Muv-Luv Reversal

by Zuoriel

Takeru has been leading a normal life until now. During the summer vacation of his second year in college he's invited by his high school friends to meet up again, to which he agrees. Shirogane doesn't know that this decision would release the nightmares that have been haunting him for some time, nightmares that would be better left forgotten.

66. One Last Night in Peace (II)

A/N: I recommend you all to read this chapter while listening to the song 'Heroine' from Shin Megami Tensei II.

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Chapter 66:

One Last Night in Peace (II)

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December 2nd, some minutes after 9 PM.

(Tokyo, in a hotel near Hibiya Station.)

[Raiko]

---

Relenting a sigh, relaxing and stretching my legs, I rest the papers onto the desk. I am loath to admit, this report of possible BETA stragglers in the main land is far more severe than I previously anticipated. The area that has been scoured is very large, yet not a trace has been located as of now.

This scouting will take me at least a week of leave, perhaps until the twelfth. Even with the secondary mechanic crew, we might face unexpected setbacks since Kazama is no longer with us for the moment. I cannot believe Yuuhi-sama took her from us without notice, and without notifying me of the motive. To think she'd lease the Type-00C to the UN, unacceptable.

Leaning back onto my seat, crossing my legs and looking at the yellowish tint that illuminates my studio, my lips part on their own to sigh yet again. Slow and tense, as if once more showering with cold water, is the shiver which courses through my back, from my nape to the tip of my toes.

"Once more, back to the battlefield. And now of all times, as well." Gently pressing a side of my neck with a few fingers, delving into the knot formed in my muscles, I again slowly sigh and gasp as the massage continues. And yet… it is but a lacking replica, a foul imitation of what once graced my skin, such careful and precise pressure.

Standing up from my seat, returning the papers to the folder, I then place it back inside the suitcase that I was given during my visit to the Shogun's chambers. Leaving the dark metallic rectangle dangling from a hook on the wall, my sight directs itself towards the windows. Towards the distant shape of the hall where the UN's High Council is located, shimmering amidst the dusk.

Obstructed reports, empty message logs. Cut wires, strange footprints. Distant echoes, blurred letters. Secrecy, and deafening silence.

Is there truly someone in the HC plotting against our wishes? Yuuhi-sama seemed to agree on this notion, yet it is hard to believe. For if such is the case, we are surrounded by hostiles. Camp Kitanomaru, the HC and the Diet, all of them surrounding our outposts and Yuuhi-sama's residence. Not to mention, there's that vixen fox as well behind the board. Moving the pieces, perhaps.

"I can only hope nothing occurs in my absence. It may be time for action and not words, yet it does bring me pause. To leave milady's side at such a crucial juncture."

However, at the very least what which once shone within her eyes seems to have been reignited as of now. A small consolation amidst all these setbacks.

Licking my lips, again tracing my neck with my fingertips to then run a hand over my hair as the touch was insufficient in comparison, I lean towards the glass. Closer, until my forehead is touching its cold surface, and my eyes return their reflection's stare. Where she once was solid metal sinking into the undercurrents as she desperately clung onto an olive branch, now that quiet yet burning impulse once more shines in milady's very being. It is far more moderated, modest and composed than the prominence she once was during the invasion. Scorching, defiant, undaunted light uncovering a darkened map. Now, however, it is but candlelight. Yet, that is how it starts. Slowly, so slowly, just as dawn. A small kindling foretells the rise of the sun every day, and this rediscovered mental fortitude might as well be that for my Regent.

Gulping the sigh I was about to release, nibbling at my bottom lip, my sight decides to veil itself. And feeling the breaths I take, the current into my lungs, the pressure on my underbelly, only to then release it all and begin again. The cold of the glass grows, expands on my scalp and forehead, the minute twitching of my neck as I massage it, the turn and curves as my fingers reach my nape. Drifting off as if suspended in lukewarm water, my inhaling calmer with each repetition, I then open my eyes.

And my reflection returns my stare. And the suitcase is still as I left it. So, this truly is no dream.

Allowing myself a small smile, trapping a few fingers under my chin as it lowers, my other hand reaching for my shoulder to counter the slow descent of cold shivers on me, merely sway a bit is all I can muster in this tranquility.

"You truly… are still alive? Sigh. If only I had been notified sooner." Mana better handle this mock battle tactfully, otherwise she should ready herself for quite the retaliation. Still, how are you as of now?

Alone in that base, under the UN Farces' clutches, commanded by that vixen fox of all people. If as Tsuhi said you're still calm and collected, perhaps there is no reason for me to ruminate in this manner over the state of affairs in such negative a light. However, if you do grow adusted, if that calmness is but a facade…

"U-Um… So, what do you think of today's dinner, Captain?"

Static, ashes. A jolt on my nape, further embers on my ears.

"It's nothing. I just… I just tripped as I was patrolling. It's just a scratch, Raiko-san."

I look back, despite knowing you're not there. So I can only sigh.

"We're going to… No, we already lost the war, didn't we?"

No shelter to release my anger to, the rope of a well teared and stranding the water away. No sounds echoing behind my steps, the silence that has become a cloak ingrained to my back for over two years.

"You don't have to apologize, for real. You were right, I should have been the one who died that day."

Nothing lingering in the shadows, no spark to light up a fire in this so confusing board, this so lonesome night.

The torn pages, crossed out words. The wreckage after a typhoon, or BETA corpses after a bombardment. Cold, no, frozen. No, freezing into stillness, sinking into the depths. Just three words after the tattered visage, the lines of ink quivering as if he had written them during an earthquake. Three blurred words, assaulted by pouring teardrops perhaps, I'll never know.

Please help me

I choke, moving away from the window. Constricting and coiling upon itself, no air can filter through my throat for a moment. Ringing far away, echoing, that accursed beeping reaches my ears. I know there is no way that is the case, so my hands clamp on both of them, pressing softly the palms onto the ears, my fingertips massaging the start of my neck. Softly pressing, slowly massaging, fifty times in total as you had taught me. No ringing is left in my ears as I remove my hands from them. Yet, once again, the wound has been reopened. And knowing you're out there, somewhere, I cannot help but to scratch the glass, a frown engraved in my reflection.

I have grown used to your absence. Yet, I am loath to disappoint you, Takeru. For I am unable to truly rein in my displeasure at this turn of events, after all.

"…Mother?"

Twitching at the intrusion, quickly turning around, Fujikagi slowly squeezed himself into the room as he opens the door, eyes fixated on me.

"Fujikagi, what are you doing here? It's past nine in the night, you should be sleeping." Going up to him, I ruffle his hair, perhaps a bit too strongly. He groans and pouts as he raises both hands upwards. Relenting to his demand with a smile, I embrace him and take him off the floor. "So, what happened?"

"I can't sleep."

"But you have to."

"But you left the lights off. Then I saw you were still up."

"You need to get accustomed to it, dear. There is nothing in the dark, you don't have to be afraid."

"Uh," Resting his head on my shoulder, his protesting continues, "can you stay with me until I fall asleep?"

"Sigh. Fine, however, you have to stay in your room at night, Fujikagi. Otherwise, if you keep doing this, I will have to scold you," Smiling at his wide eyes, my fingers pincer the tip of his nose gently for a moment.

"Are people that don't sleep early bad?"

"Yes, for real. Boys that do not fall sound asleep and stay awake until late are very, very naughty," I say, slowly and distorting my voice, faking a small combustion in my eyes. His squeal, the strengthened hold on my shoulder only causes me to giggle. "So, let's go back." Exiting my office, closing the door with my free hand as I lift him slightly, shifting his weight, to then go towards his room.

Walking past the small living room of our apartment, opening the door, the sheets barely even moved, the light now turned on despite how I had switched it off before leaving him here. Having him sit on his bed, before tucking him under the sheets, I crouch by Fujikagi's side, playing with his bangs as he grabs the blue shirt you had always used to halt his wailing. Almost like a mirage, it feels as if it was yesterday that you were such a small thing that was still learning to speak properly.

Turning under the sheets, Fujikagi looks at me, "Am I truly bad for not going to sleep?" Clutching the blue close to his face, brows slightly furrowed, he keeps staring.

"I was merely jesting, Fujikagi. However, you do need to get used to falling asleep on your own."

"…I don't like it."

"I am aware. However, as I told you, I will have to leave for work. You need to start behaving well while I'm away," I remind, tapping his brows, running a finger over them. "You promise me you'll be good?"

Groaning for a moment, he then nods, "I will. But, why do you have so much work today?"

"It's just how it is, that's why we visited Her Highness."

