Chapter 30 - Almost Paradise
December 25th 2204 – Caledonia - Isles of Edenitz Santo - 1425 hrs
Burying her feet firmly into the sand, Konno gritted her teeth as another one of Jonathan's deadly attacks flew towards her. However, instead of hitting her connected arms, the ball flew just left of them, and smashed into the ground next to her.
Crap! Too slow! She winced.
As the ball bounced away, she turned back to her opponents across the net and flinched as she saw Jonathan already ready to serve the next ball.
"Yikes! This looks bad for the Konno-Mitsuhiko duo!" Kaito announced, leaning forward as the scorekeeper next to him flipped the score to 5-2. "With both power and grace, the stand-ins for the Ikazuchi-Thunderchild team are really driving them into the corner. But with the second half of the game still to go, it's uncertain whether this pattern will still continue! What will the pilots do to retake momentum?"
"H-Hey is he giving advice to them while commentating?" Wells' voice sounded from the spectators.
Letting out a sigh, Konno bent over and held her knees as she tried to catch her breath.
Geez, we already know! It's easier said than done!
As she replayed the scene in her head, the young pilot glanced over and saw Mitsuhiko coming over to her.
"Playing the villain kinda sucks huh?" he smiled through his panting.
"You don't say!" Konno grumbled as she stood up straight.
Taking a moment to think about their strategy, the two eyed their opponents as they similarly discussed their next move. Jonathan's attacks were constantly at full power and didn't seem to wane regardless of how off Anika's sets might be. And though she seemed to be slightly inexperienced, Anika was doing pretty well picking up their attacks with her swift movements which covered her stiffer ally.
However, as they thought to themselves, they began to hear cheers from behind them and turned to see Genta leading the other pilots from the benches.
"Go go let's go Konno Mitsuhiko!"
"Go go let's go Konno Mitsuhiko!" the pilots behind him repeated as they hit their water bottles together like noisemakers.
"Come on guys!" Genta exclaimed. "What are ya waiting for?"
Seeing their friend's confident smirk, the two similarly couldn't help but smile and glance forward with renewed determination.
"Leave the Captain's attack to me," Mitsuhiko smirked as he returned to his starting position.
"Roger~" Konno smiled.
With the blow of the referee's whistle, the next rally was on. Taking in a breath, Jonathan held onto the volleyball for a moment, before he threw it up and smacked it toward Konno.
Thankfully, the bespectacled captain did not know how to jump serve which made his serves easier to receive. However, he had constantly made up for that by targeting Konno first to ensure she had to spike instead of Mitsuhiko.
Putting her hands together, the young pilot bent her knees as the ball spiraled into her arms and bumped it into the air.
Tsk, the captain doesn't play around does he? She smiled as she began her running approach to the net. But thankfully for us-
Just as she came up in front of the net, the young pilot noticed Anika was already on the other side waiting for her to jump. Smirking, she swung her arms up to jump.
What I make up for power is speed!
Instead of jumping straight up, Konno suddenly veered to the right just as Anika jumped to block her and completely avoided her arms. At the same time, Mitsuhiko quickly sent the ball over to her as she drifted horizontally along the net, and Konno swung her arm as hard as she could into the ball, sending it to the corner of the court.
Yes!
However out of the corner of her eye, Jonathan suddenly appeared from the side and dashed forward with his right arm outstretched, stopping the ball and sending it into the air.
Well, it wasn't going to be that easy, Konno smiled to herself.
Swiftly, she began to track Jonathan's movements as he moved toward the net while Mitsuhiko got into position behind her. And just as Anika set the ball towards him, Konno instinctively followed its arc to where Jonathan would be and jumped to block him.
However instead of jumping directly in front of him, she raised her hands and jumped just off to his left, blocking his view of the rest of the court. Even though he could technically blast through her, the natural move here would be to avoid her hands. This was their gamble.
Gritting her teeth, Konno caught a glance at Jonathan's eyes just as he swung to hit the ball. He was looking at her arms! The bespectacled captain smacked the ball with a reverberating boom, sending it straight past Konno's left. He had fallen for it!
"Mitsuhiko!"
With a spray of sand, the freckled pilot appeared in front of where Jonathan had targeted. Clenching his fists, he prepared his arms and bent his knees as the blue and white projectile flew straight on towards him.
"I! Got! It-"
However, it was at this moment he realized one critical error. The ball wasn't heading for his arms. He had stepped too far forward.
"Oh fr-"
In one great smack, the projectile slammed into the poor pilot's face, throwing his head backwards as he was sent flying towards the end line.
Immediately, everyone on the court froze as they watched him bounce off the sand twice before finally landing with a thump onto the ground. Their hearts sank.
"Uwah! Mitsuhiko!" cried Konno.
Scrambling over, the pilots all rushed to check on their fallen teammate as the dust settled, leaving a petrified Jonathan across the net staring in fright at his accidental fatality.
"I- I… S-Sorry- I- d-didn't mean… to…"
Sweating profusely, he turned to Anika only to see her already making her way under the net to help and promptly followed suit.
At the same time next to them, Kaito was just about to do the same when he and the referee next to him noticed the ball that had ricocheted off Mitsuhiko's face falling into Jonathan and Anika's side of the court.
"Uh… Do we count tha-"
"Yes of course!" Kaito exclaimed with a firm point at the scorekeeper before jumping off his high chair towards the pilots. "Hold down the fort while I settle this!"
"Scuse me coming through!" Kaito announced as the flight leader swooped through the growing crowd and found Konno and Genta surrounding an unconscious Mitsuhiko lying on the ground.
"Y-Yikes," he cringed before turning to Konno. "Is the medic on the way?"
"Mm, he'll be here in five minutes," Konno replied with an apprehensive nod.
But before they could say anything else, Mitsuhiko suddenly shot back up from the ground causing everyone to jump in fright.
"I'm fine!" he announced with an excited smile. "Did we score the point?"
Flinching, the pilots around him took a second to register his words before Konno eventually broke through her stupor.
"Yes we did! But you're not okay!" she snapped into his face.
"C-Crap, was I unconscious for that long?"
"Mitsuhiko, your nose," Genta stated, pointing at the freckled pilot's face.
"Huh?"
In response, he brushed his hand across his nose and realized it was bleeding slightly.
"Ah, right," he chuckled.
One of the pilots in the crowd quickly brought out a bunch of tissue and handed it to him to hold his nose with.
"Seriously, I know I said not to let them steal the win from under our noses but that didn't mean you had to sacrifice your own nose to do it," Genta grumbled, causing the rest to chuckle.
"How many fingers am I holding up?" asked Kaito as he held up his hand in front of the freckled pilot.
"Three," Mitsuhiko replied before giving a playful frown. "Seriously guys I'm fine, I turned my face before the ball hit me so there shouldn't be too much damage to my nose. Besides it was just a volleyball-"
"Just- stop talking for a moment and let us care for you," Konno sighed before giving him a smile.
Chuckling in response as all the pilots gave him similar looks, her wingman lowered his head in resignation.
