
"Join the police, you've got a name there, right?" Umi said.
"I…I can't…. I shouldn't leave the earth…"
"Why?"
"Because…if I leave my mother will—…"
And as Kotori mentioned her, she remember something that caught her attention long ago… the image of her mother having an eye contact with her, she remembered well that her mother looked like she was in a hurry, leaving her own daughter hanging without a single word. Then she also recalled that she was no longer getting mails from her ever since that day…
"Your mother will…?" Umi tried to ask for the rest of the sentence,
"….actually, never mind… I'm….I'm just wondering now who am I obeying the rule for… because, my mother doesn't seems to want to meet me again…." Kotori replied.
Umi raised her eyebrow,
"…I feel so stupid, I'm really wasting my life time with such rules and—…"
"Kotori, did you really mean that?" Umi asked in a stern and serious tone.
Kotori realized that she might've said something very wrong.
"W-which one?" Kotori asked.
"You said, you wonder who you're obeying the rules for…?"
"Yes?"
Umi sighed heavily as she heard it.
"And who were you obeying the rule for?"
"My Mother….and everyone else?"
Umi sighed again,
"E-eh? I-Is it wrong?"
"To be honest, yes…. You forgot one person that really needs it…"
"Is it me?"
"Yes…"
"Uh…why is it me?"
"Because you need it the most…"
"But… why am I obeying the rules for myself? I get no benefit from it…"
"That's not the point…"
"Ehh..?" Kotori flustered,
"You're not obeying the rule for anyone, it's for yourself… the rule isn't made to please anyone, it's to help you understand what the society wants… you said you have the rule that you believe and be loyal with all the time, right? Then don't take it in a way to please someone who made the rule, but take it as a way of that someone trying to explain the concept of society… It's still up to you to make it true or not… but also to remember that not everyone has the same concept of society like you—or your mother… so, if you want to be peaceful, you have to understand their concepts…and decide whether you want to stay around them or not."
"I see…. I guess I've been taking things the wrong way…" Kotori replied shyly.
Umi chuckled,
"Don't worry, I was like that too, until I realized that I'm unhappy… but thanks to Eli and Maki, they taught me a lot of things… and to be honest, Honoka and her friends blew my mind too, she always thinks positive of everyone and living positively for everyone—even though she can be serious at times, it's pretty scary to imagine that though…" she replied.
"Ah—right, Honoka-chan… I wonder how she has been doing lately?"
"I don't know… I didn't make any contact with her lately… been really busy with our own school. Nozomi is really troublesome, she just blew everyone's mind during cooking class by making the most unhealty food yet extremely delicious and like— I think she called it triple cheese burger with bacon warp. She added lettuce layers and mayonnaise too… but it still doesn't make much difference—it's very unhealthy. You should have seen the look on Eli's face when she saw her submitting that as her assignment…"
"Oh? Was she angry?"
"She isn't quite sure to be angry or not, she got a good grade, the only bad thing is that now her cooking has been added to the food court's menu. She got loyalties from it too, but then now everyone in Terra can eat that unhealthy food…"
"Uhm…So I guess she can't really get angry nor be happy….?"
"Yep, it's tormenting but she decided to let that go and move on…"
"….how's her diet?" Kotori asked,
"I'm not sure, but I believe Eli knows more than us. Thing that I realized was that her cheeks is slightly smaller, but she is still chubby anyway. Then her breast doesn't make any changes either… it's still big and jiggly without her armor on…"
"Uh…. armors? She is wearing them now?"
"She has to, because now she is a soldier like us… or at least, a soldier until she graduates along with Eli. Our armors not only function as a thing to protect us, it also to help us survive outside Terra. It has a temperature stabilizer which will automatically change temperatures according to the surrounding area. The police also wears these armors during their work hours, with different designs though…"
"Oh? How does her armor look like?