"But if you stay up until late, you're going to be bad, Mother," He counters, eyes sharpening as he rustles behind the blue shirt.

"It's alright, I was almost done in fact." Caressing his hair a few times, simply looking into his eyes, I allow myself to rest onto the bed, our foreheads touching. "So you be a good boy and close your eyes. It's very, very late after all."

Trying and failing to restrain a yawn, he edges closer, "You won't stay up?"

"No, I promise." Smiling his way, my hands go down to his cheek, tickling him with a finger.

Slowly, he turns around some more, trying to find a position he's comfortable in. Once he does find it, one hand reaches for my sleeve while the other hugs the shirt to his chest. And for a moment, I allow my eyes to close and enjoy the silence, the small and tender warmth by my side, and the scent of vanilla that lingers in Fujikagi's resting place. I swear, how much do I miss the days when enveloping you in that same shirt, in this sweet perfume was enough to douse your cries. Simply having you feel that company was enough to lull you back to slumber. Now that you're properly aware of your surroundings, however, attempting to deceive you is proving to be quite futile.

Furthermore, if you do rise up at night, I alone have to look after you. At least you're no longer wailing loudly when you do wake up at late hours, even if I sometimes find you snuck into my bed somehow. Opening my eyes, his breathing now looks steady. His face relaxed, slow and calm like a lake fish swimming to its leisure. Yet, upon my arm retracting, his fingers dive into my sleeve, his brows furrow in complain. Little choice do I have but to remain by you then, until you're deeper into sleep. Perhaps I should have left the lights on when bringing you here earlier.

After a few minutes, his fingers slip from my sleeve on their own. Ruffling his hair softly, kissing his forehead, and slowly standing up to ensure I made as little noise as possible, I turn off the lights and leave his room, taking one last good look at him by the door.

"Sigh… At least he's sound asleep now." Pacing to the kitchen, I serve myself a glass of water. I then return to my office.

Placing everything in its proper place in the shelves, the folders, the books, my desk is left in proper form. Now, the suitcase is already filled with all the docs I require, the mails to the maintenance crew have already been sent, so that they could start the preparations for our machines to be readied for the sortie. The reports of the day have been reviewed, the necessary paperwork for my House's affairs has also been handled already.

"I believe no pending duties are eluding me at the moment." So, having confirmed that, I open my drawer and take out the small transparent foil out. The papers within having the small notes I was bestowed after Mana's call, the papers that have the intel we possess about your situation.

Inhaling sharply, for a moment my hands stall a reaction. My eyes merely scan the first page over and over, despite it being only a fake title in case anyone placed their eyes on it before I read and dispose of it. Almost as if I had been buried in sand up to my waist, my limbs and joints stuck and rusted, despite a deep exhalation which reaches my hands I cannot stop pursing my lips, shifting my legs as I stare. As if someone was pulling my hair downwards, my nape tickles. Resisting the urge to look back again, to bring my hands to my neck in an attempt to subdue the illusory tickling, two fingers drag the papers out. Leaving them on the desk as I barely rise from my seat to bring it as close to the wood as possible, I again sigh as I send the first page away.

…

So he arrived on the 22nd, right before all of these… 'advancements' were announced. Merely a coincidence? No, I think not. If Mana's words about a secret mock battle between Gekishins at late night is to be believed, it's almost as if Takeru was the perfect subject for these testings. To further improve the potency of our boosters and to favor such finesse in dodging is something only his eccentric mind would concoct.

"To be honest, if this is you, I cannot help but to feel a bit dejected. All these years and you have not tamed your liking towards those flamboyant maneuvers. Sigh…" I cannot help but to smile, picturing him folding his arms as he would then rise his brows, ballooning his cheeks much. "It truly is very much like you, to axe all of their records as you did to ours."

Still, moderation is a concept you should already have apprehended. Perhaps, the lakes in his memory are impeding his skills from truly flourishing? If so, it is a blessing. Otherwise, he would have been found out as a commissioned pilot by now.

However, I cannot deny it is odd. I had thought Mana was merely jesting, but I can now see why Tsuhi looked so distressed. To think Meiya-sama would be hostile to you, how regrettable. Perhaps, I have overvalued her intelligence. I certainly hope she saw reason and has begun to treat you with the deference you deserve, after you saved her from these chasers despite her betrayal. Which, conveniently enough, have been shielded by the UN going by what my sources in the HC have told me, which has been granted credit due to Mana's own words about the affairs in that base. Apparently, Yokohama will pay for their… silence, I suppose.

"How convenient, isn't it vixen fox?" Fuming a bit of air through my nose, I rest my chin on a fist.

Frowning as I continue to read, finishing my water, the remainder of the report is not as auspicious as I would have desired. Not only Takeru is under the surveillance of this Takamura, who belongs to the Takatsukasa fellowship, but also has been made to remain in the detention cells and enduring some sort of punishment despite him safeguarding both Meiya-sama and the Prime Minister's daughter. I had thought milady was being melodramatic on purpose, to not have me act then after the shock of the news, but to think she was being serious about all that has transpired. It's almost as if this scenario was crafted only to have him lose his temper.

"And yet, you seem to be oddly calm, for some reason." You even were willing to face off against your 'squadmates', in what Mana referred to as a window to his own graduation battle.

…Just remembering how you began to make your Zuikaku spin on me, while you were singing might I add, is enough to cause a void on my lungs, the ground to quiver under my feet as I stomp it lightly. Those young women have my sympathy, if they are now the recipient of his long essays about 'frames' and 'spacing'. From where did those eccentric terms come from, I don't have the faintest. However, in the end, you were most certainly right, Takeru.

Coldness, contrasting with the humid heat. Stillness, where once overflowing cheer made nest. And then… pain, screams, thrashing and rabid insults. Only to fade, fade to tears.

If only I had listened to his advice before it was too late… perhaps you'd still be alive with us, brother. Perhaps, Takeru wouldn't have fallen to those nightmares, he wouldn't have maimed himself in his struggle to be a spark upon my disdain, my indifference. Hellfire wouldn't have seared through the cracks of the broken iceberg his heart had become.

Yet, it was his insistence, his pull what effectively gave us a new road forward in our investigations. A soft whisper at first, right by my ear, then a firm declaration as the fire met my gaze. Before I knew it, we were working in synchrony towards our goal. And I don't even know how you did it, how you managed to stage it so well, for it all to burst open like popcorn above the fire.

I can't help but to wince, bend the papers as I grip them. How they called you, how you were erased, the anxiety you were made to endure, which only further bolstered your own adusted wrath. Not to mention, my own failings to notice your pain. If only I had actually looked at you, if I hadn't refused to listen…

"Sigh… No, this is not what I should be doing." Pounding my stomach, filling it with air, I rest my nape on my seat, lock my eyes upon the cream-colored ceiling. "Focus on how to attain victory, to cleave a path towards future peace. Our endeavors are arduous enough, there is no need to clog my mind any further. Dread must not make nest, does not belong with the living. So, I shall despair after I perish. Siiigh…" The exhalation again reaches my hands, making the papers flutter momentarily.

Yet, I find myself slumping onto my desk, onto the wood falls all of my weight. Try as I might, I suppose today I cannot deceive myself with mere wording. To work more would be futile, to continue to ruminate would only serve to unnerve me further. Remembering your words only serves to bring much disquiet to my breathing, and now I cannot help but to frown as I crush imaginary rocks with my tightening hands.

"…I cannot remain like this." Rising to my feet, shooting away towards a bookshelf, my heels hit hard and in a rhythm, for what little this march lasted. "Just as Tsuhi said, there is something we can still employ to our favor. To show you undeniable proof of our link, while not risking any ill nightmares to impair your judgment again."

And if it's a letter what is required, perhaps employing your own eccentric wording might aid in showing you we are being truthful. Slowly, as a tender and isolated rain, my hand rose towards a book. Merely touching it for a moment, becoming aware of my breathing and heartbeats, my arms stalled the action. My fingers grip the top of the book, softly pulling at it until it came off the shelve, into my hands. An unassuming green notebook, a normal office notebook issued all across the Empire.

Opening it, taking my time to tread each sentence over as I walked back to my seat, a small smile rose in me, all those clouds which mired my mind vanishing, parting open like a sky after a storm. Once I was back at my desk, I procured a pen and a few empty pages. Rubbing my legs together for a moment, taking a brief glance towards the report of your condition and what it told me, my hand starts its nightly duty while my eyes scour the dictionary I once made, to explain to our fellows the supposed meaning of your odd words.

---

Around the same time.

(Yokohama Base. Yuuko's office.)

[Takeru]

---

"-and then I told her you were behind the whole plotting of that mode, to avoid any more questions."