"Fine…"
"U-Um!" Jonathan peeked out from behind Kaito, taking the chance to give a bow during the break in conversation. "I am- so sorry Lieutenant Takagi! I didn't mean to-"
"Well of course you should be," Kaito pouted as he playfully grabbed the captain by the neck and rubbed into his head. "You're lucky my pilot's so tough cause otherwise I'd be giving you a bloody nose right now!"
In response, the members of Osprey Squadron all let out another small laugh as Jonathan willfully took his punishment with a guilty smile.
"It's fine sir," Mitsuhiko chuckled with a shrug. "It was a good spike. Anyway it's because of Kaito's provocations that you let loose like that. So he is partly to blame."
Freezing, Kaito immediately retracted his arms from Jonathan with a nervous smile.
"Ehe."
Smiling in response as the pilots shared another laugh, Konno let out a sigh before standing up to shoo off the crowd.
"Alright guys, show's over. Our team calls for a timeout for obvious reasons. Give us some time to find someone to stand in for Mitsuhiko."
"H-Hey, I can still play," Mitsuhiko cut in. "Once the medic confirms I'm okay I can-"
However, he was cut shot by a sharp glare from both Konno and Genta, prompting him to immediately glance away.
"Right."
Slowly, the crowd of players soon began to disperse, leaving Jonathan and Anika to walk quietly along the court with Kaito.
"C-Crap I feel so bad," Jonathan let out with his head still lowered in guilt.
"It's fine Jonathan," Anika smiled with a pat to his back. "He seems okay so it's all good."
"Yeah… but…"
As he held his head and stumbled slightly, Kaito came up next to him.
"Well, if you feel so bad, you could give us a little donation in points," the flight leader grinned.
Immediately, Anika smacked him across the head which did help Jonathan smile a bit.
"Why are you here anyway?" the Zalti asked with a slightly annoyed frown. "Shouldn't you be with your pilots strategizing?"
"What are you talking about?" the flight leader shrugged. "I'm but a neutral commentator. I can't actively take part in-"
"Kaito!"
Stiffening, he spun around to see Konno pointing at him angrily with Genta and the rest standing with their arms crossed behind her.
"Where are you going? You're the last Osprey Squadron member who hasn't played yet."
Gulping slightly, he gave them a nervous chuckle and slowly shuffled towards his high chair.
"Do I really have to?" he asked as he held his head sheepishly.
The young pilot smiled in response, causing him to flinch.
Letting out a yelp, Kaito bolted back to his commentary seat as Genta and a mob of pilots swarmed around him like a pack of wolves, just missing him as he jumped up to his perch.
"Kaito! Get back down here!"
"Come on guys, I'm not even that good-"
"I got his shoe!"
"H-Hey I need that!"
Watching as Kaito was slowly dragged down by the pack of angry pilots, Jonathan and Anika let out a sigh and turned back around toward the Ikazuchi and Thunderchild tables.
"Honestly, I think if I were one of the pilots I'd go insane," Jonathan muttered as Kaito's screams were drowned out in the background.
"Yeah, it's really amazing what Lieutenant Yashiro can handle when it comes to him," Anika chuckled. "Although I'm starting to think that's how he shows his love."
"Huh?" Jonathan let out in disbelief as they went to get a drink. "Really? That's not exactly effective is it…"
"Argh! That stupid Kaito!" Konno sputtered under her breath.
Stomping toward the spectator's tables, the young pilot spun around for a moment, venting as if she were arguing with herself.
Somehow, the flight leader had weaseled his way out of playing, and now she was on the hunt for a teammate.
"Oh it's for the good of the squadron… If you all were too reliant on me you'd crumble in battle… Shut up! This is obviously different! Although then again he is kind of crap at the game… But still! What kind of commander does that!"
Taking in a sharp breath, she held her head in frustration and crouched down into a ball as she rubbed her hair furiously. Eventually, the young pilot's anger petered out and she was able to let out a sigh.
Not like that matters right now, she thought to herself as she stood up dejectedly. Who would even stand a chance against them without any practice-
Freezing in place, she realized she had been freaking out right in front of someone's table, and they had been watching as she had run her mouth and danced around like an idiot. More specifically, it was Otto and Josiah.
Cringing, she turned to them stiffly and gave them a mechanical wave with eyes that had lost all life.
"H-Hi…"
Apprehensively, the two replied with a similar awkward wave.
"Hi."
"You seem… awfully stressed Ms Yashiro," Otto smiled. "Can we help with anything?"
"I uh, no I don't think so," Konno replied sheepishly as she rubbed her neck and glanced away. "Thanks for the offer Gieszler but I think I'm fine-"
Suddenly, an idea struck her, causing her to widen her eyes before grimacing immediately.
No, hell no! But… it might…
Holding her head in dismay, the young pilot stumbled about in front of the two officers causing Otto to wince with worry.
"A-Are you sure you're alright?" Otto asked as the tactical officer next to him sighed and went back to his drink.
The young pilot slowly wandered over in response and put her arms on their table to rest.
"Yeah… Although I'm not sure how long that might last," she let out slowly as her eye twitched.
Gulping to herself, she turned to Josiah with all the grace she could muster.
"Anton, what do you think of joining the match with me?"
Otto blinked. Josiah spat out his drink.
"Eh?"
"What?!"
"Alright folks! We had a little bit of technical difficulties earlier but the match is back on!" A slightly bruised Kaito announced gleefully with his microphone in hand, having got back to his chair a few minutes ago. "I'm your favourite commentator Kaito Asuka, and I'm back here by myself to give some fun atmosphere while we wait for the teams to come back!"
Flinching, his smile loosened.
"Well, that's what I'd like to say but…"
Glancing to his left in annoyance, he shot a look at Kudo who had brought over another high chair from one of the other courts and was using it to sit next to him.
"Hello everyone! Captain Kudo here of the Ikazuchi by popular demand of both teams!" she smiled, giving a joyful wave. "Mr Asuka here has a poor track record of getting carried away according to his pilots, so I've been brought in to help provide a balanced perspective!"
A small cheer sounded from pockets around the court, prompting the brown haired captain to smirk and glance back at Kaito.
"Being the finals and all, I think it's a great idea to have both team captains providing commentary don't you think?"
Pouting, Kaito shook off his annoyed face and gave her a grin which caused her to flinch.
"Why of course Kudo!" he smiled before pointing back to the court with his free hand. "Now let's get back to the teams!"
At the same time as his statement, a small cheer erupted from the Ikazuchi-Thunderchild tables as Jonathan and Anika confidently walked back onto the court.
"On the north side, we have what seems to be the saviors of the Ikazuchi-Thunderchild team! Jonathan and Anika!"
Waving sheepishly as whistles and claps were given from all directions, the two officers took their place on the court and awaited their opponents with anticipation.
"While they're currently up five to three," Kudo added. "The two Audacious members will definitely need to keep their pants on. Considering it's still their opponent's turn to serve, this could be a potential opportunity for the flow of the match to flip against them. They can't afford to get sloppy."
