Chapter 29: First Answers
November 24th. A few odd minutes before 1 PM.
(Classroom.)
[Takeru]
Dear Marimo-chan, this is Takeru Shirogane.
I write to you to let you know I am deeply sorry for any and all problems I did assuredly give you, both in school and as an Instructor. From the bottom of my heart, forgive me.
This might sound odd coming from me, but there is a reason behind such an apology. You see, I've come to realize just what a truly great teacher you were for me, and for the rest as well. To say that we miss you, even if the girls by my side never met you, is an understatement. You truly were a stellar tutor in both worlds, and you didn't deserve all the trouble I gave you.
…Save for that one time in the hot springs, that is. That was your fault.
Hopefully, one day we might meet again, and then I shall apologize in person for-
"Shirogane! You must be so bored, looking out the window like that, hmm." Smirking much, NotMarimo-chan placed a finger on her cheek by her lips' side. "Why don't you answer the questions on the next page by yourself, since you're so confident in your knowledge to not pay attention to the lecture?"
Marimo-chan, please come baaaack! I'll behave this time, I swear!
Sighing and picking up the book, I then moved to the page we were looking at. And, as usual, thanks to Marimo-chan's excellent tuition, I answered everything correctly and fast.
Sadly, that only made NotMarimo-chan smirk more, and she then told me to do the same for the next page.
We're rushing the modules again. At this point all the questions are a cake for me, but again the girls answered some questions wrongs so far. I mean, the 'How many arms a TSF has' question does not belong here, Cpt. Isumi asked me that after I joined the Valkyries last time. What the hell?
But it's so nice to have a class without the girls avoiding my gaze, actually willing to debate with me. I could finally relax my back and forget about how tough stuff has been as of late for a little while.
Save for, you know, the Instructor's hellish hellbent intent on making me answer all the hard questions by myself.
"Well, that shall all for today. Remember to keep reading up on your own the remaining pages, tomorrow we're tackling the basis of movements and tactics."
"Roger!"
"Alright, Shirogane, you come with me. Since you can't go walking on your own, let's get you in your suit already. Girls, after you're done with your lunch, come to get changed into your suits as well. Dismissed!"
"Salute!" We all answer in unison as we get up.
"See you later guys."
"Later, Takeru!" Mikoto practically rushed towards the PX, book under her arm. I don't recall her being that into TSFs before, though.
…Oh, right! Didn't we have a tradition here? To make someone eat a lot more or something?
"Hey, guys. I might be wrong on this, but wasn't there a tradition here for when one does its first piloting… Guys?"
The color left their faces. Tama's eyes became whirlwinds and she started swaying left and right. Chizuru and Meiya crossed their arms as they let a heavy sigh escape their lips. Kei simply looked down, but with a clear, obvious, open for all to see bitter pout.
"You're not wrong, Shirogane." The Instructor pats my shoulder, signaling me to follow her. "You lucked out since you're being punished."
"Uhh… Later, guys." They don't answer back. We walk into the hallway, but the girls are seriously taking their time to get out. "Um, Instructor? What is the tradition about?"
"All fresh Cadets must eat double their normal fill before taking the aptitude test." She says, rather happy about it.
"Why?"
"What do you mean, why? Not only they would be under great stress but they would also be feeling rather tight in their stomachs." Then, she shoots a gaze my way, dead serious. "You've seen BETA already, haven't you? What did you do when you first saw them?"
"What did… I went berserk and started to attack them." She stops in her tracks and looks at me with wide eyes as her iris becomes smaller. Her eyes end up being two white dots.
"You… attacked them?!"
"Yeah, it was nuts, I know. But well… I got… enraged to hide my fear?" I know I said no more bullshit, but I can't help it.
"That's… impressive. Most greenhorns either freeze or start throwing up when they see them. It gets worse when they start to kill and eat people. So, we feed our Cadets more food than normal to make them used to control the urge. But really… Of course you wouldn't be intimidated by some soldiers when you attacked the BETA in a tank. Hehehehe, I'll be watching your performance closely today, Shirogane." Why is she smiling about it? Shouldn't she, like, tear me a new ear for what I did.
"About that… I think someone else is going to be monitoring my test today." She stops again and looks at me as she narrows her eyes. Reminder to self: Shut up, goddammit.
"Shirogane, why haven't I heard about this until now?"
"I… err… Didn't the Professor tell you?"
"Not a word. Ugh, what am I gonna do with you, Yuuko?!" She then begins to stomp her way forward, mowing down any dust that was lingering on the floor. Sorry Sensei, but this is your fault.
But… She seems odd. I expected some backlash, some of those same words that people have been whispering behind my back all this time.
"Um… Instructor?"
"Yes?"
"Are you not going to… say anything about what I did?"
"…I believe you already had enough on your plate." She says, without looking back or changing her stern, filled with knives tone. "Moreover, I do know that… some matters must remain unspoken." She turned back, narrowing her eyes. "Therefore, I think you should not let this hinder your training. Focus on what you can do from now on, Shirogane. And, just to be clear, I do not see you as a murderer. However, I believe you already know of how… precarious this whole situation is."
"Yes. I can see what you mean."
