A/N:

This short story is an Omake to Rosy the PIAT-teer's fanfic, Spymaster and Speedster: An Unlikely Love Story. The characters depicted here have all the personalities and backgrounds from his story. However, there are no major spoilers here for his main story. Enjoy!


For Queen and Speedster

Part I: Lost

Rosehip was not lost.

This was not a statement of opinion but a fact.

She couldn't be. She swore to St. Gloriana herself that she knew these alleyways like the back of her hands.

I knew these alleyways like the back of my hands!

As her memory vehemently insisted, there should be a warehouse a few meters to her left and a brewery a few meters to her right.

However, for some reason, for some bloody reason, the warehouse was now a brewery, and the brewery was now a warehouse.

She blinked and scratched her head.

This can't be right.

She definitely did not mix the two buildings up. Nope. No way. Her memories screamed at her that they were right.

Of course, she freely admits she was no savant-like Assam-senpai, who almost had a perfect memory. She also had no problem admitting she was nothing like her former schoolmate, Orange Pekoe, who could recount the sources of aphorisms uttered by Darjeeling-senpai like she was a 2012 Siri.

Rosehip was just plain ol' commoner Rosehip even when ten years had already passed.

However, concerning the exact positions of the warehouse and the brewery, she was fully committed to staking her reputation on this insignificant molehill.

After all, the warehouse she swore to be on her left was where she crashed her Crusader, and the brewery she swore was on her right was where she accidentally started a fire.

She could still remember this scene as if it had only happened yesterday. She remembered Assam-senpai yelling at her for being too reckless while Orange-Pekoe towed her tank with the Churchill. She also remembered that while being chewed upon by St. Gloriana's esteemed spymaster, Rukuriri, Nilgiri, and their crew all changed to their firefighting gear as they attempted to put out the fire in the brewery.

This was why Rosehip was adamant about the correctness of her memory.

On this matter, she refused to concede that she mixed the two buildings up.

Bloody owners. Rosehip thought grimly. They're definitely committing insurance fraud!

Of course, she had no evidence for such a wild claim, but it was the only thing she could think of to explain the sudden switch. After all, with her accidental destruction of their properties, they were entitled to boatloads of compensation from the Senshado Federation.

And if for some reason, they switch locations, they could also increase their value when their direct neighbors were taken into consideration.

Again, Rosehip had no evidence for such a claim, but her annoyance and guts tell her she was on the right.

Her momentary confusion was interrupted when her pocket started to vibrate. The sudden vibration of her phone almost made her jump out with shock.

With an annoyed grunt, she took her phone out of her pocket and almost went pale as a ghost when she saw the name and number of the caller.

Oh, bloody hell.

She let out a silent snarl before accepting the call.

"Ey Roselle!" Rosehip started as she made every effort to sound upbeat and totally not lost. "What's u-"

"Don't 'Ey Roselle!' me!" the voice on the other line fumed. "Do you have any idea what time it is?! Do you have any idea how long you made us wait for you here at the Black Prince?!"

Rosehip winced. She could feel a chill running down her spine at hearing the screeching voice of her former driver on the phone. She had known Roselle since high school, and she knew the amount of ass-kicking she would get the moment her twin sister from another mother started shrieking like a banshee.

"So sorry, Elle!" Rosehip apologized, sounding as contrite and remorseful as she could. "I, uh, I think I'm lost."

The former Crusader commander soundlessly snarled at the admission as she mouthed the F-word, but dared not utter it.

"Lost?!" Roselle squeaked on the other line. "How the bloody hell did you get yourself lost?!"

"Well, you see, I was trying to take a shortcut to the Black Prince via the back alley," Rosehip tried to mount a defense. "But the warehouse is now a brewery, and the brewery is now a warehouse! The streets no longer make any sense, Elle!"

"Of course, it does not make sense anymore!" Her former driver sounded like she wanted to strangle her with a telephone cord. "We've been gone here for ten years. Ten years! Do you think the neighborhood is still the same? Everything has already changed, you muppet!"

"But the owners are committing insurance fraud!"

"What insurance fraud? What owners?" Roselle asked, sounding even more incensed. "Are you bloody high?"

"No, I'm not high!" Rosehip replied instantly. "But…"

"No buts! Go find some old lady or some wandering student and ask for bloody directions!"

Rosehip pursed her lips. She wanted to say more, but decided to hold her tongue. Saying more now would only add dirt to her shallow grave.

"Fine, you're right. I'll..." Her shoulders finally sagged with defeat. "I'll ask for directions."

"Do it now, or we'll leave you."