"It's metallic purple, then combined with the black tight rubber suit that functions as the second heat stabilizer. Eli made it, she said she likes to see Nozomi in purple… we can't comment much since Nozomi is her girlfriend anyway…"
"Mmhh… so,how's their relationship? Is it troublesome for you two to stay around them…?"
"Well, we know when they're in the mood for their needs, they're very careful when doing so. I think they really know how to find privacy in a place that doesn't quite provide any. Our job is to keep quiet and trail off the curious people… especially those creepers with voyeurism…"
"I see, so I guess you just don't stop them instead…"
"It's their private life, it doesn't bother us. They're on the good age too so why not have some fun?"
"Is it really fun to do that?" Kotori asked innocently.
Umi blushed slightly,
"W-w-well! I don't know! I've never done that! But in many literature, it's always described as something that makes you excited, something that makes you always wonder, it's experimental and its quality also decided from the way of treating each other during the intimacy. Some said that the longer it goes, the better it is, though some said it has to be in the perfect timing as well—considering some weren't able to finish until their exhaustion…"
"Uh…Umi-chan, you seem to know a lot though…." Kotori said.
"Ah! I-I swear I only know about them from reading literature!" Umi replied in panic.
"D-Don't worry Umi-chan, I'm not judging you!" Kotori replied as she flustered.
And the two went awkwardly silent,
"….but I still wonder what kind of literature you're reading to get that much knowledge, do they explain it in detail?" Kotori asked.
"C-C-Can we drop this conversation?!" Umi said as she tired to compose herself from her panicked state.
"S-Sorry? Is that too personal?"
"N-No! It's not that because it's personal! It's just—uh…. L-L-let's forget that!"
"O-Okay?" Kotori replied, confused by Umi's the reaction.
"S-Sheesh! W-what a topic…" Umi averted her eyes as the blush on her face started to turn into a brighter shade of red.
"Uh…but, Umi-chan, I'm sort of curious now when you're saying things like that… because… Anjuu-san also said similar things a while back. She said… it's a thrilling fun that you just can't forget— it's very addictive and even though it's true that it might be something naughty, it's just something that runs through every creatures, and no one can deny that it's not something fun to do…"
"K-Kotori! Can you really drop that topic already?"
"Uhhh— but….Umi-chan! Please! Tell me everything you know about it!"
"I-I just….I just can't ok? I'm not good with something like that!"
"Pleaseeeee!" Kotori begged.
"GhGhhh! T-T-this is not fair! Don't beg me like that!"
"Prettyyyy Pleaseeee!" Kotori continued begging and now with the cutest face she was ever able to make.
"K-Kotori…." Umi smirked in fear,
Kotori quickly grabbed Umi's hand leaned up close to her—showing her begging face.
"Umi-chan….Please….." she begged again.
"W-Why are you giving me that face! I-I'm not going to lose to that!"
And suddenly, someone shouted to them,
"Umi-chaaaaaan! Kotori-chaaaaan!" A familiar voice called out from the distance.
"E-Ehh? H-Honoka-chan?!" Kotori quickly stood up while Umi sighed in relief.
Honoka ran, approaching them with a lantern in her hand with Hanayo next to her.
"Hehe, sorry I'm late! I had to deal with a few things before leaving…" Honoka said.
"Yup…and sorry to not warning you earlier, Honoka-chan said she wanted to surprise you two…" Hanayo said.
"Well, you did surprise me!" Kotori said cheerfully.
"Yay! Uh… but, what are you doing here?" Honoka asked.
"Oh—well, you see, I'm just talking with Umi-chan right now…" Kotori replied.
"Then, about the poison? Didn't you bring all of them?" Hanayo asked.
"Oh? That? My client came to pick it up a while back before I came here, so no I don't bring any poison with me…"
"Ah! Then I was worried for nothing!" Hanayo sighed but still relieved that it wasn't anything serious.
"Sheesh! Kayo-chan! You worry to much!" Kotori softly giggled
"Hehe, sorry, let's go back to the village… Umi-chan also needs to return to Terra…" Hanayo said.