"Yup, but that all depends on who Osprey Squadron decides to send out as their sub-in!" Kaito replied as he turned to their side of their court. "With the rest of the squadron already out, they're going to have to dig deep into their pockets to pull out a worthy counter to their foes."
Pausing, he noticed Genta and Mitsuhiko giving him the stink eye and immediately glanced away.
"Well then!" he quickly declared as he noticed Konno approaching from one of the tables. "Let's see it! Representing Osprey Squadron in their time of need! It's Konno and…"
Leaning forward, the cheeky flight leader smiled mischievously as he traced the movement of the person behind Konno as she left the cover of shade. But when he saw him, he gasped before letting out something between a smirk and a wince.
"Lieutenant Josiah Anton of the Audacious!"
Immediately, the Audacious crew among the crowd let out murmurs of surprise and confusion, chief among them being Genta and Mitsuhiko.
"Hey! Isn't that guy-"
"Yeah, he's the one that tried blasting Konno out of the sky twice," Mitsuhiko frowned while still holding on to the cloth on his nose.
Cringing, Josiah and Konno made their way to their starting positions on the court as they listened to the mixed reactions around them. At the same time, the tactical officer noticed Jonathan and Anika giving them sly looks, causing him to glare at Konno.
"I told you this was a bad idea!" he whispered angrily.
"I know but I didn't have any other options!" she countered quietly with blush quickly forming on her cheeks.
"Then you shouldn't have asked me in the first place idiot!"
"Shut up!" Konno exclaimed with her hushed voice before turning around and picking up a ball in preparation to serve. "Anyway you wouldn't give up a chance to get back at the captain right?"
Flinching, Josiah glanced away and walked over into his position.
"Just don't screw up your serve."
Meanwhile back on the commentator's perch, Kudo could only watch as what seemed to be organized chaos broke out among the pilots' side of the court.
"Er, am I missing something here?" she asked, turning to Kaito.
"A-Ah right," he replied with a nervous smile before he proceeded to explain the history of the pair to Kudo.
Lifting up the ball in front of her as she waited for the whistle to serve, Konno let out a sigh to herself as she eyed Josiah's back briefly, before closing her eyes and focusing on the sounds of her breathing for her pre-service routine.
Sure enough, Josiah probably had zero chemistry with her considering their history.
Hearing the whistle of the referee blow, the young pilot opened her eyes in determination and tossed the ball into the air.
But even then.
Taking two steps forward, she jumped with gritted teeth and slammed her right hand into the ball, sending it straight down the middle of the opposite court between her two opponents. However, Jonathan quickly dove down and scooped up her serve.
"Oh boy! It looks like Konno's tricky serve did not pay off!" Kaito exclaimed. "Things are looking bad for them if their opponents break through with this attack!"
In a whirlwind of sand, Konno and Josiah stepped into their defensive positions as Anika tossed the ball up high for Jonathan. At the same time, Josiah jumped to match the bespectacled captain and prepared to block directly against him.
I don't have any other choice so please work with me for once you bone headed idiot! Konno internally screamed.
The captain's hand slammed into the ball, blasting it into Josiah's arms like a bullet out of its chamber sending him tumbling. However, the ball still went up.
"Yashiro!" he exclaimed.
Widening her eyes, Konno burst forth from her position towards the ball's predicted path and dove with her right arm outstretched as far as she could reach. Hitting the sand hard, she winced as her arm slid just under the ball as it landed, sending it back into the air.
"They've done it! They've done it! Against all odds, Konno and Josiah have neutralized the demon attack!" Kaito screamed as all the pilots got up and cheered at the sight of the flying ball.
"But can they pull it back together for their own offensive?" asked Kudo.
Clenching her fists as granules of sand fell from their bodies, the two officers pulled themselves up from the ground and prepared to set and spike the ball.
However on the other side, Anika was already ready for Konno, and was tracking where she would jump at the net.
Gritting her teeth, the pilot pulled her arms back like wings and jumped with all her might. With her eyes, she called to Josiah.
Now!
Smirking, Josiah watched as Anika jumped to block Konno. But instead of setting the ball to her, he suddenly flashed his hand into a three knuckled claw-like grip and lightly tapped the ball over the net causing Konno's face to twist in a mix of horror and delight.
Ack!
Widening his eyes, Jonathan jumped forward in desperation as he watched the ball tip over the net. But unfortunately, he was just too late and the ball landed on their side of the court with a small quiet thump.
For a moment, no one knew how to react. Did he just-
"And it's a setter dump score for Osprey Squadron!" Kaito finally exclaimed, sending the court into an uproar.
"Did he really just do that?!"
"Ballsy move against the captain!"
As the cheers continued in the background, the scorekeeper flipped the score to 5-4, leaving Konno to turn to her teammate with barely restrained excitement.
"Y-You could have said something earlier you know?"
"Shut up, you know we weren't beating them on an even playing ground without any practice," Josiah grumbled. "Anyway it made for a better bait if you thought you were hitting."
Gritting her teeth in response, the young pilot snapped back at him, causing their conversation to devolve into another argument again.
"Well well well, it looks like we have a proper match here folks!" Kaito smirked as he eyed the two teams. "We may have doubted the Konno-Josiah duo earlier, but that attack has definitely blown those expectations away, isn't that right Kudo?"
However, the brown haired commander didn't reply immediately and instead seemed to be playing nervously with her fingers in response. But when she noticed the spiky haired officer's sneaky grin, she quickly pouted.
"Yes indeed!" she declared dramatically before hugging herself. "I understand it all too well now, It's a battle between the junior and senior officers! Student and master! When it comes to these types of rivalries, all tactics are on the board!"
As she said this, the two duos got back into their positions opposite each other on the court, ready for the whistle to blow any time.
"We're taking the next point as well sir!" Josiah exclaimed, causing Jonathan to grin widely.
"Ha ha ha! Oh we shall soon see about that Lieutenant Anton!" Jonathan chuckled an evil grin came up on his face. "Ready for this Anika?"
"As always!" replied Anika excitedly as both she and Konno were exchanging competitive smirks at each other in anticipation for the next round.
"Hehe, indeed!" the cheeky flight leader continued. "But the question is, which is stronger? The flames of old friends, or the embers of a new blooming relationship?"
Blowing the whistle, the referee gave Konno the signal to serve, prompting her to begin her pre-service routine.
"Frankly, it's the perfect matchup for the stakes of this tournament," Kaito smiled. "Their fates will finally be decided, which team will have the honour of acting out tonight's Romantic Christmas play~?"
Everyone froze.
Players, spectators, team members, everybody stopped what they were doing the moment they heard what he said and turned their attention to the two commenters sitting in their high chairs.
Tonight's. What?!
Noticing the sudden drop in atmosphere, Kaito tilted his head.
"Sorry, did I forget to mention that?"
He glanced over at his co-commentator and realized she too was white as a sheet. In fact more so than rest.