Sitting down as she drinks some more coffee, despite how there's no food anywhere nearby, Yuuko then rests the mug on the desk as she looks my way, "I see. I'll think something up to cover that small detail, don't worry. However, why does that unit have different missions?"

"You know, since it is a continuation of the bad end of the first game. Tango isn't completely defeated during that ending, so the remains are sought after by all the armies of the setting."

"…Tango? You mean that dance thing from South America?"

"No, no. Tango is the name of the quantum supercomputer of the game that-"

"Cough!" Hiccuping for a second, coffee again dirtying her lab coat, a blaze of a gaze drills into me. I feel like I've been here before. "What was that?"

"Uh, I was saying, that since Tango is a supercomputer like no other, all the armies in the game are after its remnants, trying to scavenge anything from the wreckage," I say, scratching my head and looking up.

"Shirogane, why did you not tell me about this?" Leaning forward, she slowly rests her chin on a hand, unblinking.

"I mean, didn't you modify the game yourself? You should have seen the cutscenes and the voice acting, right?"

"Do you think I have so much free time on my hands?"

"Considering you once stole my Game Guy to play in my first loops, yeah, kind of."

Grumbling for a second, a wild frown appears in her face. "Well, I simply saw the first few missions, dismissed it as unimportant dialogue and just limited myself to remove everything. So," Inhaling slowly, arms folding, her mug rises to her lips yet her eyes still do not leave mine, "what is this about a quantum supercomputer, and why didn't you speak of it until now?"

"I mean, it's just a game. It didn't really help you much in my first loops, to play the Game Guy port of Valgern-On, so I didn't say anything because of that."

"So, I did play that weird looking game? Despite how fast it moves?"

"Yeah, for real. Your eye bags were as marked as you have them now, and somehow you cleared the game faster than my squadmates." It was a surprise, and she did it without any of my tips to boot. Still, to binge the entire campaign in one sitting… I know that once you get rolling there's no stopping you, and that the original story wasn't that long to begin with, but still that was overkill as fuck.

Spinning for a moment, eyes almost closed, Yuuko then simply sighs. "I see. So, is there anything you believe is valuable in this special campaign of this 'Skull Kaizer' of yours?"

"Well, not really. It is revealed that Tango wasn't actually an omnipotent machine capable of distorting reality, but that it needed help to properly fix the world. That's why the makers gave it that name in the first place." Don't you love it when foreshadowing is right there in your face and you get trolled by a red herring instead? I still remember how much Mom laughed at me, since she loved that music genre.

"What do you mean?" Staring frontally, fully focused, Yuuko holds my gaze. That glint, the hand bumping on her chin, she's way too serious for some reason.

"Because it takes two to tango, Yuuko," I say with a shrug, putting both hands behind my head as I lean onto the sofa, smiling as I recall those last peaceful days I had back home. "There were limitations to what the machine could see from the future, since its cold analytical mind didn't take human emotions into account and it was, like, restricted in what it could do. But when it was paired with a human, seeing the future through the possible actions of that person, Tango's real abilities start to shine. In the Skull Kaizer's story mode it's revealed that during the first game the AI was convinced humanity was done for, since the only human it could link with was the tyrannical leader of the Earth Fed. But when meeting the main character, as they do battle Tango can see the motives of their fight, and what the world would look like if they won. That's why the hero is spared from the explosion in the good ending of the first game," I nod to myself, smiling a bit as I recall my days of playing through the updates of Valgern-On with Mikoto in the arcade, the days of theorizing during lunch break.

"And, what happens on the software we have here?" Yuuko says, tapping her desk with a finger non-stop, eyes narrow as they remain staring.

"Well, the main character kind of tries to help the world, but by choosing to awaken the Skull Kaizer he becomes a target. By that point, Tango only wanted a human vessel to finish the purge and the main character only was seeking power to end the struggles. But when they meet, if you don't screw up your choices, the hope the hero still has will echo in Tango, letting the machine see a solution to save the war-torn world. That's why they put the remnants of the core unit into the Skull Kaizer for the final level, and why you can use Pain's Gainer for thirteen minutes instead of seconds according to the lore." And if you add up all the timers of the boss rush battles of the ending, you end up with literally thirteen minutes. Those little details are what I like the most out of the series. "There isn't much technobabble, so I didn't think I'd be worth your time to bring this up."

One of her eyebrows twitches, she says nothing for a moment, then another. Leaning on the desk, her eyes don't move from me. "There wouldn't be any other 'secrets' you're keeping from me, Shirogane?"

"Huh? It's not a secret, it's just the lore from a game."

"Lore that, quite conveniently, deals with what my research is handling."

"I mean, does what I told you help in any way?" I ask, raising a brow at her, casting a side glance.

Her lips twist in, "Any idea, no matter how small, may be useful at some point. If you are to stay in this world, I expect you to report everything to me, Shirogane. No matter how small and unimportant a detail might be."

"Sigh. Fine, I know. Didn't think you'd have the time for the game, considering how you looked when I got here."

"So long as you understand. And while we're talking of your reports," Resting her mug on the desk, she crosses her arms again, eyes lightly blazing. Now what? "could you kindly explain to me what the papers you wrote today are about?"

"The weapon designs and the plans to mount the Vulcan on my Type-00C. Why, is something wrong in them?" Don't tell me I forgot to draw a graph, or that I did it in the opposite way again.

"Why, is something wrong, you ask," She shrugs, rolling her eyes. "Shirogane, what does this mean?"

Grabbing the page she hands me, scanning it slowly, my brows curve as do my lips. Uh, I don't see anything wrong here. The graphs are as they should, the calcs should be right, otherwise she would have crossed them. "What's the problem with this?"

Simply staring in silence, she sighs, "Shirogane, what are these signs supposed to be?" She throws an accusing finger to the markings in the graph and the text, almost puffing a cheek.

"Oh, those are just the shortcuts."

"Shortcuts for what?"

"For the equations and calcs. What, you want me to write everything every single time I have to check the numbers? So, I use those signs as shortcuts to know which equation goes where. You know, the heat test, the endurance of the barrel, the weight distribution and the possible impact on the frame as it flies. Stuff like that. I also have the shortcuts in the PC you gave me, so that I can automate the calcs instead of doing them manually."

I love my scientific calculators as much as anyone else, but redoing all the equations gets tiring real fast. Thankfully, now all I gotta do is put the numbers in the brackets, hit enter, and I get both the result and the progression of the calcs. Blessed be the bunny, I needed a program like that while I was studying. Just thinking on all the writing I would have saved myself from is enough to make my wrists cry a bit. Maybe I should have bought myself a laptop while I was in college in my world.

"And, why is that not mentioned anywhere?" Again tapping the desk, she shakes her head. Why is she fuming over something as small as this?

"I mean, I thought it'd be obvious, since there are some references to stuff with the same sign across the report."

"Is that so. So, and what of the eccentric words you used?"

"Huh? What are you talking about?"

Frowning a bit, she points to the bottom of the page I'm holding, sharp as an arrow, "Could you kindly explain to me what 'more dakka' even means?"

"Oh, shit. I actually wrote that down?" Yeah, I did. It's in the notes, sure, but it's there. Well, in my defense, it's easier than explaining why the machineguns are a good addition to the Takemikazuchi in complex terms. It just has More Dakka, and that is never a bad thing. "Sorry, I was kinda stumped by the end of the thing, before Kasumi came to visit."

"That is not the sole problem, Shirogane. There are other terms used throughout the report, like this consecutive three m letters you wrote here," She complains, waving a page about. "What's the point of you handing me reports with words and signs only you can understand? What is this even supposed to be?"

"People tend to refer to this as 'karma', Yuuko." Come on, you do the same all the time. And I never complained once.

"Ha, ha, ha. Very funny," Tying her arms into a sailor's knot, her gaze blazes away. "I expect you to cease using these eccentric words from now on. You didn't happen to employ them in the papers Isumi asked of you, right?"

"Of course not, I was focused back there," Returning her gaze, a few embers towards her blaze, I nod as I sober up. "Don't worry, that went well enough. Though, the Cpt seemed to get a bit pissed off by the end."

"Can you blame her? Not only you almost bested her tactic this morning with a vastly inferior TSF, not only you surpassed the efforts they obtained in their trainings with the consoles, but you then proceed to, in Isumi's words, decimate them without mercy in the sparring." Standing up to leave her mug in a shelve, she turns back to look my way as she wipes it clean, "By the by, I do not recall asking you to send the Valkyries' confidence to the gallows, Shirogane. Why did you crush them so thoroughly? Some sort of repressed anger, perhaps?" She asks, eyes again unmoving from me.