The phone clicked, and the call ended, leaving Rosehip standing alone at an intersection where a warehouse was located a few meters to her right and where a brewery was located a few meters to her left.

She closed her eyes and sucked in some cool afternoon sea breeze. She checked her watch and saw the time was already half past three. The meeting time she mentioned was two and a half hours ago.

I totally screwed this up. She thought.

Her former driver had every right to be angry. She won't even be surprised if Rosemallow and Rosemary would also share Roselle's anger at her. After all, this was supposed to be their grand reunion after canceling their planned reunion two years ago.

She could vaguely remember that time in autumn of 2019 when she finally decided to replace her ancient flip phone with a cheap Android one. The moment she logged in on her long-dormant account on Facebook, she immediately got a message from her former loader Rosemallow. Now admittedly, she always considered herself a dinosaur when it comes to gadgets and social media. In fact, she had been using her flip phone from high school for years until it finally croaked out of existence a few months back. The only way she contacted her friends was through old-school SMS, calls, and emails.

That was why it blew out her mind when Rosemallow invited her to a chat group in Messenger, which allowed her to chat with her other former crew mates, Roselle and Rosemary, in one place.

As such, with Rosehip invited into the chat group, the Rosebushes were finally complete. They immediately planned a grand reunion in their former high school, St. Gloriana, on the esteemed school ship, the Ark Royal.

And then came the pandemic.

Like everyone in December 2019, they thought nothing about reports of a highly contagious virus spreading in China. Rosehip had never even heard about Wuhan before and didn't give it much thought. Instead, the group continued to plan their trip with a tentative date sometime after March 2020, when Rosehip could finally return home after participating in the F1 Grand Prix in Australia as one of the pit stop mechanics for Sunkus International.

Then news of an infectious flu virus spreading throughout the Saunders school ship, the George Washington, broke out. Suddenly, the pandemic no longer seemed too distant.

News after news of the spread of the virus was shared on the chat group by Rosemary, which only stressed the living daylights out of everyone.

Alas, the Rosebushes had to cancel their reunion as the whole world went into lockdown, and they had to switch their focus back to their work and families.

Now fast forward to a month ago, Rosehip got a call from Rosemallow telling her that, at long last, their reunion was finally decided. She then gave her a date sometime in October.

"I still can't believe it's already been two years since we tried to plan this reunion," Rosehip remembered saying to her former loader. "And it's been ten years since we all first met in the Crusader garage."

"I know," Rosemallow concurred. "I can't even believe it's already 2022. So much has happened in the world that it's making me dizzy."

Rosehip then agreed on the October date, as it would also be the time she would take leave on her work in the pit stop crew of Sunkus International. She had not been able to return to Japan since the start of the pandemic, so she was definitely looking to get some much-deserved R&R with old-time friends in their old high school ship.

And now here she was, on some street on the Ark Royal, lost and extremely late for their first reunion in years.

Again, she closed her eyes and sucked in the cool afternoon air to calm her nerves.

Inhale. Exhale. Inhale. Exhale.

After a couple more gulps of air, she softly smacked her cheeks to banish all pessimistic thoughts.

"You seem lost, young lady," said a voice from behind.

Rosehip turned and saw an old woman dressed in a traditional kimono holding a bag of groceries and a walking cane.

"Uh, was it really that obvious, ma'am?" The former Crusader commander gave out a sheepish smile.

"I'm sorry, I did not mean to overhear your conversation on the phone," the old woman bowed her head in apology, to which Rosehip blushed with embarrassment. "But by any chance, are you looking for the Black Prince?"

Rosehip's face immediately brightened with a wide smile, as if a switch inside her had just been flipped.

"Yes! I mean, uh, I was actually trying to remember my way to the Black Prince, but then the buildings had suddenly changed."

The old woman stared at the pink-haired former Crusader Commander for a few seconds, before chuckling.

"I presume you were once a student of St. Gloriana?"

"Ah, yes," Rosehip started scratching the back of her head. "I actually started schooling here ten years ago."

"Hmm," the old woman nodded sagely. "Well, that explains why you're lost. Of course, many things have changed since then, but the Black Prince is just nearby."

Rosehip knew that. She knew the Black Prince was nearby. It's just that the exact location of the back entrance eluded her. It was one of those odd establishments in the school ship frequented by students and alumni alike. It had an entrance, but, for some reason, it was always closed, and so its customers had to navigate the winding streets behind to find the back entrance.

"I can take you there if you like."

Rosehip waved her hand as she declined the offer.

"Oh no, that's not necessary. I… I just need directions, and I'll be off."