"Did you… not either? Hm…"
Shrugging, he explained to everyone that this competition was to help decide who had to perform the romance play he and Kudo had in store for the Christmas party later. And because they couldn't agree on who should perform, the two made a bet to say the loser of this tournament and their team would have to do it. It was a perfectly fine arrangement.
"After all, what better way to form the cast of a love story than through a trial by fire right?" he nervously added.
"Second Grade Lieutenant Kaito Asuka," Jonathan stiffly smiled. "Did you really think we would have all just… followed along if you had only told us after the match?"
"Erm, maybe-"
"Yeah no screw this, get them!" screamed Genta.
Within seconds, the entire court was converted into a battlefield as both pilots, sailors and officers alike rioted against their two fraudulent team captains who screamed in panic as their chairs were shaken by the crowd. The most vocal of which were Josiah and Konno, who led the angriest 'I did not sign up for this' charge.
"Why would you taint this competition with some stupid bet?!"
"Wait please! I can explain!" cried Kudo as she hung dearly onto her seat for life.
"We don't want excuses! We want justice!" Wells exclaimed.
"Captain! We trusted you! Relied on you! Why did you lie to us?"
"P-Please! I'm sorry!" she wailed.
But as she said this, she noticed a group of people grab onto her fellow commentator's chair from the side, and yanked it with a great pull causing him to slowly plummet into the mob.
"Sorry Captain Kudo," Kaito saluted. "It was an honor serving against you."
"Kaito!" she screamed with an outstretched hand, barely missing him as he fell into the abyss with a dignified smile.
As the mischievous monkey was promptly dealt with, Jonathan slowly began to feel breathless from the exclamations of anger and took a moment to himself in the crowd to breathe.
But as he did so, he noticed an arm locked to his own and glanced behind to see a short circuited Anika.
"R-Romance- ro- ro- play- the whole crew…"
Widening his eyes, he immediately went to tend to her.
"A-Anika! Are you alright-"
But when he continued to try and speak above the crowd, his eyes suddenly went dark and his body ended up tumbling onto her instead.
"J-Jonathan?" Anika let out in surprise as she and Jonathan fell to the sand while Kudo's chair was brought down in the background.
Stunned, Anika felt her heartbeat raced up as she felt Jonathan's warm chest pressing down on top of hers. Luckily for her, nobody was watching the awkward pose of the two as everyone else's focus was elsewhere.
"I-I'm alright," she chuckled amidst her bright red face. "You can get off me now…"
However, she quickly realized something was wrong after forcing Jonathan off her as the latter rolled onto the sand with no reaction.
"Jonathan?" Anika asked again, lightly slapping Jonathan's cheek. "Hey are you alright? Jonathan? Jonathan!?"
Widening her eyes when the acting captain still remained unresponsive, she turned to the nearest person in the crowd.
"Help! Somebody help! Commander Lee has lost unconsciousness!" she tried to exclaim over the chaos.
Eventually, her voice caught the attention of Konno who similarly freaked out and tried to perpetuate the message to the rest.
"Stop! There's a man down!"
"What?"
"Man down! Man down!"
"Someone get the medic!"
"Is the guy who tended to Mitsuhiko still around?"
About an hour later, in one of the restaurants down the road, Konno, Josiah, Mitsuhiko, Genta and even Otto, all seated around a singular rectangular table, let out one collective sigh. And even after that, they still struggled to find words for the situation they just went through.
"Um, excuse me," the waitress next to them nervously smiled. "Are you ready to take your orders yet?"
Dropping her head onto the table, Konno let out a small mumble.
"Sorry Gieszler, I don't think we have the brain power to translate the menu…"
"I-It's okay," Otto replied with a smile before turning to the waitress with a menu in hand. "Could we have these and this for sharing?"
"Yup," she nodded as she typed them into her tablet. "And drinks?"
"Erm."
He glanced at the rest of the group, who were either knocked out on the table or sitting half dead in their chairs.
"W-Water should be fine," he smiled.
As the Zalti waitress bowed politely and went away, the rest of the group let out another sigh.
Stupid Asuka.
"Do you think the captain is going to be okay? Mitsuhiko asked as he finally sat up straight.
"Probably," Konno murmured, her head still planted on the table. "According to the doctor he collapsed from overexertion and lack of sleep."
"Huh, aren't we on vacation?" Genta grumbled. "Who decides to play volleyball when they haven't even gotten a bit of sleep?"
"No idea," Josiah muttered as he sat up straight. "The captain can be an idiot when it comes to certain things."
As he said this, the group went back to being awkwardly silent again before the waitress finally came back with their first wave of drinks and food.
"Thanks for waiting, here are the starters you ordered!"
Putting their drinks down in front of them, she also put down a large bowl of fries alongside a large plate of deep fried sticks of meat. Slowly, the officers began nibbling at the food one at the time and eventually, life began to return to their expressions.
"What's inside those?" Josiah asked as he turned to Otto with a fry in hand.
"Eel," he replied cheerfully. "Or at least something like what you would call an eel. It's one of their specialties according to the menu."
"I- I see."
As the tactical officer opted to take another fry, the three pilots around him each took one stick of eel, and began blowing on them slowly before taking a bite.
"So Lieutenant Anton," Genta asked after finishing his stick in two bites. "I thought you and Konno hated each other, why the change?"
Immediately, the two spat out their water.
"Genta!" Mitsuhiko whispered. "Timing!"
"It was a one time agreement for mutual benefit!" Konno snapped as she crossed her arms.
"Exactly, the enemy of my enemy, that sort of thing," Josiah muttered. "Anyway shouldn't you be thankful Yashiro even found a teammate?"
"True, if you hadn't intervened Kaito may have not let his scheme slip like that," Genta frowned before crunching through another whole eel stick. "Seriously, what was he thinking?"
"That's not what I meant-"
"Right? I mean he could've just told us?" the young pilot grumbled causing Josiah to sigh.
"Having regrets defending him now?" he muttered.
"You know that was a different context!" she snapped back.
Mitsuhiko and Otto watched as the three took off with their rants and arguments, and both let out a quiet smile as they drank a sip of water.
After the situation with Jonathan was taken care of, Kaito and Kudo were put on trial in front of the two of their teams. After some intensive deliberation and finding out that all preparations were already made for someone to perform, volunteers from both teams decided to bite the bullet and help them out for the night. All on the condition that Kaito and Kudo would play the leading couple of course.
However, that also meant the volunteers with speaking roles only had a few hours to memorize their lines. Two of which were Konno and Genta, while the rest of the group were acting in silent roles. Surprisingly, that included Josiah.
"So? What's the story about anyway?" the junior tactical officer muttered as he munched on another fry, prompting Mitsuhiko to bring out the scripts they had received.
"Uh, something about a princess falling in love with a thief who's stealing presents from the castle," he replied as he skimmed through his booklet after passing them out. "Urgh, it looks like us guards are going to be getting beatdown a lot."
"This… definitely looks like something Kaito would write," Konno cringed as she read some of the romance scenes before letting out a small smirk. "Oh look, Anton gets hung upside down here by one of the leads."
"W-What?!"