Yet, I smirk a bit as I chuckle, which curves her brows down in confusion. "Nah, I just did my best, as I told you I would. I was having fun and played as I would normally would. The training was a fucking disaster, and I loved every second of it."

"…You were 'playing'?"

"Yeah. I told this to the Captain too, that their moves were a bit rough. Looks like they hadn't gone through the tutorial of Valgern-On, so they weren't teching or comboing at all," I shrug again, one eye closed. "That's why even Kasumi could stand up to Akane and her squadmates, despite not having much practice with the game at all. By merely following my advice, she got a huge advantage in her matches." Which made her smile a lot, and I'm glad she could enjoy our session despite losing a few fights.

Yuuko merely nods, eyes back to the mug. "Is that so. Do you have any ideas to have them adapt faster to the XM3?"

"Maybe I can write a manual or something. It doesn't matter if my data is in the system if they don't think to use it, after all." I don't think they'll get to my level of crazy stunts, but once they see what moves they can pull off I'm sure Cpt Isumi will change her mind about my ideas.

Then, instead of them being a gamble of a lone soldier, they could become polished tactics of an entire squad. Imagine if all the Valkyries had been near my level during last loop, instead of only me eviscerating all those Forts it would have been the entire squad doing that. Maybe Kashiwagi's unit wouldn't have ended up damaged, maybe we could have held out to allow the Captain to escape the XG.

Sigh…

"Sounds like a plan. Make sure none of those odd words are in it when you write it," She says as she sits down, looking at her laptop's screen.

"Roger," Moving my neck in circles for a moment, I then stand up. Eyes focused on the floor, my feet cruise through the papers and books. Looks like she's holding up alright, so let's peace out.

"Shirogane?"

"Hm? What is it?" I look back, balancing my weight as I stop in the middle of the rows of papers.

Yuuko's brows were making a small V, she was again bumping a hand on her chin. Then, a single finger hurriedly shoots out like an arrow, pointing to the sofa, "I do not recall giving you the order to leave yet."

Sighing as I again walk back to the sofa, I rest my arms on my knees once I sit down. "So, what else do you need? I already told you of both the training and what I helped Cpt Isumi with."

Ruffling her hair for a moment, she starts to spin. Playing with a strand, coiling it around a finger as her eyes wander to nowhere in particular, she speaks up, "Can you tell me who was the one who wrote you the poem you mentioned before?"

"…Why?"

"Just a thought, could be important," She says, barely audible, as she stops spinning and folds her arms, eyes closed.

"It won't be important, believe me."

"So, you refuse to tell me," Then, her eyes open. Fire, all over again.

"Sigh. There's little to tell. Don't worry, it really has nothing to do with either Alt IV or the issues with the Guard," I nod, returning her stare, enduring the silence.

After a moment, she looks away, "Is that so. Well, it is rather late and you have a mock battle tomorrow. On that regard, how are you feeling now?"

"Fine, better than in the rest of the day, to be honest. The cold feeling hasn't left me entirely, but I can keep it in check."

"Do you think you're in form to face off against the Royal Guards?"

"It won't be a real battle, and I'll try to keep myself in check. And as you said, if worst comes to worst, I'll slip up and get knocked out before anything happens. Do you think things will be ready to intercept the guards if they try anything after the battle?" I ask, leaning a bit forward.

She immediately nods, spinning again. "Of course, all the preparations for this are ready. Just remember that you'll be responsible for your actions during the battle, Shirogane. I cannot shield you if you lash out against them," She says, a localized blizzard.

"I won't."

"Good. Now, off you go. It is late already," She then grabs a few stacks of papers, dropping them to the floor to make room in the desk.

She does this very slowly, her lips curving as she lifted the stack off the wood. Tired, almost strained. Looking at her well, the pink under her eyes is stronger than it was at morning, lines clearly visible in the skin. And pale, her face is getting pale too. Well, Yuuko doesn't come out to the ground level too much, that's for sure. But, was she like this lately? How was she during last loop? Now that I think about it… I don't see any dishes or trays nearby. Chances are, she hasn't eaten since… since when?

Softly biting my lower lip, I can't help but to sigh with my nose. Her habits haven't changed at all. I know she says it gets easier to spill her ideas on paper, but the amount of babel towers of papers that are here is just staggering. And if she's making room in the desk, it means she plans to revise some more stuff tonight. She's braving through everything again. Should I really leave her alone?

"What are you looking at?" She says with a frown, realizing I was staring.

Tugging at my pants for a second, I looked down. Standing up, shaking my head, my eyes scanned the gaze she was giving me. You're truly a bit too pale right now.

"Just thinking that you could organize the room a bit, maybe take a short break to eat something."

"I already took a break, while talking with you. Take your leave, Shirogane. I have work to do."

"…You're not planning on staying awake all night, are you?"

One of her brows twitches, "And what if I am? My research requires me to finish this, now," She shoots out, narrowing her eyes.

"A small nap won't hurt you, Yuuko. Forcing yourself to keep working, on an empty stomach, when you look this tired won't-"

Force palming the desk, her voice blasts away, sparks flying off her clenched teeth, "I gave you an order, cadet. As you should know, there are many matters I must tackle as of now." Words zooming like a race car, short of stopping to take a breath she instead folds her arms and looks at the whiteboard, at the jungle of calcs she had there. "Many preparations and negotiations are in the timetable, there is little time left to idle. I cannot waste any more time in explaining something you should already know, Shirogane. Thus, as the veteran you are, abide by your orders and return to your cell for the night. You are required to rise early tomorrow, after all."

"That's true, but you don't have to do everything in one sitting."

"I ordered you to leave," Glaring at me for a moment, she the hurries to the shelves to pick up some books. "You are no longer required in my presence, so return to your cell."

"But why can't you- Hey!"

Her heels caught in the papers, Yuuko staggers and almost stumbles to the ground. Yet, bracing for the impact of her falling on my arm, instead a soft sensation hits me as she falls, as I rush to help her. She's… light. Way too light.

"Let me go," Clawing at my arm, trying to stand straight again, she shoves me away, again reaching for the books. As she grasps at an encyclopedia, her wrist bends, the book falls.

Reacting as I did when Kasumi dropped her joystick, I catch the book in midair. Fuck, this is a heavy one, too. Despite my training, I do feel the weight, the tensing of my forearm as I lift the thing in a single hand. As Yuuko sighs heavily while squinting her eyes, extending a hand for me to pass her the book, all I can give her is a frown.

"Shirogane, hand me the book."

"…Yuuko, did you have dinner today?"

"What? I told you- Sigh. Give me the book, cadet. Now."

"Answer the question, Vice Commander."

Lunging at the thing like a cat after a mouse, her fingers meet empty air as I sidestep away. "Shirogane, stop this stupidity. Hand me the book, I don't have the time to waste on this stupid pouty act of yours!" And again, her words fire off faster than our bullets. Almost as if she had forgotten oxygen was a thing.

"All you have to do is answer the question. Did, you, have, dinner today?"

Crossing her arms as she heaves a sigh, another blaze in her gaze as she spits fire, "No, I didn't. Happy now?"

"When was the last time you slept?"

"Wha- Shirogane, if you don't stop this-"

Throwing the damn book onto her desk, making a few papers fall off, a few small gadgets to bounce up and quiver, I shave the distance between us, returning the fire. "It ain't normal, to not have an appetite this late into the night. Much less with the kind of stuff you gotta tackle."

"Leave, now. I'll call security if you don't."

"And you also seem to not be sleepy. Looks to me like you got sluggish, but that's all."

"God, what are you getting at?! Out with it already!"

"By the by, what's up with your voice, Yuuko?"

"My voice?" The fire cut down, she flinches in confusion.

"Yeah, you're talking real fast. Like, what? Are you the new Enimen?"

"Eni-what?"

"You know, the American rapper. The one with that catchy song, 'Now this looks like a job for me!'," I say, waving both hands as the guy does in the music video. "Have you heard that one?"

Pinching her nose, she inhales sharply as she shakes her head. "Sigh. Are you making fun of me?"

I shake my head, grimacing as I rise a hand to count, ants marching on my back, biting and scorching. "No. I'm not messing around here. Lack of appetite, distorted sleep cycles, hastened speech, and the ill mood you've been in the last few days." Hands shake, I inhale through clenched teeth. Because it's the same, the same as she was when I met her for the first time in Sendai. "You wouldn't be abusing some… 'powder milk'-like substance, would you Yuuko?"

She doesn't return my gaze, she doesn't shake her head.