"Ah, well, if that's the case, then..."

The old woman then gave her the necessary directions, telling her which streets and corners to take before reaching an alley where the back entrance to the Black Prince was located.

"Oh, wow, you're right! I do recall we had to go to an alley to reach the Black Prince's back entrance." Rosehip clapped her hands in realization. "How could I forget that?"

"Times change, places change. The only things not changing in this world are death and taxes."

"Thank you so much for the help, ma'am!" Rosehip bowed as low as she could, genuinely grateful for the old woman's direction.

"I'm glad to be of help, young lady."

That should have been it. With the correct directions already memorized in her head, Rosehip could have already walked away to find the Black Prince.

But there was just one more thing bothering her that she just needed to clarify.

"Um, ma'am, if it's not much, can I ask you one more thing?"

"Of course!" the old woman gave her a reassuring smile. "Ask away, child. I have nothing but time on my hands."

"Well, uh, this might sound odd coming from me, but…," Rosehip started to again fidget with her fingers as she thought the best way to ask her question. "But was there supposed to be a warehouse over there and a brewery over there?"

She first pointed at the brewery on her left, and then at the warehouse on her right.

The old woman paused and said nothing. Then, for a moment, she lowered her head as if in deep thought, before looking back at the pink-haired F1 mechanic with a smile and rheumy eyes.

"Of all the former students who got lost to the Black Prince, I believe you're the only one to notice the warehouse-brewery switch."

"Uh, well, I have some history with those buildings," Rosehip laughed nervously, before immediately pressing further. "By any chance, do you know the reason for their sudden change?"

The old woman started massaging her chin while trying to collect her thoughts.

"Well, I don't want to say this reason is for certain, but from the rumors I've heard, it has something to do with insurance fraud."

Rosehip's expression immediately turned neutral.

"Insurance fraud?"

"Insurance fraud," the old woman nodded. "Although, that's just rumors. The owners are still operating, so who knows?"

Rosehip didn't respond. She remained stiff and unmoving at the revelation.

Then, remembering all her etiquette training with Assam-senpai all those years ago, she bowed again and made a curtsy.

"Thank you so much for the information, madam," Rosehip started, suddenly changing her tone and speech mannerisms into a more formal one. "It may not be much, but may I offer you my assistance with handling your perishables?"

"Oh, don't worry about me, dear," the old woman tried to wave her off. "I'm sure your friends are waiting for you and-"

"But I must insist," the pink-haired F1 mechanic insisted as she gestured to offer her services to carry the old woman's groceries. "My friends are my sworn Tea sisters, and I know they will not look too fondly on me if I did not so much as assist an old lady with her bag of groceries."

"Oh my, is this your St. Gloriana elegance training talking?" the old woman chuckled, completely flattered by Rosehip's offer for assistance.

The former Crusader commander smiled as she straightened her back, closed her feet, and placed a hand on her chest like she was some butler.

"It most definitely is."

As the old woman thanked and handed over her groceries to the gentlemanly Rosehip, the pink-haired F1 mechanic couldn't help but entertain a thought that would be entirely inappropriate for her to voice out now she was donning a chivalric persona.

She had to conjure all her willpower not to break her elegant facade and snicker.

Hah! Insurance fraud! Hell yeah!


A/N:

Happy 10th GuP Anniversary!

So a month ago, I suggested to my fellow fanfic writers that we commemorate the 10th anniversary of the series by writing stories of the characters ten years after the show. Some have joined in on the bandwagon and will also be posting their own commemorative short stories. (Spoiler Alert: Rihnoswirl, author of Dein Weg ist Mein Weg, will also post his own short story, so stay tuned)

Anyways, I still can't believe it's already ten years since I first saw the first episode back in 2012. I remember getting mindblown by the anime, especially that part where the camera pans out to reveal they were all onboard a humungous ship. It's been such a great series, and I'm incredibly glad to know the GuP community is still growing. One of my dreams is to go to Japan and visit Ooarai and just retrace all the significant places featured in the series.

Alright, going back to the fic. So about a month ago, I reached out to Rosy about my idea to write an Omake story about Rosehip and her strange encounter with an old English woman ten years ago. I will refrain from spoiling anything, but for now, let me just say that this short story will have four parts (5 if I overdo myself again), and I'll be releasing them on the dates that the original episodes were released. Part 2 is already in the works, so I can release it next week. However, parts 3 and 4 might be released much later.

Lastly, the artwork is once again a commissioned art made by my good artist friend, Kuromeikei

Until next time everyone!


Revision History:

- Originally published on October 9, 2022