"Hey, better than me," Genta replied as he crossed his arms. "I end up falling out of a tower."
"And unlike me you probably won't have to do that for real," Josiah muttered before he facepalmed.
"Oh? Getting chicken feet?" Konno smirked as she covered her mouth cheekily.
"Shut up."
However, before they could start arguing again, the same waitress came up behind them and interrupted them with their final dish in hand.
"Em, sorry to disturb," she smiled. "Here's your final order."
"Oh yes," Otto replied as he turned around. "Tha- EEK!"
The group glanced in his direction in surprise before freezing when they saw what he was reacting to: A giant crab staring at them with its beady eyes and tendril filled mouth.
Immediately, Josiah winced and covered his mouth.
Cheerfully, the waitress put down the massive plate of crustacean in the middle of their table along with an extra set of plates and specialised deshelling cutlery.
"Enjoy!"
It took a while for the group to comprehend the bright orange dish that was in front of them. It's body was bigger than a beachball, and each leg was about as long as a baby's arm while the claws were about the size of a handgun each.
"Uh Gieszler?" Konno asked slowly as she peeked over the giant dish.
"I'm sorry! It just said this was one of their recommended sharing platters!" he squeeked.
"N-No it's fine but-"
"Hey it's actually pretty good!" Genta suddenly cut in, having already broken open one of the two claws. "There's tons of meat inside but we should be able to finish among the five of us."
Woah, that was fast, Konno and Mitsuhiko thought simultaneously.
Letting out a sigh, they each picked off a leg for themselves. However, as they did, the young pilot soon noticed that something was missing. Glancing around, she frowned.
"Where did Mr Stick in the Mud go?"
"Oh, did you not see him?" asked Otto as he peeked around the crab. "Apparently he was feeling unwell so he said he'll be back later."
Konno blinked.
"He did what!?"
Meanwhile somewhere down the street against a building wall, Josiah let out a sigh as he tried to gulp what little he had eaten back down.
Sorry Gieszler, but crustaceans are a no go for me.
Taking a breath, he stood back up from his leaning position and glanced back down the street. He watched as the local Zalti families walked by, all pleasantly enjoying the warm weather. The sounds of the trees waving in the distance was soothing, and the constant ocean breeze made it easy to relax. It was a stark contrast from the metal corridors back on the Audacious, or from most ships for that matter.
"Oh, I'm already getting swept away now aren't I?" he mumbled under his breath.
Glancing downward, he felt his stomach growl again slightly as he pondered to himself.
Walking down the road, the tactical officer noticed a small pastel colored cart opposite him on the other side of the road. Along its side was a glass window that displayed its wears, tall clear cups filled with layers of colored cream topped with fruits and a scoop of-
Hold on, is that a parfait stand? Josiah thought in disbelief.
Glancing up, he watched as the Alterian man at the store gave a smile to two customers and handed them their orders.
"I guess the people of the LMC like their desserts too," he sighed softly to himself.
Walking over, he was careful to avoid the passing foot traffic as he eyed the stand's menu next to the shopkeeper. It seemed like there was only one flavor, but in the place of multiple flavors the menu showed a cross section of the dessert they were selling with the different ingredients that were used marked as symbols.
"Hi, uh. One of these please," Josiah asked as he reached the stand, pointing at the display.
"Righto! Coming right up!"
As the shopkeeper crouched down behind his stand, Josiah let out another small sigh and glanced down the road. But as he did, he noticed a hooded girl crouched in the corner of the stand. Her face was right up to the glass, eyeing the bottom row of cups intently.
"Haven't seen your face around here before sir, did someone recommend you?" came the shopkeeper's voice.
"No, just wanted something sweet for a change," Josiah replied quietly as he continued observing the strange girl.
"Ah I see! Well, don't worry sir. These desserts come from across the galaxy! You won't be disappointed!" added the shopkeeper from behind the counter, though Josiah completely ignored him.
Judging by her build, she looked no more than fourteen years old. And while she was acting strangely, her clothes were no different from the other pedestrians he'd been seeing.
"Um, the queue is over here," Josiah stated, shrugging towards the counter as he walked over to her.
However, the girl didn't respond, causing his eye to twitch slightly in annoyance. Crouching down to her level, he took a glance at the desserts she was looking at before glaring at her.
"Look, if you keep hiding here the owner's not going to see you-"
Without warning, the girl spun towards him with big sparkling peach colored eyes that froze Josiah in his tracks.
"I do not have any acceptable money to pay with, so looking at them like this is good enough for me!" she replied enthusiastically.
Her voice was light, but yet firm. And while still holding her hands excitedly to her chest, she turned back to the dessert in front of her, leaving a few strands of yellow hair trailing from her hood as she did so.
Taking a few moments to process, Josiah cringed internally.
Gah!
"Erm, excuse me sir! Your parfait is ready!" came the shop owner's voice again.
Facepalming in embarrassment, he stood up slowly in response and turned back to the Atlerian.
"T-Thanks," he replied reluctantly, still holding his face. "Sorry, could I get one more cup as well."
Blinking at his odd behavior, the shopkeeper replied with a friendly head tilt.
"Why of course!"
Dropping his head as the Alterian went to prepare another serving, Josiah grabbed the first cup along with a spoon and crouched back down to the young girl.
"Here," he stated, barely able to hide his trademark annoyed expression.
Again, the girl took a little while to respond. But when she did, she turned to him with the same immersed look in her eyes before looking down at the cup in his hand.
"Oo!"
Beaming subtly, she took the cup from his hands and admired it from head to toe before pausing to turn back to Josiah.
"Thank you kind sir," she smiled politely with a bow of her head. "I appreciate your gift very much."
Her tone seemingly changed from enthusiastic preschooler to formal princess in a matter of seconds, causing Josiah to flinch briefly before he quickly shook it off.
"Don't follow me, don't trail me, don't think about me," he replied quickly as he narrowed his eyes at her. "This is the only one."
Nodding once in response, she tilted her head with a smile.
"Understood!"
Flinching again at her simple mindedness, Josiah nodded in affirmation before standing back up to get his own cup.
"Here you go," said the Alterian. "Would you like to pay by cash or visitor's pass?"
"Pass," Josiah answered tonelessly as he handed him the card.
As they proceeded with payment, the young girl stood up next to him, and observed him curiously as he politely took a spoon and took back his card.
"You are a very nice person mister," she added as he took his cup of parfait.
Turning to her in surprise, he narrowed his eyes again.
"You wouldn't think that if you saw me anywhere else."
Hearing his statement, she tilted her head to the other side.
"Does that make what I see of you here any less you?"
Josiah flinched, caught off guard by her surprisingly philosophical statement. Thinking briefly to himself before closing his eyes with a sigh, he turned around back toward the restaurant.
"Doesn't matter, you won't see me again anyway," he murmured, giving a wave as he left the parfait stand behind.
But as he got a distance away, Josiah's confident posture collapsed.
Should've stayed on the ship when I had the chance, the tactical officer grumbled to himself as he nommed on a scoop of ice cream.
"N- Urgh, where..."