Instead, the cold blizzard of the XO comes from her lips, "My duty to humanity takes precedence over whatever small concerns you may have. I have plans to tend to, deadlines to meet. What small side effects I have to endure for now are nothing compared to what I'll gain from my efforts. There's nothing to be done, I just have to power through this until it's over. It's for the sake of the Project, you'd understand."

…

As if a wire had been cut off, something screeches in the back of my head. Feels as if I were under the downpour of a storm, the water hitting me like paint rounds, the wind blowing against me, my eyes closing in pain. My feet heavy, everything getting colder and colder.

The paper towers in my sight started to double, to multiplicate.

"Oh, really now? There's nothing to do about it, huh?"

"Hm?"

A small ringing started sounding on my ears.

"Then, next thing you know, there's Sadogashima and other shit coming our way. And you're going to, again, continue this way of doing things. Because you never have enough time, according to you."

"S-Shirogane?"

Jaw's quivering as if I were in a pool at night. A small black dot appeared in my vision for a second.

"But you ain't gonna stop. Fuck no, you won't. Because then there's the XM3's test, the development of the tech, the coming operations, and who knows what other shit else."

"And what do you expect me to do? This is my duty, my responsibility. As the leader of the Project, humanity's fate rests on my shoulders. I am bound to-"

"No!"

"W-What?" She takes a step back, eyes widening.

"You are not pulling this shit on me again! I am not going to stand by and let you destroy your own health just because you refuse to take a fucking break."

"Who do you think you are to- Eek!" Deciding to not listen anymore, I shave the distance and crouch by her side. Grabbing her legs under her knees, another hand supporting her back, I lift her off the ground, carrying her and storming off towards her room. "S-Shirogane, let me down! I'm going to call security if you don't!"

"I don't give a fuck. You are going to rest, Vice Commander." Closing an eye as she started to thrash in my hold, having to restrain her right arm with mine, wrapping in under her armpit. Still leaves her left punching at my chest, bumping her elbow into my jaw.

But unlike what I thought, she isn't entirely light. There is weight to her body, beyond the bones. And her hits do hurt a bit, there's impulse behind them. Phew… She didn't get to that point yet, thank God. But if I let her keep walking down this path, I know what's gonna happen. And I did nothing to actually help her last loop, I ain't gonna stand watching a second time. So, I pick up my pace, ignoring her threats and punches.

"I told you to let me down! I need to finish reviewing the equations of the 00 Unit before the final tests! Are you even listening?!"

"Again, you're going to rest. You cannot keep compromising your health, much less if you've been forcing yourself to stay awake for who knows how many days now." I look into her eyes, her own features distorting and doubling for a second. Yuuko stalls her thrashing for but a second.

She frowns, her left hand grabbing, clawing at my chin, "Let me go now, and I won't hold this against you, Shirogane. My research also has ties to how to stabilize you and your world. You'd rather have me finding a solution for that quickly, wouldn't you? How to balance the tachyons you mentioned before?"

"Yeah, that's true. But I refuse." Again closing an eye as she tries to break free, I keep walking.

"You should know how important this is, Kagami's digitization is also on the line! Stop walking, dammit!" Her legs start kicking up and down, as if she were making the butterfly in the water, as she sees we're almost to her room. "Shirogane, this is my last- Don't kick the door!"

Once the way is cleared, I enter the room in stride. Quickly moving to the bed, I drop Yuuko towards it. A small bounce of her weight on them, the sheets flutter and bend. Walking backwards to block the exit, I stand there, receiving her blazing gaze.

"I don't know what exactly you're planning to do here, but I will not stand by it!" Rising to her feet, I don't even have to move to stop her. Her own feet staggers as she tried to rush, one eye tightly closed as she holds that leg, sitting down again, groaning through clenched teeth.

Sighing hard, the screeching of fire subsides, the heat in my chest recedes. So, I simply grimace, looking into her eyes, "…That's my line, Yuuko. You have to rest properly." She groans as our eyes met, bloody murder oozing from her glare, from the tightened expression. "No matter how dear your project is to you, no matter how much is riding on your shoulders, you know you need to take a break. Otherwise, you are going to break."

"Do you think I don't know this? With what authority are you-"

"What's that, by the way?" I say, pointing to a small white plastic cylinder in a corner, near her bed.

Squinting her eyes, she sighs, "It's just a trash bin."

"The most advanced base in the world has a half cut plastic thing as a trash bin? In the room of the XO?" I roll my eyes, raising both hands in fake surprise. She again stares murder into my eyes, the veins now visible in the whiteness that surrounds the fire. Just like back then. "Did you know that I'm very good at guessing random stuff, Yuuko?"

"What is this about now?"

"I dunno. That small cylinder there wouldn't be in your room for when you… can't take it anymore and end up puking your insides out?"

Flinching, slack-jawed for a second, her hands coil and shake. Slowly standing up, step by step she shaves the distance. "That has nothing to do with you. Move aside, or I will call security on you. If you do not obey, our partnership is as good as finished!"

"And what happens if you end up fainting at a crucial time, Vice Commander? Do you think you can tend to your duties in this shape?"

"Since when do you have the agency to tell me what to do?" Grabbing my collar, still frowning, "I could erase you for being this stupid, you know?"

My hand rests atop the one that grabbed my collar, she tried to pull it away hastily. Yet, I don't put any pressure on it. Taking it off my shirt softly, running my fingers on her palm, her dry and pale skin. Cracks marked at some places, reddening at others. She stalls a reaction, her hand doesn't release itself from mine, nor does her gaze.

"You cannot help anyone if you cannot take care of yourself first. You taught me that, Yuuko. And I told you before, I'm not your pawn. So, as your partner in the our shared goals, I'm going to have you resting, for both of our sakes."

"You have no power over me, Shirogane. I am your boss, and the one with the knowledge to save both your and this world. Knowledge I could be polishing as of now, if you weren't wasting our time."

"I don't think it's a waste myself. Any time you get to rest is worth more for humanity than anything else. Just because you can endure the grind doesn't mean you have to commit to it every time," I say, low, looking down to her hand, which I still hold as if a tender glass of porcelain it were. From how pale she looks, Yuuko might actually be made out of porcelain at the moment. "What you wish to accomplish with these hands won't vanish if you take a short nap. I'm not even saying you should actually sleep like the rest, just take a short rest. That's all."

"My time awake is too valuable. Who would do what I do, then?"

Smiling, I nod towards her, "I can help you out."

She raises a brow, "You? What could you possibly-"

"I cannot operate a machine like you do, no. I cannot understand the calcs you do, either." Then, I grasp her hand a bit tighter. "But I do know how to sort your reports, how you choose to automate your tasks. I can arrange your papers so that you can tackle everything else once you're all rested up."

"Heh, do you think you're able to actually be useful to me? That I can rely on your 'help'?" The same frown, the same venom that leashed out back then. That night, that accursed Christmas of defeat.

So, chuckling, I remaining smiling, "At the least, I don't believe I'm completely useless, no. I'll be enough, to let you rest for a moment."

Yuuko's face sobers up, expressionless as she scans me. Saying nothing, not moving her hand away from mine.

"You're operating on an assumption, nothing else," She whispers. "Your concern is noted," She looks down for a second, slowly pulling her hand off mine, "and appreciated, however I am fine for the moment. I do not need to rest."

Shrugging, I chuckle at the dry ice wall she mounts in defense. "Yeah, just overload yourself and faint in the middle of work, why don't you."

Which of course makes her frown. "Are you insinuating I'm-"

"Why have you not being eating your dinner? What was up with your speech? Why were you wobbling so badly when grabbing the book? You must have been taking something that's not exactly helping you out. Oh, and 'powder milk' is not a valid answer, by the way."

"And why not?"

"I know you only drink your coffee black, and the only thing you add to it is liquor." I affirm, arms folded and nodding.

"…I may be different to the other Yuukos you met."

"Oh, really? Want a cup with cream and sugar, then?" I ask, smirking at her twitch, the slight purse of her lips she does when repulsed by something.

"Ugh… Why are you being this bothersome today of all days? I don't have time for this." She places a hand on my shoulder, trying to force me to move away. I don't, she doesn't have the strength to push me away, so we're again staring at each other.

"You need to rest, Yuuko. Even if only a little."

Rolling her eyes, ruffling her hair, she takes a step back. "Convince me, then. What is the pressing matter that has you being this obnoxious?"