"Well then, let's not bring this up again. Of course, I trust this was nothing more than an unfortunate accident, a limit situation where both parties share the blame. Your conduct so far makes me believe you are not a violent element as some claimed, but you will have to prove that to the rest of the base." She stopped walking and directed a frontal gaze at me, sizing me up for a sec. "And, surely, you will be on your best behavior from now on during your coming training courses, Cadet. Isn't that right?"
"Of course, Ma'am." I clamp up my lips, returning her gaze. Stone cold and unfaltering, she nods and we walk again. …I really miss you a lot, Marimo-chan.
Does she really believe that? That felt like empty business talk in some parts. I don't know if she was being honest or if she was just telling me what Sensei told her to. Sigh… I can't expect everyone to be nice to me, at least she's being civil instead of raising her voice and hurling more insults my way.
Yeah, don't be an idiot again. Different world, she isn't your Instructor. She's just doing what she was ordered to do, you saw her real feelings when she gave you the score in the CCSE. And she didn't report anything about the whole issue, probably under Sensei's orders. But… She doesn't seem troubled in the least.
…At least this makes it easier to dissociate her from the Marimo-chan I knew.
We eventually made our way to the changing room. As I open my locker I see a small note on it. 'This is the same suit you've been using, don't worry about your data, it's all here.' Thanks Sensei.
Again I'm using the black suit, which is appropriate since I'm actually a commissioned pilot. Well, I'm kinda jealous of the girls since I've never used the Cadet suit. Or any other suit for that matter. I wonder if it'd feel different, to use other suits.
As I get out I see that Takamura was talking with the Instructor.
"…is why I'll be monitoring… Oh, Cadet Shirogane, good afternoon."
"Good afternoon, 1st Lt. Takamura." I salute her and she returns the gesture.
"So we don't have any Cadet suits for you, huh? So, how does it feel?"
"Fitting? It does seem to do its work as intended."
"Oho, so you don't think it to be frail?" Instructor, I'm not giving you the chance to hit me.
"I tried to hit myself but I didn't feel a thing." She smiles at me as she starts walking around, giving me a good look. "Uh… Instructor?"
"Well, even your posture is different than other Cadets."
"For real?"
"Yes, most are still a bit ashamed of the… open areas in the suit." She points a finger to the chest, then to the back.
"Thankfully, I got an officer's one, I guess. So, what are we going to be doing until the rest arrive?"
"I suppose we could begin setting up your suit while we're at it."
Nodding once, I start up the suit functions, and then I am made to have a one-on-one lecture with NotMarimo-chan. Why her smirk keeps growing the more correct answers I give, I've no idea. And, why is she also asking me about the obscure tidbits? I am taking my time on purpose, saying I heard this from an officer, but there's no way I would know this if I were a Cadet. Takamura also chimed in from time to time, to note some differences the Guard's suits have, due to how they seem to be tailor made to sync up with the Takemikazuchi as perfectly as possible.
As we were in the middle of the questioning, the five overfed shapes of the girls made their way to us.
"We have arrived, Instructor!" As if they were lifting a whole box filled with bricks, they made a salute. Damn, now I'm feeling bad for them.
"Good, go in and get changed on the double. Shirogane is already almost done with the lesson on fortified suits here." She then gave me a pair of pats, or more like force palms, on the shoulder.
Then, the girls looked at me. Meiya, for some reason, immediately looked away, as did Chizuru. Kei narrowed her eyes, hand on her chin, probably suspicious I have an officer's suit. Tama just tilted her head, wondering the same as Kei. Mikoto, though…
"Oh, man! An officer suit! It looks so cool! Say Takeru, how does it feel?"
"Like I'm both naked and in heavy armor at the same time. Look." I then punch my stomach, to a grand total of zero damage points.
"Come on, enough chitchat. Squad, into the room!" Not a second after her order, the five of them marched in.
And then, the lesson continued for a while… and another while…
…And as we were running out of topics regarding the suits, as I was told of more models than I thought ever existed, about why certain colors are banned to be used on the suits, and about why NotMarimo-chan thinks the French suit's color scheme is the most heinous thing ever created by mankind, the girls slowly, as if a snail and a turtle had fused together, came out of the room.
Hiding their chests with their arms while their faces rode into the sunset, unable to lift their gazes from the ground. Save for Kei, who gave no shits about it. This is crazy, really. The first time I saw them in those I almost got a boner, now it's just normal to me. I feel like I've lost an irreplaceable part of myself along the way.
"Well, let's go to the briefing room near the simulators, I'll give you the talk about the suit in detail there."
And so, we began our walk to the sims, me marching in front of the girls to save them the embarrassment. As we got to the room, the giant boxes look as they always do. I've been here during night for the XM3's test so I kinda forgot how this place looked with light. Some people avoided looking my way, others scowled at me. I focused on the machines, that were free as of now.
"Impressive, aren't they?" Takamura comments as she sees me staring at the things.
"Yeah." Well, I'm sure this time I also won't have a problem with this, but I still should take it-
"Huh? Who're you?" Hmm? Looking towards the voice I see some people that I didn't think I would see here.
Hayase, and the rest of the Valkyries behind her. Looking alive and radiant, nothing like… those last moments we shared together.
"Good afternoon, 1st Lt.!" The Instructor salutes her, the rest of us follow in kind, me lagging for a sec as I took in their faces, biting the inner side of my lips to calm myself.