Jonathan's eyes creaked open slowly to the blurry sight of a dim room's ceiling. Groggily, he remembered the faint noises of a volleyball match, and the riot that soon happened after.
Was that... a dream? he silently thought to himself, before instinctively to the side for his glasses. Sure enough there they were.
Putting them on, he reopened his eyes to get a better look around. He presumed the room he was in was a hotel bedroom as while it was furnished cozily, it seemed too clean to be anyone's quarters.
With his senses now awake enough, the bespectacled officer got up from his resting place, holding his head groggily as he went for a door.
But when he opened it, he flinched as he found himself face to face with Anika, who had two cups of water in her hands.
"A-Anika?!" he let out in surprise, causing his friend to jump.
"O-Oh! Jonathan you're awake!"
After recovering from their initial surprise, the two took some time in the hotel's living room to recount what happened as they shared a drink together.
"So my lack of sleep finally caught up with me huh?" Jonathan sighed, hanging his head in guilt. "Sorry, I didn't mean to hide it from you. My mind was too focused on... other things."
Chuckling in response from the couch opposite him, Anika gave him a small smile.
"It's fine," she waved dismissively. "We had our fill of fun. Although it's unfortunate you didn't get to see Kaito's face at the end of the whole riot when he realized his plan backfired."
"Oh right," Jonathan replied as he looked up to her with narrowed eyes. "Please tell me he got his comeuppance."
"I have a photo," she cheekily smiled, holding up her tablet.
Widening his eyes, Jonathan smiled deviously and shuffled over.
"Oh yes, what did you guys do to-"
But before he could catch a glance, the doorbell rang. Turning their heads to the door briefly, the two glanced at each other.
"Did you call for room service?"
"No?"
Standing up, they went to answer the door together. Opening it wide, they widened their eyes in surprise to see Lieutenant Commanders Wells and Kudo standing outside.
"Wells and Kudo! What are you doing here-"
"One two- Sorry for roping you into our competition!" the two simultaneously exclaimed as they both gave a deep bow.
"We shouldn't have coerced you into joining when you were feeling under the weather," Kudo guilty added.
"It's not much, but please accept this as a token of our apology," said Wells, raising up a box of chocolates to them.
Flinching, Jonathan and Anika paused for a moment before the latter accepted their gift.
"Oh that…" the bespectacled captain chuckled sheepishly. "Nah it's all good because partially that's my fault as well since I couldn't resist beating Kaito as well. And also I haven't been getting enough good sleep lately. Hahaha…"
"I-I see," Kudo smiled as she and Wells stood back up straight. "Thank you for your consideration commander."
"Although… What exactly were you trying to pull, agreeing to a scheme like that?" Jonathan added with the cross of his arms.
Jumping in her skin, the short brown haired captain lowered her head and glanced away nervously.
"Uh, apologies sir… I just thought it'd be funny."
Immediately, Wells followed her statement with a swift chop to her head, causing the young captain to flinch and crouch down slowly in pain.
"Ow… Wells, that hurts," she whined while holding her head.
"Sorry, I still had to purge some residue emotion from earlier," Wells tonelessly replied with closed eyes before turning back to the slightly dumbfounded Jonathan and Anika. "If I may, Will you two be attending the Christmas party later sir?"
Blinking, the two turned to each other briefly before nodding.
"I don't see why not," replied Anika.
"I see, that's good to hear," he smiled warmly. "Despite their appearances, Lieutenant Commander Kudo and Lieutenant Asuka actually took a lot of care in planning an event for everyone else to enjoy. So I do hope you drop by later."
Pausing, he turned to Kudo, who was now looking at him with puppy eyes.
"Aww Wells, you didn't have to… Ow!"
Chuckling as the Ikazuchi's commander stood up rubbing her head, Jonathan gave a nod to Wells.
"We'll be there."
"Thanks," Wells replied as he and Kudo gave another small bow. "Well, we won't take up any more of your time so we'll be heading back."
"No problem," Jonathan waved as they headed back down the corridor. "Oh yeah, one more thing!"
Turning back in curiosity, the two tilted their heads.
"About what you said about escort ships not getting the credit," the bespectacled captain added before pointing at himself and Anika. "We do understand your frustration. Both of us started off from such ships as well. But from our experience, there have been many occasions where the smallest or oldest vessel can make a big difference in turning the tide in battle. So chin up okay? You'll eventually get your chance."
Pausing at his statement, the two widened their eyes in response before giving him a thankful smile.
"Thank you sir, we'll see you later at the party," they waved.
Closing the door as they left, Anika let out another small smile as Jonathan returned to the couch with the box of chocolates in hand.
"See what a little sleep can do for you?" she chuckled.
"Huh? What do you mean?" the bespectacled captain asked as he obviously popped a chocolate into his mouth.
Blinking, Anika let out a sigh and casually went back to take her empty glass from the coffee table in front of him.
"Well, the party isn't going to start till about eight," she smiled before heading towards the kitchen. "Since you're probably in no shape to go out, we can just relax here till then."
"Hm? I'm actually fine though," Jonathan replied, turning to her from his seat. "You don't need to worry about me collapsing again."
Pausing, the Zalti turned back to her friend who was still wearing a cheerful smile.
"Besides, ever since you brought me down to this planet, I haven't felt so carefree and excited in a long while," he continued. "Honestly it's been really refreshing and fun just to hang out with you and the other crew members as well. So if you still want to do something else beforehand I really don't mind."
"I- I see," Anika replied, lowering her head briefly as she held onto her glass with both hands. "Well, since everyone's busy preparing for the party, there's actually another beach spot outside town we could go to to enjoy the sunset. Would you like to check that out?"
"Oh sure, I don't mind it. Especially after all the noisy chaos during the beach volleyball earlier today," Jonathan replied enthusiastically as he got up. "Not to mention…"
Holding his chin in thought for a moment, he nodded to himself and turned around towards the room to get his belongings.
"Actually, do you think we could stop by somewhere on the way?" he asked. "I just thought of something fun we could do as well."
"S-Sure," Anika replied as Jonathan went in and came out moments later with his bag.
The auburn haired girl went quiet for a moment as she observed her friend, watching as he double checked all the things he needed to carry.
"H-Hold it you don't have to pack so quickly," she chuckled before quickly going in and out of the kitchen to drop her glass off. "I need to prepare as well."
"Oh, yeah of course, take your time," Jonathan replied, still searching through his bag as she went into the room.
But as Anika got to the door she paused for a moment.
"Thanks for holding out for me," she added quietly.
"Hm? Sorry, did you say something?"
However she had already gone back into the room, leaving Jonathan to tilt his head.
"Oh it's you again."
Back in town, Jonathan gave a nervous chuckle as he placed the sandcastle set in front of the Zalti shop owner who had witnessed their previous awkward swimsuit purchase session.
"Y-Yeah well I'm just back to buy this sandcastle set," he explained as the man scanned its label. "Just going to use it as a little time passer while Anika and I enjoy the sunset. Apparently there's a nice quiet spot on the beach we're going to."