Giving her a side glance, I lean on the door frame. "Besides the fact that I need you to look over the guards tomorrow if the mock battle goes wrong, you mean? Besides the fact that if I hadn't been there you'd have given quite the smooch to the ground or getting an encyclopedia to the head?" She frowns, fire arrows seeking the ground. Yet, she says nothing. Sigh… "Yuuko, you need to start taking proper care of yourself. One thing is min-maxing your schedule and staying up to finish something urgent, but you have to delegate some projects and reports. What's half an hour at first is then one full hour, then it turns to two, then you're not sleeping, and then we have today. Is a short nap that much to ask out of you? Don't you deserve that little?"

Eyes close, her voice again freezes over. "I believe you should know there's much only I can handle in this base."

"Yeah. And what happens if you're out cold? You do know that if you pass out, it will only hurt you more? Come on, I'm not asking you to sleep four hours or six. Just a little nap and that's it."

"And why, again, should I listen to your suggestion?"

"It's for your own good, as well as for the future of the children that will come."

Raising a brow, she then smirks for some reason. Then starts leaning a bit closer, tapping her lips with a finger. "So, we're having kids now? Because last time I checked, we aren't fucking each other."

"Wh- It was a turn of phrase!" In the second I flinched, she moved forward. Almost squeezing past me, I had to throw myself against the door to block the exit.

"Tch… Aren't your reflexes top notch, Shirogane?"

"Sigh… Damn it all, Yuuko. Do you have a death wish or what?!"

"You're literally keeping me here against my will."

"Because you can't neglect your health!" Shaking my head, I sigh. Emptying everything, a void in the pit of my stomach, in my heart. As it did when I had to leave, despite how you were as you are now, barely hanging together, forcing your strings to move. "You can't do your best in your work to save humanity if you're constantly relying on coffee and… those substances to keep you awake through the day. And I know part of your extra duties are because of me this time. Because of that, I'm not leaving this office until you do go to sleep." I then nod, planting myself on the door frame again.

She takes a step back, arms folding. "And what if I call security?"

"What if you fall on your head due to a lack of sleep?"

"What if you fail the mock battle due to a lack of sleep?"

"Then, you can go to sleep now, so that I can also go to sleep later."

"…I could go back to work as soon as you leave the office. I still have much work to do, you'd understand."

"And I can help you with some of that, even if it's only the simple stuff. Two hours you sleep are worth more for humanity's future than two hours I lose of sleep today, right?"

"And, again, why should I listen to you?"

"I dunno, to ensure you tackle the 00 Unit's matters when you're properly rested. What if you miss something due to a headache, and that ends up spiraling out of control like in my last loop? Are you at the top of your game to handle humanity's salvation? Because the 00 Unit needs you at one fucking hundred percent, you know. If there's any leaking of data, the base is going to get thrashed again, let me remind you."

I know Yuuko wouldn't normally drop her game, but if she's this tired and so focused, almost desperate, to reach her goals, she might just force herself to stay awake until she sees it all bear fruit with her own eyes. Fuck, that might have been why the data leak happened last loop. Maybe Sensei didn't review everything as thoroughly as she would have if she had enough sleep, and that's why she missed something in the equations I brought from my world.

"Are you… saying I could… Oh." Her eyes again widen as she brings a hand to her face. Shortly after, her eyes fall down like an avalanche, it's as if she were about to erupt alive. "That's… true, I suppose."

"Can you at least rest for a while, just a short while? Please, Yuuko?"

Staring at each other, feeling water trickling down my nape as she says nothing for a long while, I gulp and hide my hands on my pockets. Eventually, she sighs, shrugs and ruffles her hair.

"You think you're able to be of use to my research, then?"

Sigh… Thank God, she didn't refuse. "Again, I don't believe I'm completely useless. I can cover your back while you take a short rest. It's… the only thing I can do to repay you for all the trouble my presence is making." That, too, is taking its toll on your shoulders. And in this more radical world, too. She did once say… that me being here made her life hell, when she snapped and threw her papers at me. There's little I can actually do for you, but I'm enough to give you a few hours of rest.

Holding my gaze again, she then rolls her eyes. "Fine. But if you make any stupid mistakes-"

"I won't, XO. I'll limit myself to do what little Yuuko taught me in the other loops."

One of her brows twitches, "I… taught you stuff?"

"Well, just how to help you with the reports and other stuff. Nothing too complex, some simple assistant training is all it was. I'm no Kasumi, but I can defend myself." Puffing my chest a bit, I nod to myself.

Her eyes narrow as do her lips, which also quiver a bit. "And why didn't you mention that until now, Shirogane?"

"Because you never asked me to help you." I eye her sideways as she groans.

Slowly walking away, she takes off her lab coat, leaving it in a hook on the wall. "I want a report on what you learned then, also coffee when I wake up."

"…And something to eat with it, right?"

Recoiling a bit, she pats one hand into her waist, eyes blazing again. "Shut up. Just do… I will accept your offer, this time. If you don't handle this well, I swear I'm-"

Speaking from my stomach, I take a step forward and stand in attention. "I'll simply arrange the reports for you and note down anything that might happen while you rest. I'm not stupid, I won't mess with the programs you're leaving in the background."

"…Fair enough. Don't make me regret this decision, Shirogane. Now, off you go."

"Sigh. Fine… Just rest well, okay?" Can't help but to wince a bit, turning around slowly as if I had an iron ball tied to my feet.

"Why are you upset, again?" She asks, sounding sour. I turn back, she's sporting a small frown and her arms are once more folded, "I don't recall since when I gave you permission to look after me, so you should be grateful I'm accepting your offer instead of calling for security. Clean that expression off your face." Fierce as always, despite the minute quiver in her lower legs. Trying too hard to stay strong, despite how she must be far beyond exhaustion.

"I just-" No, don't be stupid. She isn't who you remember her as, it's obvious she'd only have scorn to return your worry. Just take the loss. "Sigh. Whatever. See you in a few hours, XO."

"Why are you so upset, again? I am going to be resting." She says, pacing towards the bed, starting to unbutton the uniform.

"…A simple thanks was enough, you know. Just thanks, and then I leave the room." I shrug, shaking my head.

"It's your fault for placing such expectations on me." Then, she again taps her chin, chuckling for some reason with a smirk. "Oh, you wouldn't happen to miss that other me you 'took care' of? Don't tell me… Is that why you're so antsy and worried now?"

Standing by the door, not facing her, the door frame might have scars when I lift my hand. Head keeps lowering, as if I again were under the cold shower. So, I can only whisper back, "If I said yes… Would you laugh at me?"

"…Huh? W-What did you-"

"Nothing, forget it. Later." Stepping away, I grab the knob and start to close the door.

"Shirogane," She calls back from within the room, out of sight.

"What?" I answer, standing still a few feet outside the room, not closing the door fully, not looking back.

"…Thanks. Look after the paperwork, and direct any calls to a later hour. You're too tired to handle anything else properly."

"I know, I won't put your research at risk, XO. Anything else?"

"Feel free to order some food if you want, put it on my name."

"Ha! That's rich, coming from you at this time," Chuckling, I look back with a smirk.

"Wh- You have some nerve…" She says, choking the tie as she frowns, her skirt falling on its own.

Nodding her way, I rise a hand to salute her lazily, "I'll be fine, XO. I still do have some leftovers from my rations."

"I see. That's all, wake me up in one… two hours."

"Got it. Sweet dreams, Yuuko."

"Shut up!"

Smiling at rising lava, I simply close the door before she chooses to throw something at me. Turning around, I slowly walk away back to the office.

Dragging my feet, my gaze. Opening and closing a hand, the one that grasped hers. Feeling the lingering warmth on the fingertips, the faintness of her touch. How pale she was, and she still was willing to keep on hacking at it. Were you always doing this, Yuuko? Was that routine in Sendai your usual life all this time?

At least she accepted to rest. Hopefully, she won't keep punishing herself in this way. Sigh… Again, on the things that matter the most, I can't really help. Just sort some papers, do small things. I guess I should be thankful she gave me the benefit of the doubt, even if it was only because she knew how exhausted she really is.

"Well, I've work to do, I guess." Cracking my neck and knuckles, rolling up my shoulders and taking a deep breath, the cold blanket falls off me. Let's get cracking.

---

Around two hours later.

(Yuuko's room.)

[Yuuko]

---

"Yuuko, can you hear me?"

Mmgh… Rustling under the sheets, something grabs my shoulders. Who the hell is bothering me now? Ugh… What hour is it, even?

"Yuuko. Earth to Yuuko. It's been two hours."

Slowly, a circle is drawn on my shoulders, reaching for my neck. Mmh… Feels nice. When was the last time I got a massage again?

"Come on. Vice Commander, don't blame me if you don't wake up, okay? It's been two hours."