"Oh, Instructor. There is no need for that with us!" Munakata looks at me with the smile of a devil. I do not like this situation, at all. "So, who's the boy? I thought Squad 207 was the only Cadet group being trained here!"
Akane seems to be giving me a hard stare, as well as the others from her group. Tsukiji and Kashiwagi are whispering something, while other two girls I don't really recognize were also staring. The one with green hair said something to Akane, which made her frown, and then the blonde one tried to pacify them. But the seniors don't seem to be hostile towards me. Not in the hateful sense, at the least.
"Yes, he's part of Squad 207 too. He joined during October, and let me tell you, he's scoring better numbers than you Hayase." Thanks Instructor, I totally need Hayase to get on my case before I even join the Valkyries. Yep, no problem whatsoever.
"Oho? Aren't you a hotshot? I'm 1st Lt. Mitsuki Hayase, who're you?" I give her a salute as I answer.
"Cadet Takeru Shirogane, Ma'am."
"Hmm? Aren't you too stiff? What's up, scared?" She smiles as she slightly bends over, that cheeky little smile she always wore whenever she challenged me in the sims. Heh, nice to see you truly are the same, on the outside at least.
"My apologies, I'm under orders to behave well."
"Huuuuuh… Me thinks the pup is scared." Looking back at Munakata, never losing the cheeky grin, she chuckles. I just smile back, and that seems to put her off a bit, not expecting a calm reaction.
"Ahem…" Cpt. Isumi steps forward, probably to stop Hayase from going into another of her rivalry tangents. "Say Instructor, can we stay and watch the cadets' test?"
"Huh? Well… I've no objections, so if you're free there is no issue."
"Don't worry, we've got authorization from the XO to have the afternoon free to see…" She briefly sends a gaze my way, smirking for some reason. "Their first test, as a form of gallery of spectators. Best wishes on your first step to become commissioned pilots, Cadets." She, and then the rest of the Valkyries, give us a salute that we all return.
"N-No, it is an honor to… perform for an officer." Chizuru's lips turn and twist, unable to look up firmly.
Wait… Is she… Oh, does she also have a rivalry with Akane in this world?
"Hey Chizuru, don't sweat it!" The person in question stepped forward, giving her a wink. "And all of you girls, too. Good luck in there!"
"Yeah, the first time is hellish for everyone here." Kashiwagi folds her arms, smiling as widely as she always did. "Poor Tsukiji seemed like a broken wind-up clock after the session."
"Uuh… Yes, it was horrible." Hunching over, she quivers a bit. Her honest reaction made Tama and Mikoto laugh a bit, but the other three remained as cool as ever.
"Well, let's not keep them any longer." Cpt. Isumi said, taking some steps back. "Welcome to the Training School, Cadets. Sgt. Jinguuji's real course starts here." Then, she cracked a smirk, as did Hayase and Munakata.
The girls opened their eyes wide, seemed surprised and quite a bit scared at the claim. The Instructor sighed and shook her head.
"Please try to not scare them more than necessary, Captain."
"I am merely speaking out of experience, Ma'am. Suzumiya and her squad can attest to the quality of your piloting training, after all."
The five of them twitch and look away as NotMarimo-chan locked her gaze onto them, arms folded and a small smirk rising in her. Just what the hell is this training of hers about?
"Hmm… You don't seem shaken at all, Shiroganeee." Hayase said, getting a bit too close, tip of a finger on her chin, the grin still in place.
"Well, I'll just have to overcome the training, whatever it is. I didn't come this far to fail."
"Oh, now you're speaking my language!" Small embers rose in her eyes, here we go again. "Do try to give us a decent show at the least, hotshot."
"What is it, Hayase? I didn't knew you were into younger boys." Munakata, please no! "So you already forgot about the Viking? To think I catched you sleep talking about-"
"MUNAKATA! Shut up!" Hayase's face goes crimson as she shouts at her, while Munakata smiles wickedly.
The rest of the seniors chuckle at their exchange, the younger ones seem to… not want to join in their fun. Akane was shooting me one of those glares, for some reason.
The five girls are simply staring at the two of them bickering, some sending me a gaze with a raised brow. I just shrug back.
But… Hayase sleep talking about the Viking? This does not bode well for my eventual arrival to the Valkyries. Assuming we manage to keep Yuuhi at bay, that is.
"Fuhuhu! Why are you getting so angry?" Hand in her waist as usual, she smiled at Hayase, who seemed to want to lunge at her throat on the spot. So basically, same as always. "It's normal for you to want to establish dominance over your love interest."
"I said shut up! This isn't about that!"
"Mitsuki, you shouldn't be ashamed. Weren't you the one who spoke to him first?" Wow, Haruka-san teasing her, too?
"Oh, now you turn on me too?!" Folding her arms, she faked a pout.
"…Perhaps you should leave the drama for later. We're troubling the Instructor." Akane, you're doing all of us a favor.
"Sigh… You two never change. I suppose you can stay, so long as you don't make much noise or disturb the cadets." Folding her arms and giving them one of the serious glares, all of the Valkyries returned a lazy salute her way.
"Of course we won't give you trouble!" Regaining her grin, she nods. "I'll be expecting a nice show, Shirogane." Uuuh, great. I'm already on her sights.
"I'll try to not disappoint."