"Ah, yes, I should…" Umi said.
"Yup! And..Oh! Kotori-chan! Speaking of which! I wonder if you want to join the police?"
"Uuuhh! I don't know, Honoka-chan! I want to think about it!" she said as she started to walk along with Honoka and with a bundle of Anemone Heart in her hand.
"Hehe, well, you see, you get a free space ship that you can use to travel around the space, then…hmm.. you get to go on fun missions with us too!"
"That sounds really fun, but… I don't know! Give me some time, ok?" Kotori smiled at the ginger,
Then as the two kept chatting as they walked off to the distance, Hanayo initiated a conversation with the blue-haired warrior,
"Umi-chan…. I don't know what you did to her, but I think she is back to normal for now…so, thank you…"
"No, thank you… you're the one who told me about her…" Umi replied.
"Hehe, won't mean anything if it doesn't help… you were the biggest help…"
Umi picked up the lantern that was left behind, then handed it to Hanayo.
"Take care of yourself, ok?"
"Yup…." Hanayo nodded softly while giving her a sweet smile.
Terra, The Dorm room;
Nozomi returned to the room, upon entering , she saw Eli sitting on her own desk as she read something in her tablet.
"Ah, Nozomi… welcome back, how was it?" Eli greeted her,
"It was nothing special, just a random person coming by to say nonsense…" Nozomi replied.
"Oh—one of the prankster, huh?"
"Yup…pretty much…" she replied as she sat on her own bed—which was bought a while back and gladly the room was big enough for the four beds, with two of them sticking very close with each other, fit perfectly inside. She turned her sight to the deck of cards that she told Eli to shuffle, then quickly picking up the top of the card deck.
Upward The Lovers.
She smiled softly,
"By the way, Nozomi, I just realized that you haven't bought a bike… you will need it for the next class…" Eli said.
"Oh? Then, will Ericchi take me shopping today?"
"Yes… but let's wait for Umi to return. I'm a little worried about Kotori and the poison…" Eli said.
"Sheesh, you shouldn't… don't act like Hanayo-chan all so sudden, Ericchi…" Nozomi huffed.
"But, it's a poison, right?"
"Yup, I don't think anything bad will happen… but, if there really was something that poisoned her, then maybe only the deadliest one can do the work…"
"That kind of sounds scary, you know…" Eli replied.
"You haven't asked me what the deadliest poison is though…" Nozomi replied as she quickly jumped off her bed and approached her lover.
"I know where this is going…" Eli chuckled,
"Just ask me and you shall receive my answer…" Nozomi said with a teasing smile.
"Alright, What's the deadliest poison?" Eli asked with a playful smile.
Nozomi chuckled before she leaned close and embraced her,
"It's called love…because darling, you killed me with yours and I've died a thousand times from it…" she whispered seductively.
Eli giggled,
"We should grab a parfait after shopping…"
"Parfait…. Really Ericchi? Grab a parfait? Why can't you use something better than that…!"
"You want me to use, what? licking the salty and sour strawberry?"
"What about, entering my heaven's hole…"
"Let's go with something more cyber-ish… Slotting the driver…"
"My… I can't wait to feel you injecting your hardware…"
"Hmm… I think my processor needs more internal fans… or you can just, you know, blow me…"
And the two burst out laughing together,
"I think we need to stop abusing our intelligence for this…" Eli said between her giggles.
"It's fun though, so let's not stop it… especially because I think I need more heat in my motherboard.."
"Shopping first, overclocking time later…"
"Yup! Don't forget to keep your power supply running, Ericchi!"
"As long as it's you, honey, I won't get tired from scrolling down until the last page..."
"Careful, you may cause an explosion..."
"I don't mind even if it's going to be right on my face..."
Then once again, the two burst into laughter.
Yup, there~ I hope you enjoy it! See you later!
and once again, next chapter gonna take long x_x...sorry!