Why did the hand stop? Ugh… Right, work. What was I doing before sleeping? There was the mock battle, the papers of the research… and then, Isumi's call. And…

Shirogane.

Blinking fast, stretching my legs, feeling the stiffness in my ankles, something reaches me as I yawn. The smell of coffee, close by.

"You awake now?" Shirogane asks, at the edge of my vision.

"…Yes. What hour is it?"

"2339. Oh, scratch that, it's forty." He says as he looks towards the clock. Taking a few steps towards the door, he looks back at me with a smile. "I'll be cleaning up my work."

"Wait."

"Hm? What is it?"

The smell, the color… He made the coffee just as I prefer it. There is a slight problem with that, though.

"Shirogane, did you use liquor in the coffee?"

"Yeah, the one that's in your safe."

"Wh- How did you open it?"

"You told me the code. Well, not you, but, you know what I mean," He says, shrugging. "I thought you'd like that after the nap."

"…Thanks. And," Looking by, there's a tray with toast, a fried egg, some rice, and diced chicken, "you had this done?"

"I called the PX, told them you wanted something simple to eat, and had them bring it here. Told them I was helping out due to the punishment when they asked why I received it, so don't worry, they won't ask any questions."

"I see."

"Anything else?"

"No, go back to the office." He nods, turning around and closing the door.

Now that I'm alone, I rise both hands upwards. Loose and stiff at the same time, I yawn strongly enough to move part of the sheets for a brief moment. Simply laying on the bed as I drink the coffee, as the slightly bitter taste fills me and a tender fire burns my throat, is like floating along the clouds. Rubbing my eyelids as I eat what he left me, my ankles do circles onto themselves, the small knots still hurting a bit as I do. Yawning again, slipping off the bed, I fill my lungs with air. And as I dress up, leaving a hand on the base of my neck, I no longer feel my heartbeats echoing and echoing. It is rather…

"Refreshing." I conclude, running a hand on the back of my head. The heaviness that lingered there is no more, and at the mere thought I can recall what I was doing before going to sleep, throughout the evening.

There's nothing clogging my throat, no cold sweat, nothing sounding in the back of my hearing. Yawning one last time, cleaning a tear that comes out, my neck moves in circles, in circles. Calmness, focus. Merely bringing a thought back causes the numbers to surge forth. Clear as the sky, still as a lake. No counterweight attached to my back, I'm… calm, I suppose.

"I suppose, you were right, Shirogane. Sigh… I should be over this kind of mistakes."

Despite not noticing it myself, the more tired I grow the worse I'll perform. I may be a genius, but I have my limits. Perhaps, his idea of how tachyons are also affecting me does hold some water. And, he did ready a meal I'd favor despite my words towards him. I had thought he merely admired that other me he gave a pass to, yet those reactions tell an entirely different story.

I suppose I should start taking into account his emotions and how could he react to my own actions. I'd be a bother if he tries something like what he did before a second time. Plus, it's for my own benefit, to appease him so that the Nucleus stays undisturbed. Considering what's ahead, I shouldn't have lashed out so much. Sigh… Proof enough that I was in need of rest.

Putting on my lab coat, walking back to the office, something echoes in the distance. Is he… humming? There is some rhythm to the noises, he is humming a song. Don't tell he isn't taking this seriously. Speeding up, reaching the door that connects to the office, I find Shirogane tidying up a few stacks of papers.

And the rest of the office is also now tidied up. The books organized by the walls, the papers on the opposite end in stacks of different heights, which are divided by small walls of cardboard. Even my desk has half the amounts of papers I left in it.

"Baa bariras… latititi rastis…" And he's still singing, slightly swaying as his hair flutters. When did his hair grow so much, though?

"Shirogane?"

"Oh, hey." Giving a pat to the stack, he nods my way. "Feeling better?"

"Yes, thanks. However, I'd like you to never again pull something like that, Shirogane." I remind, low, glaring his way.

He merely gives me a side glance. "Start taking care of yourself and I won't have to."

All I'm willing to do is roll my eyes. Sitting back, noticing the papers I was going to start reading are right besides me, that the supplementary material is also close by, and that the right books are right where I would place them, I simply blink at the state he left my desk in. It's almost as if I had cleaned it myself.

"Uh, is something wrong?" He asks, brows curving, a hand rising to the back of his hair. As he always does when he's nervous.

"No, I was merely seeing you tidied up my desk well enough." Straightening myself, interlocking my hands, I then look his way. "Shirogane, report your work thus far."

Standing in attention, he looks to the shelves nearby. "I prepared all the reports that you had lying around. They're all in a proper folder, with the right sticker and destination. Those who were for you, I stashed them in the upmost rows of the shelves. Is that alright with you?" He asks, lowering his head a bit, making his fringe flutter alongside him.

"Yes, it's fine." It's where I always leave them.

"Also, as you can see, I rearranged all the papers you had lying about."

"And, what did you do with them? Some of those papers hold key intel for my research, you know."

"Yeah. I just filtered them with the signs and called it a day, didn't have the time for anything else."

"The signs?"

"You know, those odd doodles you make."

"Wh- Those are not doodles! They're symbols of my-"

"Yeah, whatever. I put them all in order, there's a mark in the cardboard to show you which stacks are from what." He takes a step back, letting me see the markings he put in the cardboard walls that separate the papers. He even nailed my signs, too. "Really, why are those things so weird? Even my world's Yuuko did those doodles."

"She did?"

"Yeah, for real. She once had me print her thesis, and those odd things were everywhere in the pages. That's how I actually recognized the theory during last loop."

"Huh? Why?"

"Because only you would use those doodles alongside the equations."

Inhaling sharply, I lean back onto the seat, clamping my lips. "Fair enough. Did anyone call while I was asleep?"

"Yeah, your other sister did."

"Motoko-nee? What did she say?" If it's from her, then it means it's tied to the 00 Unit. I… I needed to answer that call!

"Don't worry, Yuuko. I told her to send you a mail with all the details since you were resting." He says, waving his hands down as if trying to put out a fire.

"Is that so?" Quickly restarting my laptop, a few clicks open my inbox. And there it is, after some scrolling down. 'Take care of yourself, Yuu-chan' is written on the mail. Siiigh… This is the last thing I needed. Wait, if it was she the one who called… Looking at Shirogane, he stands there, returning my gaze. Furrowing his brows when I say nothing. "Did she ask you anything, by the way?"

"Huh?"

"Motoko-nee, did she ask you anything?"

"Oh, yeah. Why was I answering the phone, she then chuckled when I told her you were tired and needed a second to rest."

"And nothing else?"

"No, I told her you forbid me from speaking of anything not related to work and she dropped the questions," He says, nodding to himself, puffing his chest out. How silly of you, to feel proud for that.

Still, you made the right call. Motoko-nee wouldn't have stopped the questions if she had the chance. "I see. Is there anything else you want to report?"

"Actually, there is." He says, folding his arms, the prior cheer melting into a serious expression. "I took a look at the Valkyries' trainings in Valgern-On while I was tidying up the papers and the books, and I think I know why they're having so much trouble in the Stallion."

"You do? What is it?" Leaning my chin on my interlocked fingers, I stare at him. Shirogane then points to my PC, to something that was running. Bringing it to the front, a few lines with some sort of letters fill the screen. "What is this supposed to be?"

"The inputs of the games. See, these are the button presses they made during the course of the trainings. Took me a while to get them from the shared files on multiplayer mode, thank God the controllers are made in image of the TSF's ones."

"So, what is the issue?"

"What I just told you." He shrugs, sighing heavily for a moment. "When I compared 'em to my own control logs, I found that there was actually not much of a difference between some of my movements with theirs. But, for some reason, the joystick I brought from my world is more sensitive than the controllers we made here."

"And this means… you can perform more movements than them?"

"Not only that, but faster as well. There might be even some moves I can pull off, thanks to the config of the Stallion's original joystick, that they cannot execute. That's why their techs are slower than mines, why I could dodge and attack better. The small difference was giving me an edge." He concludes, covering his mouth as he seems to yawn.

"I see. Is there something you believe can be done to mitigate this?"

"Why not abuse this, instead?" He smirks, slightly leaning forward, fired up.

"What did you have in mind?"

"Well, if the sensitivity of the controller is what allowed me to best the Valkyries despite being playing around, what if we replicated this with the TSF?"

"…So you'd like to have the liberty to customize the sensibility of the controls, to grant you more freedom of movement?"