"Hmm? You're not intimidated by Hayase after all this? Aren't you confident!" Munakata, please stop. Before it's- "Hayase, I think he's looking down on you. See? He's totally unfazed, like he doesn't even register your existence." Goddammit Munakata! Captain, don't just stand there smiling!
"Oho? Is that so, Shirogane? If you have anything to say, why don't you-"
"1st Lt. Hayase." Takamura got between me and her, I can't see her face but to make Hayase flinch she must be sending her some violet flares. "It is unproper for a Japanese surface pilot to threaten a Cadet in this way. The same goes for you, Munakata-san. You should reconsider your way of treating your peers."
"Huh? Ah… Well… I was just… W-Who are you, anyways?" Hayase was stuttering. This is a new one.
Most of the rest of the Valkyries were shocked into silence. Cpt. Isumi coughed and stepped forward, giving us a small bow.
"Forgive us, we tend to play around like this in our unit. We were just testing the cadets, nothing more. We're sorry, right Hayase?"
"Yes, sorry about that. Shirogane, forgive the screams."
"Nah, it's cool." If you didn't do that, you wouldn't be you.
You did manage to get me out of that cloud I was in, even if my heart lost some health points. I still can't deal with you two, but thanks for cheering me up in your own way.
"Cadet Shirogane, you shouldn't be so lenient with them. They were clearly intimidating you." Takamura, you're legit more intimidating right now though.
"Thanks for worrying 1st Lt., but there was no danger whatsoever."
"Why do you say that?"
"Because I'm in a Fortified Suit and they're not. So, if they tried anything, I have the advantage." Mikoto and Tama giggle, Kei just nods with a smirk, Meiya and Chizuru sigh and give me a doubtful gaze.
"Heheheh, you're really special Shirogane." NotMarimo-chan again force palms my back a few times. "See, Hayase? Not only his numbers, but his attitude is better than yours. Maybe you should learn to keep that short temper of yours in check before you try taunting cadets."
Instructor, stop adding fuel to the fire! I might be calm now, but in a few days she's gonna be all over me asking for a match!
"Grrr… Well, let's go get something to drink while we wait. Good luck, hotshot." She grins at me as they leave, Munakata also gives me a smile. The rest give us a salute with a smile, going their way to the nearby open space.
So I'm Eight and Hotshot for Hayase now. I can only pray she doesn't find out I'm the Viking, cause that will put me in quite some trouble. It is good to see they were similar to how I remember them, though.
"Cadet Shirogane, are you truly alright?"
"Don't worry, I'm used to it. And I didn't take offense, I also don't really care about formalities that much. But Instructor, was there any need to taunt her like that?" She just chuckles at me.
"I didn't taunt her. I just spoke the truth, you do have the best numbers of any cadet that was trained here, and I trained a quite a few 'hotshots' before you. Let's see if you can also get a high score on today's test."
Sigh… There is just no stopping the Instructor here, huh. Well, I just gotta bite the bullet and cleave through whatever this hellish training is about. And lend a hand to the girls, if they want it.
"Um…" Tama hesitated for a moment, looking down. "Is what they said true? That your real training starts now?"
"…In a way, it isn't wrong. However, if Suzumiya and her squad could overcome this hurdle, so can you. Surely you're not getting cold feet, are you now?"
"No, Ma'am!" All six of us answered.
"Good, now let's take care of the briefing."
We make our way into the briefing room, then the Instructor and Takamura start the explanation while taking their turns.
Now that I think about it, I never used the helmet of this thing, or the Feedback Protector. Man, it might be scary to fight the BETA in it, but that Pile Bunker looks sick as F. I wonder why we don't have more melee options than swords here, another thing to research today.
Once that was done and all suits were properly set up, she coughed and pointed to the door. We follow her out, back to the rails by the side of the sims.
"So, allow me to explain what you will be doing. You'll go in pairs, in pods one and two, and we'll have you stay seated for fifteen minutes. I will be monitoring your performance at all times. Also, as you already know, your simulation will be displayed on those monitors there for everyone to see."
What?! The girls look to the ground, Tama was already shaking. So that's why the Valkyries are here. Maybe Sensei sent them on purpose?
"After you go through the three speeds, you'll have to pilot for two minutes. First in an open space and then in an urban environment. Just to let you know, the best time we have is from 1st Lt. Hayase, at one minute and three seconds." Huh, so Hayase was top tier material since the start. "Well, let's start this. Sakaki, pod one. Mitsurugi, pod two. Here you have your bags, in case you need them."
"Um… Instructor. May I ask a question?" Chizuru spoke as she took her bag.
"What is it?"
"Why has the 1st Lieutenant joined on the briefing if you'll be the one monitoring us? Will she be helping in our simulation?"
"1st Lt. Takamura is here to oversee Shirogane's simulation." She couldn't hide the twinge of bother that was deeply rooted in her voice.
"Eh? To oversee…" Great, negativity I can already feel you.
"So she's Takamura… Could she be…" Meiya was glaring at her, which made Takamura flinch surprisingly.
"Ahem… I should have introduced myself earlier. I am 1st Lt. Yui Takamura. While I've been stationed here on a loan from the Empire, I've been assigned to monitor Cadet Shirogane's tests during his training course."
"Um… 1st Lt., is Shirogane-san in trouble?" Tama, thanks for asking.