"Ah, your girlfriend is quite knowledgeable isn't she?" he replied before typing on his cash register. "Visitor pass again?"
"Like I said we're not like that," Jonathan replied as he handed him the card.
"Right, my bad," he chuckled before keying in something into his cashier and sliding the pass through it with a beep.
Turning back to him with the bag of sandcastle tools in hand, the short haired Zalti gave him a smile.
"Here, enjoy your outing!"
"Thanks and have a nice evening!" Jonathan replied with a friendly nod.
Half an hour later, Jonathan and Anika had left the bustling tourist town and found themselves walking on a wooden boardwalk among a colorful tropical jungle. During their walk between the trees and bushes, the pair would take some glances at beautiful flora or animals that they stumbled on occasion, looking around the vegetation of the tropical forest in curiosity.
"Hey Anika, it's been a while since we left the hotel," Jonathan said with a look of concern as he gazed around the vegetation of the rainforest. "Are we near the place you wanted to show me?"
Anika looked around through the dense trees and spotted some light shining through some of the spaces between the logs. "Actually, we're almost here! Come on!"
Jonathan gave out a huge gasp of awe as he viewed the beautiful view that opened up in front of him. A twisty curved streak of fine white sand that formed the perimeter of a lovely cove that had a nice small island with trees on it. The sky was still early evening blue with lovely swirly clouds that gave sufficient shade. The whole natural scenery was straight out of the classical novels of Robinson Crusoe of those tropical paradise islands that Jonathan read when he was little.
As Jonathan sat on the warm white sand to take in the gorgeous sight in front of his eyes, Anika also crouched down to join him.
"So what do you think?" asked Anika with a wry grin on her face.
"Absolutely magnificent!" replied Jonathan, shaking his head with a big smile. "I guess that long hike was worth it."
"Of course," replied Anika with a proud smile before looking at the big bag that Jonathan bought at the store earlier. "So what's with that?"
"Oh this?" Jonathan replied, opening up the bag that contained the sand castle set.
"A sandcastle set?" asked Anika with a puzzled and amused look. "Really?"
"What?" asked Jonathan, raising an eyebrow. "Haven't you built one before?"
"Not really, I haven't tried it before," replied Anika sheepishly. "Is it fun?"
"Of course it is!" said Jonathan in an excited tone. "It's just not limited to building castles alone. You can build all sorts of things with sand. I once tried making a sand replica of an old Earth battleship myself to a limited degree of success."
Jonathan nervously chuckled before whispering to himself. "Yeah, that one didn't really go that well."
Anika looked at the sand castle set with slight hesitation but decided to have a try, after all this was Jonathan's outing and she wanted him to enjoy it as much as he wanted.
"Erm…" Anika stammered. "D-d-do you mind if you can teach me how to make one?"
Jonathan widened his eyes slightly and smiled reassuringly. "Sure! Just follow my lead."
After finding a nice spot on the beach and laying down their personal belongings on a mat they laid on a patch of sand, Jonathan began to teach Anika the basics of building a sandcastle for the next twenty minutes. Which included collecting the right kind of wet sand and using the tools and molds to their best potential. To the auburn haired girl's surprise, she was not just able to follow Jonathan's instructions easily but found that she was actually able to enjoy making these sand buildings as well. She was even able to recreate one of the spiral tower designs that was usually seen in Garmillan architecture.
Impressed by her learning curve and skills, Jonathan asked whether they would try to build a large sand city together which Anika cheerfully agreed.
By sundown, both Jonathan and Anika had created a large sized hybrid Earth-Garmillan sand city with at least a dozen buildings in total.
"Phew! I am done!" Exclaimed Anika proudly as she walked towards Jonathan who was already resting on the beach mat they previously laid out. "That was more fun than I thought."
"Glad you enjoyed it," Jonathan smiled as he handed her a bottle of water for her to drink.
"Oh thank you!" Said Anika as she received the bottle before sitting down on the mat right beside him and opening it up to take a gulp. "Just curious though, how exactly did you learn to do all this stuff?"
"Oh it was kind of an old habit and hobby I picked up when I was little," Jonathan replied sheepishly with a chuckle. "There was this shop at a beach a couple of miles from where I lived and they were demonstrating how to use some sand castle building tools. It was quite fascinating, so I picked up the skills and I've been building sand castles every time I've come across a patch of sand with my family."
"Ah I see," Anika smiled warmly as she added the final details of a sand spiral tower. "That's nice."
"What about you?" asked Jonathan in return. "Did you have any memories of going to a beach as well when you're little?"
"Oh yeah, plenty of times," Anika replied cheerfully. "My older sister and I usually went to the beach when we were little back on my home planet of Zaltz. Mostly surfing and sunbathing."
"Surfing huh," asked Jonathan, his eyes perked up. "Were you any good?"
"Er I'm mostly average," Anika admitted. "Although my father and Uncle Langscroff were better."
At that moment Jonathan started to snicker uncontrollably, much to Anika's chagrin.
"What's so funny?" she asked with an annoyed pout.
"Nothing," Jonathan replied while trying to catch his breath. "It's just that I never thought that Garmillan officers like Langscroff would have such a hobby."
"Hey we're not all uptight military officers you know," said Anika flatly. "We have our own hobbies now and then. Especially you!"
"I know, I know," replied Jonathan with a wave of his right arm. "Although I'm envious though… It must be nice having a father or uncle figure who is open to share similar interests and values. I wish I had that..."
"Oh, I'm sorry" Anika cringed slightly and quickly decided to change the topic. "Well at least you can enjoy tranquil moments like this now and then right?"
The young bespectacled captain lowered his head with his eyes as he pondered over Anika's words.
"Yeah it certainly is," replied Jonathan quietly opening his eyes to stare at the evening scenery once more. "Especially after all the endless battles we've been fighting. I really... Miss this peaceful ambience. It's been so long since I experienced it…"
"Far too long..." he continued with a longing but peaceful look on his face.
Anika smiled in agreement as both she and Jonathan looked towards the sunset before them. The sky was now bathed with a beautiful orange light that illuminated the clouds in shades of pink and purple. Insects chirped in a long monotonous but musical tone that was complemented by the repeated crashing of the waves on the beach as high tide began to come in.
"Hey Jonathan," asked Anika softly. "I was just wondering, what are we exactly?"
Jonathan turned to gaze at Anika, watching her chew her lower lip in anxiety while her eyes were downcasted.
"What do you mean?"
"I-I-I m-mean, are we just friends?" Anika said nervously as she fumbled about with her words. "We've a-al-lready known each other for nearly three years. Although technically it's nine months together serving alongside each other between both our first and current assignments. I mean I was wondering… Well after all this time… D-d-do… Do you see anything… Special... Between us?"
Jonathan paused to think about Anika's words for a couple of silent moments. Remembering his suspicions regarding Anika having potential feelings about him, he wondered whether she was asking whether he shared the same sediment. Truth be told, he actually did. Quite strongly in fact. It probably had started since the day they both parted near the end of the War with Gatlantis where Anika's new posting involved escorting that diplomatic convoy while he was reassigned and posted on the Dover. He had really missed her company in those long months before their reunion.