"Something like that. The XM3 does this through software by reworking how the inputs are taken, but what if we also made a control scheme that would benefit from the XM3 to its fullest?" He asks, raising a fist, shining eyes. "And you don't even need to rework much, we can implement this through the feedback interface by having the machine adapt to the pilot's quirks and adjusting the controls' sensitivity during training. All we'd need is hardware that can support that function. Of course, we'd have to rework the inner motherboards of the controls, and make sure the extra sensitivity doesn't send anyone flying away into a building, but-"

"It's not that hard to achieve, what you speak of." Quickly typing on my keyboard, the files appear in my monitor. He remains gaping for a second, surprised into stillness. "Take a look at this unit."

"That's just a Shiranui with different paint, Yuuko." He says, low, arms folding as she gives me another side glance.

"No, this is a Type-1C. It's the latest Shiranui model available."

"The latest? Are the ones we have on the base older?"

"Yes, the ones we have are from the fist batch, Shiranui-1A. The rest of the Empire probably has B models by this point. There aren't great differences between the first and second batches, only fixing some minor design flaws, polishing the connectors or the jump units. But the 1C is different, it has an OS that sort of does what you have in mind now. It allowed the pilot to regulate the output of the craft, even during live battle."

"Huh?! For real? Why haven't I heard of this?"

"You haven't? Truly?"

"No, not even on my other loops." He then groans for a moment, scratching the lower end of an ear. "I think… there were talks of another TSF from the Empire at times, which I guess is the Shiranui Second you mentioned before, and how they didn't want to lease it to the UN. But I haven't heard of the 1C or this special OS. Why isn't it the standard unit?"

"Because the quirk was too hard to adapt to. Only a few veteran units managed to tame it. Disabling the shifting made it easier to control, but at that point it was better to just build B models, since they were cheaper. It was a test bed for the technology, and due to bad reception it got canned." Kicking the floor, I start to spin. Slowly, a smile rises in me. "However, perhaps there is a way in which we can gain access to one of these."

"Really?"

"Yes. After all, the 1C is the basis from which the Shiranui Second is built upon. The leader of the XJF Project is already here, working on the railgun. Maybe, we could convince the Empire to fork over the 1C as well."

"So, you think we can feasibly have adaptable hardware options like the ones in the 1C?"

"In time, yes. We do possess many things which the original dev team of the 1C lacked. An OS with the processing power required to make the spec shift shine in the XM3, many test beds to bring the controls up to modern standards thanks to the ongoing developments we have going thanks to the intel you brought. And, most importantly," I stop spinning, smirking his way as I place a finger on my chin, "we have a fitting test pilot that not only understands the quirks but can bring them to life with ease."

"You really do like to send me on hard missions, do you?" He scratches the back of his head, looking up. Hesitant or embarrassed? Matter not, I only spoke the truth about your skills, ace pilot.

"Well, you are a veteran, after all. Is the man who bested all of my Valkyries scared of his own ideas?" I ask, giggling as he closes his eyes.

"Sigh… No, it's just, you know, kind of daunting after this morning," He says, or rather whispers, as he leans on the sofa.

No, he's supporting himself onto it. Eyes half open, only now do I notice the redness below them. Of course, he also must be exhausted. He did plenty while I rested, let's send him to sleep.

"It's just an idea for the moment. Don't think about it too much. You did enough today, Shirogane. You may return to your cell."

"Yeah… I think I'll do just that." He then yawns widely, letting me see the end of his throat as he stretches his arms up. Was he this tired all this time? Then, why did you insist on letting me rest? You idiot. Saluting me halfheartedly, he turns around and waves, "Well, I'll be taking my- Oof!" Instead of walking straight, he drifted left, hitting his feet on the shelf.

"Hey, are you alright?"

"Y-Yeah. Don't worry, just- Yawn. Just a bit tired." He nods my way, yet when he begins to walk, he drags his feet. Wobbling, holding his head, slower than a snail or Yashiro when carrots are on the menu.

He's the one exhausted now, huh. Perhaps, having to use his pull to recall what that other me taught him caused such tiredness in him? No, I had him going from one place to the other all day long. A mock battle first thing in the morning, the recovery session, the meeting, then his work in his office to later be sent to the Valkyries. No wonder he's ready to faint.

And despite that, he insisted I slept first.

…That aside, he looks truly out of energy. Well, nothing he can't shake off with proper sleep.

What if he runs into the guards on his way back to the cell? That might be a problem, but then again, it is late already. I don't think they'd be up and about at this hour considering there's a mock battle tomorrow. On the other hand, some spiteful idiotic soldiers could ambush him.

Siiigh… He's in no shape to do anything, that's true. And considering what's coming up tomorrow…

"Uh, Yuuko, could you unlock the door?" He asks, scratching his head as he looks back at me.

…A small mercy, as thanks for letting me sleep and handling his work nicely.

Standing up, I point to the sofa. "You're sleeping there tonight."

"Huh?"

"You heard me. You're clearly exhausted as of now, and if the guards or any hostile soldiers run into you, it could get you into quite the problem. So, I'll have you rest here."

"Um, you can just call an MP to escort me back to the cells, right?" He says, looking up, away from my eyes.

"It's too late, and I don't want to deal with any explanations right now. I have work to do, so shut up and lay on that sofa."

"Are you sure?"

"What did I tell you to do?" Grasping my chin, squinting my eyes, I take a few steps towards him.

"Fine, fine," He shrugs, sighing. "Sorry, I'll try to wake up as soon as possible."

"Don't worry, I'll have you up early enough. Now, lay there. I'll be back in a second."

"Wait, where are you going?"

"To get you some sheets, of course."

"Huh."

"…What is it with that reaction?" Can't help but to frown, taking a step towards him.

"No, it's that during last loop you had me sleep here once, but you didn't give me a sheet or anything." He says, nodding, rubbing one of his eyes.

"As I've been telling you, I am not those other versions of me you met before. Remember that well." Holding his gaze for a moment, once he nods back I go towards my room.

The nerve of him, to try and refuse my offer. He's been nothing but help to me, despite a few moments of annoyance. Giving him some cover is not even a grand gesture. And, I need you in full focus tomorrow. Otherwise, all the preparations will be for nothing. If you stood your ground against me, despite also being exhausted, then all the more reason to have you well rested for tomorrow. Plus, he deserves the reward. Shirogane did a fine work while I slept.

Twisting my lips at the foot marked on the door as I open it, my hands reach for the switch. Opening the closet, crouching and rustling the things a bit, my hands bring out a simple standard issue sheet. Well, this should be enough. It isn't particularly cold, after all. Yes, I suppose this shall suffice.

…

But perhaps a second one would be welcomed, considering he's been sleeping in the cells for a while now. Also, do I have a spare pillow? Standing on the tip of my feet, I do find one in the back of the top row. Alright, this should prevent any odd cramps in his neck or anything of the sort.

Slapping the doors closed, once I turn off the light I return to the office, carrying the three things.

"Shirogane, I brought- Huh?"

As soon as I sat foot back in the place, I heard a small, drowned sound. Snoring, quiet yet constant. Walking up to him, tapping his shoulder, Shirogane doesn't react. Slumped on the sofa, one hand dangling to the floor, he was already asleep.

"Sigh… And then you have the gall to tell me to rest when I'm exhausted. You didn't even take your boots off." Seriously, you were planning on walking back to the cell like this?

Shaking my head, I slowly place a hand on his chin, lifting his head. Pushing the pillow under him, he barely even moves. Crouching by his side, untying his boots, I grab both feet and tuck them into the sofa. Standing up, the sheets envelop him whole, and my hands press on his side to ensure they won't fall off. Bringing that runaway hand under the sheets, making sure his feet were well covered, I finally sigh, seeing that he was made into a comfortable cocoon.

His breathing steady, his face relaxed, Shirogane sleeps without a care in the world. I wonder, will you also dream of memories from days past? I hope not, at least enjoy one night in peace. You did enough today.

Twirling his hair, coiling his bangs on one of my fingers, I hadn't noticed yet how much his hair had grown. He isn't even taking care to maintain a proper hairstyle, I bet. Such a powerful performance, to endure the toll of an ESPer in the Mindseeker. Such resilience, to have kept your cool during the meeting despite what you remembered. Even in front of me, since you saw parts of that mission. And looking around, you truly did a good job in so little time. Even managed to present me a better breakfast than I've had in quite some time. Maybe, I should have you doing my coffee from now on. Heh, there are more important things to handle, however.

And yet, you're sleeping soundly. I thought he was going to snap at me, perhaps demand something ridiculous, yet you keep on surprising me despite the change you made me do to my schedule.

"I swear, you're such a high maintenance unit," I let go of his hair, smiling. Tapping one of his cheeks with a finger, I lean over to whisper to his ear, "Have a good night's rest, Shirogane. You're gonna need it. Hehehe…"