"No, this is just to lend a hand. I was also stationed at Yukon like him, so I was asked to watch over him." She spoke in her usual work tone, which made the girls start fidgeting. They're throwing glances at me now.
"I see. But why only him?" Wow, for Meiya to speak up. What is worrying her now? Going by her eyes, it looks like she knows who Takamura is.
"It was simply an order, nothing more." They stare at each other for some seconds.
Takamura was composed and calm, while Meiya was furrowing her brow with yet again fire coming out of her eyes. Is she worried Takamura might do something to me since she's on the Guard?
"We've lost enough time on this. Sakaki, Mitsurugi. On the simulators, now."
"Chizuru! Good luck!" Akane yells at her while waving one arm, the rest of the fresh members also wave at her.
Chizuru smiles as she slowly waves back before getting into the pod. …Meiya didn't even look at them. Guess she still doesn't feel welcomed by the rest, huh.
Meiya and Chizuru's TSFs appear in the monitors. And the simulation starts, the rumbling starts in the two sims, echoing about the room.
"Uwah… Look at them move!" Mikoto's color was draining from her face as she stared at the pods shaking.
"This looks much more worse than what we did back last spring." Tama's voice was frail and tense. Kei was just staring, but she also must be nervous.
The images on the monitor change to an urban environment, they're on the last speed. After some sharp turns, the scenery changes to a prairie again. Some circles appear on the air, I suppose they have to fly through them?
Chizuru seems to be doing okay, Meiya however was having trouble moving her TSF. After they pass through ten circles, the image changes to a city again, and they have to start taking turn. At first they had some space, but as they got closer and closer to the center of the city, the buildings got closer and in the way. Meiya was the first to crash, Chizuru crashed shortly after.
0:27, Meiya. 0:34, Chizuru. Barely near half a minute, and Hayase got double than that? Wow, she must have been good from the start. The sims calm down and both of them get out of the pods.
I see some of the Valkyries laughing, others groaning. Are they… making bets? Seems like they're enjoying themselves, even if there seems to be a clear line between the seniors and the fresh ones.
As Meiya and Chizuru got close, I saw they were pale and walked wobbly. Grabbing the iron bars they slowly approached us.
"Sakaki, Mitsurugi. Well done. Ayamine, Tamase. You're next." The other two went into the pods with heavy steps.
"Chizuru-san, Meiya-san. Are you alright?"
"Uuuuuhhhh…" Chizuru sat down on a nearby bench and started to slowly rub the back of her head.
"Meiya-san, what about you? …Meiya-san?" Mikoto was completely ignored as she kept walking past the extended hand that was offered.
"Hey, Meiya? You okay?"
"Eh? Ah… Y-Yes, S-Shirogane. I'm alright." Unlike Chizuru, Meiya's face was burning red. She doesn't look sick, maybe what she ate is making her stomach hurt?
"Meiya-san, are you sure? You don't look so good." Mikoto lent her a hand as she sat down near Chizuru.
"Yes, it was… an eye opening experience. Uuuh…" She slumped onto the bench as her breathing got more calm.
The sims start shaking again. As the starting drill finishes, the prairie with circles appears again. Kei's TSF flies through shaking slightly, while Tama's on vibrator mode. As they reach the city, Tama crashed at the first tall building she met, while Kei kept going despite her tense maneuvering. She ended up crashing at the same spot as Chizuru, go figure.
0:19, Tama. 0:34, Kei. This is not good for Tama's self esteem, Kei is going to be so annoyed that she scored the same as Chizuru. They get out, Tama was walking as if she were drunk with swirly eyes. Kei walked slowly as she rubbed her forehead.
"Good work, cadets. How are you feeling?" The Instructor greets them as they approach us.
"Hauuuhhh…" Tama can't even speak. Mikoto helps her to the bench.
"…Urk." Kei was slowly making her way to the bench too.
"Kei-san, how are you feeling?"
"…Fine."
"You look white as a sheet though." She gives me a bothered stare as she sits.
"This is nothing."
"Kei-san, you're tied with Chizuru-san with the best time so far." Mikoto jiggles at her but Kei closes her eyes as she frowns.
"…Fuck." I knew she was gonna react like that, but it's still funny to see.
"Tamase, Ayamine. Good work. Yoroi, Shirogane. Your turn." We nod at NotMarimo-chan's words and then go towards the sims.
As we do, I hear a whistle coming from the Valkyries, but I ignore it and continue to walk on. I'm not reacting today. As we got on the steps to get inside, I looked to the side and saw how Mikoto's shoulders are slightly shaking.
"Hey, Mikoto."
"Hm? What's up?"
"Don't worry too much, yeah? Just relax and do your best." I remember I did this during the tournament to ease his worries, so maybe I can do the same for you.
"Uuuh… Well, you're right. Let's do our best, Takeru." She smiles faintly, but she's still tense as the air on an exam room.
"Mikoto, you must chill. I know, think of it as a game. It's just you and me having some fun."
"The Instructor is gonna kill us if she hears that." She starts shivering. "But I'll do my best! Don't think you'll have it easier because you're stronger."
We grin at each other and get inside the pods. I sit down and put the bolts in place. That's done, now the upper ones… Okay, all done. Now, what do I do? Do I go seriously? I mean, I won't be shaking around like the others, so let's take it easy.