In terms of aesthetics, Anika was really attractive, especially with the beach attire she still wore. The orange swimsuit that she wore underneath her thin white shirt in particular really complimented her fair skin tone quite well. Her lithe body gave off a curved but slim profile, giving off an impression she was in her late teens. But it was her enthralling emerald green eyes and her dazzling auburn hair which blew gracefully in the evening breeze that were arguably the most captivating elements of her appearance.
However, what had really gotten Jonathan smitten over Anika was her warm and caring personality. Her openness to listen to his struggles and opinions whether be it social or emotional. And the advice she usually gave greatly helped him better in bonding with people he typically didn't associate well was greatly valuable. She had filled in an emotional gap and support that he hadn't felt since…
Jonathan stopped and mentally shook his head, realizing that despite the now very strong possibility that they both have feelings for one another, it was currently impossible to pursue an intimate relationship. Especially with their individual responsibilities to their respective duties. However, he still wanted to preserve the current status quo of their friendship. It was just too precious to be tossed aside for the sake of duty. And he wanted her to know that too. Thus, Jonathan finally gave his answer.
"Of course," he said with a warm smile. "After all the experiences that we shared through extraordinary circumstances from the war. I dare say we're both definitely more than just comrades in arms or casual friends. If there is anything I could say that can describe our relationship with one another: It's partners. In more ways than one."
Upon hearing his answer, Anika's eyes widened briefly as they glanced briefly at Jonathan, before turning back to look at the horizon in front of them.
"Partners in more ways than one," Anika repeated to herself thoughtfully before smiling. "Yeah, I like the sound of that..."
At that moment Anika scooted closer to Jonathan and to the latter's surprise began to gently lean on his left shoulder. His face reddened as her touch seemed to electrify his senses.
"Hey Jonathan," she whispered gently. "When my tenure aboard the Audacious is over, I'm going to work harder than before to make sure we can enjoy more days like this in the future. Days where we don't have to fear for our lives or worry about orders from above or be judged from where we came from."
Jonathan glanced at Anika in surprise.
"Really? That would be nice," he replied before smiling. "But how are you going to do that?"
"Follow Uncle Langscroff's footsteps of course," Anika answered. "To help create a future where people from Garmillas, Zaltz, Earth and even what's left of Alteria can happily coexist and build a kinder universe."
Jonathan paused at Anika's idealistic words and sighed. "That's going to take a long while… Especially after what happened with the Aldebaran."
"Well I guess I have my work cut out for me," she replied with a chuckle before turning to Jonathan with a smile. "But even so I look forward to that day. No matter how long it takes."
Jonathan blushes causing him to avoid eye contact with her enthralling green eyes.
"A-a-anyway, we still have to focus on dealing with the Gatlantean threat," Jonathan stammered nervously as he tried to deflect her remark. "After all, if we are to let the civilians prosper happily without the fear of being attacked. We need to get that done first."
"Of course, that's our job after all my dear partner," Anika quipped before giving him a small grin.
Jonathan widened his eyes in surprise, before letting out a chuckle, shaking his head in amusement.
"Yeah, same goes to you too," Jonathan jested in return, giving Anika a light teasing nudge with his elbow causing her to giggle in response.
The two leaned their heads on each other as stars began to become visible in the fading evening sky above them, lighting up one after another like a faint christmas tree. As they rested with contented smiles on their faces, unbeknownst to them, their sand city was under siege by the incoming waves of the high tide, slowly eroding the buildings with one swash after another.
Suddenly, a small rustling noise sounded from behind causing Anika to jolt up from their blissful stupor and spin around.
"W-What was that?"
"W-What was what?" asked Jonathan, caught off guard by her sudden movement.
The bespectacled captain watched as his friend scanned the dark foliage behind them. For a few moments, neither of them moved. But eventually, Anika relented and turned back to the front with a sigh.
"S-Sorry… I thought I heard something," Anika replied as she held her face in embarrassment.
"It's fine," Jonathan shrugged reassuringly before giving another quick glance at the jungle behind them. "Although, there aren't any large land predators around here right?"
"Of course not. Well, at least… there shouldn't be…"
Turning back to his friend, Jonathan gulped as she gave him a slightly nervous look that suggested she hadn't checked.
But before either could say anything else, they were interrupted by a voice from down the beach.
"Um, excuse me you two? Are you visitors by any chance?"
Glancing towards the voice in surprise, Jonathan and Anika looked up to see two security guards a small ways away walking towards them with flashlights in hand.
"Y-Yes we are!" Anika quickly replied as she sat up.
"Crap, were we not supposed to be here?" asked Jonathan with slight worry.
"No, I think they're just doing their rounds," chuckled Anika.
As she said this, the two guards reached them at the same time.
"Yup, we've had a few accidents involving late night swims the past few weeks," explained the first Zalti guard with a smile and a tip of his hat. "Sorry to disturb you two lovebirds at this time in the evening."
The two flinched at the comment but decided not to reject it this time as they glanced away sheepishly.
"No it's fine," smiled Anika as she stood up and brushed herself off. "It's about time we went off as well."
"Oh yeah! We still have the party later," Jonathan let out in panic, causing Anika to widen her eyes.
"Oh, right! I completely forgot- how much more time do we have?"
"Erm, it's about 7-"
But before Jonathan could finish his sentence, he suddenly felt a strong hand grab the bottom half of his face from behind.
W-What the-
Widening his eyes, his eyes instinctively flashed toward Anika as a sweet smell filled his nostrils and the world began to warp around him. To his horror, the auburn haired girl was forcefully restrained by the guard who had given them that friendly smile earlier and had her face held firmly with a cloth from behind to suppress her muffled screams, trying in vain to break from his grip.
Anika! Jonathan mentally screamed in an attempt to pull himself toward her.
But his body refused to move as the helpless captain began to succumb to the effects of the drug. Feeling faint and disoriented, the last thing he saw before falling into darkness was Anika falling limp in her captor's arms.
A/N: "Ooh, ah," that's how it always starts. But then later there's running and screaming... Sorry, had to add that quote from Ian Malcom from Jurassic Park: The Lost World. XD
Gotta say my proofreader and I had a blast writing this fun slice of life styled chapter, especially with the shenanigans in the beach volleyball match and its anti-climatical and chaotic ending. We really wanted to really do an arc where we see our characters interact with one another outside of the war and the military and see some sides to their personality that we haven't seen before. And I think we mostly accomplished it. It wasn't all fun and easy as some of the scenes including those between Jonathan and Anika post-volleyball action were pretty hard to work on and had constant rewrites. But so far I am happy with the end result.
And just when you thought this was an ordinary relaxing beach episode arc... (evil chuckle) You'll eventually see what happens to both Jonathan and Anika afterwards... But you'll have to wait at least two more months as both of us are very busy in real life. Rest assured, we have something good coming up that will propel the plot forward.
Until then, Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!