"Cadet Shirogane, can you hear me?" Takamura's face appears in my vision.
"Loud and clear, 1st Lieutenant."
"Are you comfortable in that position?"
"Yes, no problems."
"Alright, remain in standby. Once Cadet Yoroi finishes the bolting we'll start the test."
A few seconds after that the start code appears on my sight, the prairie appears all over me and I feel the pod start moving. That being said…
This is a joke. The sims should move even more than this, this is nothing like a TSF. Ugh, I can't even get in the mood to pilot like this. The prairie looks nice and all you want but… Oh, we're in the city now. The thing picked up its pace and now we're going at the third speed. Which is still slow. I mean, I'm used to all the G-Forces of my stunts with the XM3, so this is like going back to Squash 64 after playing Mereengue.
"Cadet Shirogane, the manual part of the test will begin shortly. Get ready to pilot."
"Roger." I grab the controls and put my feet on the pedals.
Then I feel some response from them and I slightly move them forward. The prairie appears before me with the same circles in the air. To the left, to the right, dash ahead, to the right, boost upwards. Ugh, this is such a chore.
I reach the city and start moving around. I jump over some houses, before landing I dash to my left and jump again when I can towards the following circles. This feels really stiff, it's really unresponsive. No wonder we're losing the war with this thing, it's not even that I can't cancel or that it's less sensitive, this is a straight limiter on the pilot. By teaching you to only move within these boundaries you'll never think of doing piercing maneuvers, or to use the aerodynamics to their fullest.
Ugh, I can't even get motivated for this. I'm actually having trouble making the thing move as I want it to move, I have to time my jumps earlier or the thing just won't respond.
Whatever, there's two circles next that require one to jump between some big buildings, I'mma crash here. Let's speed up a lil' bit, and now do a barrel roll~!
CRASH!
[DAMAGE SUSTAINED - TEST OVER]
Ahh, that was fun. I rarely get to actually mess around in these things so this was actually a one in a lifetime treat. How much time did I last, though? I kinda spaced out there for a sec as I was complaining about the OS. Oh well, whatever.
After the thing stops shaking I get out of the pod, Mikoto is getting out too and she looks like she's made out of jelly, wobbling like the Frost Climbers.
"Hweh…"
"Mikoto, you alright?"
"Everything… spinning…" Lending her my shoulder, I help her go towards the rest.
"Good work, you two. But I'll be damned, I didn't think you'll actually do it Shirogane." The Instructor was again smiling at me, Takamura's eyes had small flames on them. What are they talking about?
"Shirogane, that was truly impressive!" Meiya was beaming at me, Tama was also looking at me with sparkly eyes.
"What are you talking about?"
"Cadet Shirogane, you broke the record. Your time was 1:18. You're now the Cadet with the best starting time." Takamura points to my monitor, a giant smile plastered on her face.
"What a surprise. Special-kun stormed the course again." Kei deadpanned me as always, and despite the small doubt it seems she also is intrigued.
"Huh, neat. And what about Mikoto?"
"Yoroi lasted 0:42, it was a surprise for sure." Chizuru patted Mikoto on the shoulder, she finally seemed to have regained her composure and smiled at her.
"T-Thanks, Chizuru-san. But it was more turbulent than I had thought… Hweeeh…"
"Yeah, that was rough." Tama closes her eyes as she starts shivering.
"Well squad, let me give you your results." We all form a line, standing in attention, except for Mikoto. "Sakaki, Mitsurugi, Ayamine, Yoroi, Tamase, all of you are progressing fine. You did better than I expected of you, considering about much trouble you've been until now. Seems like training you wasn't a big a waste as I originally thought."
She can't contain herself, can't she? The girls had recovered the color on their faces, but now were again looking to the ground. Takamura grasped a strand of hair, to prevent herself from speaking up probably.
"Now, Shirogane. Your data from Yukon was lost in the incident, so we have nothing to compare today's data with. However, these numbers are really something else. You were calm and composed throughout all the simulation, did the shaking not bother you?"
"Well, honestly no." No point in lying now.
"Hmph, you've scored the best score any Cadet got in their first run. Not just from the squad, but from any cadet that has been trained in the 207th Training School to date." As expected, the girls are left speechless. Though, in my defense, I also did that during my first loop. This isn't cheating. "I hope you can keep it up. That's all for today, squad. Dismissed!" She then beckons us to follow her back to the changing room.
As we left the sim room, I saw the Valkyries looking our way. Akane and Tsukiji waved at the girls, the green haired one shouted a goodbye and the blond one gave them a court bow.
However, Kashiwagi, Munakata and the Captain had the biggest, cheekiest grins I ever saw in them, they rose a hand to salute me. And… Hayase was looking straight at me with a huge grin on her face, eyes squinted while tensing a fist, with Haruka-san doing her best to calm her down. Before we left, she made a gun with that coiled hand, and 'shot' it at me.
So… I just made her lose a really big bet between her and the others, didn't I? She's not gonna let me off easily, ain't she?
"Takeru, did the shaking not bother you at all?" Mikoto's eyes could pop out of her face any second now.
"I mean, what can I say?"
"Well, regardless of that he still beat all of us with his score. You too, Yoroi. I didn't expect you to get so farther ahead from us." Chizuru seems puzzled at Mikoto's results. It is surprising though.
"Yeah, Yoroi-san beat all of us too." Tama, cheer up. What are we gonna do if you start getting depressed?
"Miki-san, don't look so down. You just gotta practice to get better!"
"Shirogane." Meiya tapped my shoulder as the rest continued to talk.
"What is it?"
"Say, can you tell me if it's true that you weren't bothered by the shaking?"
"Huh? Oh, well… No, I wasn't that bothered by it." She sighs as she softens her gaze.
"I see. That's another hurdle to cross, huh?"
"I mean I… Yeah, I already had some battle experience, you know? In the tank?" I remembered the excuse I gave them about me fighting in a tank, she nods at me.
"Oh right, I had forgotten about it. Of course, you already have experienced the heat of a real battle. Even so, to surpass the previous record… You truly are special." She smiles faintly at me, thank God she isn't getting all negative and suspicious.
"Please stop with the praise. I mean, how was your run? You did seem pretty beat up, and your mech was swaying a lot. How did you feel?"
I was expecting her usual resolute tone or a philosophical remark about how she has to continue to hone herself, but instead she adverted her eyes as her face turned red again.
"It… It was… I mean, it was certainly… harder than I thought it would be."
"Well, don't beat yourself up. All of us have some bad days."
"No, it's not… Uh…" She bit her lip as she returned my gaze. I… I've seen that gaze before… And not out in the open…
"…Meiya? Hey, you seem kinda out of it, you sure you're okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine. I just had a… daydream while I was in the pod. That distracted me and… N-Nothing, I am fine. Twas nothing but a mistake on my part to let such thoughts come to me at that time." She folds her arms and looks away.
The way she looks like… She said daydream… In a sim pod… Which made her… Ooooooohhhh… You're telling me she saw that memory? This… is kinda awkward now.
"Sorry."
"Eh? W-Why would you be apologizing?" She turned even redder, but she couldn't look at me in the eye. Yep, she saw it.
"I shouldn't have asked. Sorry to bother you, Meiya." I give her a small bow, but she starts fidgeting as she seems to try to find words to speak.
"No, this isn't… your fault. It was my own fault for thinking of… o-of such matters." Stop being like that, I'm trying to calm you down here.
"Shirogane-kun? What are you two talking about?" Chizuru to the rescue.
"Meiya seemed to have a hard time on the sim, I went and made her relieve that, so I was apologizing."
"I see. Not that I can blame you, Mitsurugi. It was harder than I thought it would be." We both nod at her words, heaving a sigh for the same and a different reason at the same time.
"Squad, we're here. All of you have the rest of the day free, consider it your last share of easy time. Let me remind you that until you all haven't completed all the basic training drills on the simulators, you won't be allowed to pilot your TSFs. That's all, leave your suits in your lockers. Well, then."
The Instructor leaves, and we all enter the changing rooms. Since I'm alone here I quickly get back into my fatigues and get out. Takamura was waiting for me, leaning on a wall.
"Well, shall we get going? Or would you be wishing to speak with your squad for a while?"
"Thanks, but let's get going. I'm sure they must have a lot to talk about already. The project can't wait." She nods at me and we go our way.
I should leave Meiya alone for a while, she'll only get more vivid memories if I stay close to her, and I'm pretty sure I don't want this Meiya, who seems to be even more resolute about her duty, to have sexual daydreams about us in the middle of our training. Imagine how bad she'll feel if every time she has to get in the sim pod she has the same visions. I also don't know which one she saw, since we… kinda did it in the sim pods quite a few times.
Since they were welcoming enough to trust in me again, let's give them some space to avoid any weird causal stuff from flowing into them. After all, Meiya wasn't the only one who I did it with in the sims. And it's not like those times were-
"It was truly surprising, I did not expect you to retain such poise during your test." Takamura brought me back to reality before my thoughts spiraled out of control. "The incident must have affected you greatly."
"…Yeah, it did." If by incident I assume all the deaths in my world, then yes.
"Your movements were also quite precise even if you were fumbling with the controls at times. I think you'll make a very good surface pilot, Cadet Shirogane." She beams at me again.
"Thanks, but, can I ask why are you so interested in my piloting skills?"
"Huh? Why? Well, I think you have potential, and as a fellow survivor I just want to help you. Really, that's all." She looks at me squarely in the eye. Her tone however hides something underneath. I can't tell if it's good or bad, but she's not telling me the truth.
"Well, in any case, if I impressed you I'm off to a good start. What did you think of my squad's performance?"
"They did well for their first real simulation. Except Tamase."
"Do you think you could help her?"
"Hmm… That might be a bit complicated. I did get permission from the Instructor to aid them during the evenings, since it'd free her own schedule." Bureaucracy and Sensei's overworking schedule playing to our favor for once.
Of course, Tama's specialty are guns and Takamura is more oriented to close combat. Aside from some footing and movements she might not have much advice for her. She might have it easier with Meiya and Kei.
"If you can find any advice for Tama, please look out for her. She isn't very confident, so she tends to get down easily. Maybe forcing her to push her limits gradually would work?" That's all I can think of to help Tama, since she herself has to find her resolve.
"I'll do what I can within my boundaries."
"That's more than enough. Thanks, Takamura. For real."
"No, it is nothing. I did give you my word, so I must follow through." The honor code also helping out, huh? Color me surprised, it would be a first for those damn rules to do anything good. "By the by… Whatever does 'for real' means?"
"Oh… It's… Uuh… My way to say 'Really', basically." Not this again, goddammit.
We made some talk about the test until we reached the office. Things picked up from yesterday and I had to run around delivering more folders than yesterday. It does look like we're on the right track for the railgun now, by the end of my work we already had some schematics done for the remodeled version of it.
With some luck we will make it in time for Sadogashima.
Same Day. 08:53 PM.
(B19F. Takeru's Office.)
Nothing but the sound of my clicks and typing could be heard in here, in the small office Sensei prepared for me. Looking like a small classroom, with a small blackboard behind me, a small desk where the PC was, a shelve with who knows what kind of papers, and little else.
"Hmmm… So this Tornado has the blades mounted on the outside of its arms…" It does look more practical than having them sheathed. Doesn't the Takemikazuchi have a small dagger ready in its arms too?
I look up, away from the screen as I stretch a bit.
Been reading up on weapons and TSFs since I finished aiding Takamura at 1900 hours, but this thing is really slow. The PC looks to be running on Weóndows 95 and with all the documents I have open, it's running really slow at times. It's UI is also really old, but considering that widespread usage of PCs has probably stagnated it isn't surprising.
But boy, did I not learn a lot of useful tidbits of info today! Honestly, we're gonna get rich with the F-15's parts. It seems to be one of the most widespread TSF in the world in usage right now. Now, those Europeans are crazy. They put blades mounted on the arms of that Tornado, they made an axe, and a spike shield. I mean, I could have seen a shield being turned into a claw or something, but to have the shield shoot out its spikes… Gun shield, best shield. You can even use it to bash the hell out of the Grapplers. Imagine someone sorting with only those shields as a weapon… Knowing the lack of supplies in the frontlines, that probably has happened once, or will happen at some point.
But the Soviets are not far behind, they made literal chainsaws for their TSFs. Shame we don't have much info about those. I might ask Sensei if we can somehow copy that. I also found a gatling gun, the M61 Vulcan, that was redesigned to be used on TSFs way back when the first TSAs were created. It's light enough to mount it on a TSF and powerful enough to be worth it. Since it uses 20mm ammo, I could put two small containers on the back of a TSF's legs to hold the bullets. The GAU-8 Avenger is too heavy, and the machineguns of the A-12 are a secret of the American army, so that's my best bet to see if the idea works outside of Valgern-On.
I'm glad Sensei kept her words with this, but I was expecting she would since this is profitable for her. And thanks to this setting I'll be able to do stuff to my leisure now.
I hear a knock on my door, I answer and Kasumi enters the room.
"Good evening, Takeru-san."
"Hey, good evening Kasumi. Did Sensei sent you to start on that memory thing?" She nods.
"Are you ready? I wanted to do it near Sumika-san, to link any memories you might have of his childhood to her."
"Give me a sec, I'll save these docs real quick."
After some clicks here and there, I saved everything I had noted down today, and then we leave the office.
"So, how do you think this will go Kasumi?"
"I don't know. I never really tried to bring someone's memories back to the surface. I can't really talk with Sumika-san, it's a completely different thing. I will do my best, though." She moves her bunny ears as she looks at me, determination oozing from her eyes. I return a smile, patting her head. She moves her bunny ears again as I do.
We reach the cylinder's room. The santa rabbit is still hanging in there. Kasumi signals me to sit near the cylinder and after I do, she presses her head against my back.
"Takeru-san, close your eyes and relax. Also, here." She passes me some sort of tiara-like object that looks a bit like her bunny ears, probably what Sensei will use to monitor my brainwaves during this session. "It might take me a while, so just be calm. The images might be somewhat distorted and lack color, but you remain calm and listen to me. Since I'm intruding on your mind it might hurt a bit, but please do remain calm at all times."
"Alright. I'll stay cool, I do trust in you, Kasumi. But don't force yourself if you can't do it."
"Don't worry, you can leave it to me." She smiles at me from behind, and then puts her head against my back again.
I take a deep breath and close my eyes. For a while I feel nothing different, seeing pitch black darkness.
But then I felt a tingly feeling on the back of my head. When a slight tinge of pain appeared, I started to calm my breath, focusing on that feeling. Slowly, my body began to feel a bit stiff.
"Relax, Takeru-san. You're safe, nothing is wrong."
"I know."
"Take a deep breath." I do as told, I feel the tingly sensation get stronger. "Calm down, think of being in peace."
"Like, sailing on a boat or something?"
"If that is what you imagine, then yes."
Eyes still closed, I remembered that cruise Meiya sent me and Sumika once. The lights of the city, the slow rocking of the ship. Left and right… Left and right…
"Yes, calm down. Focus on the lights." Slowly, the pain faded away. "Calm down… You're safe now…" I felt like nodding off, leaning back a bit.
At some point, I realized I had stopped feeling my body. A similar sensation compared to when I jump between worlds, but without the nausea and the world spinning around. The tingly feeling is still there, somewhere. Then, the lights I was remembering start to twist and curve. As if it were a stain spreading, a visage comes closer to my sight, giving me some form of vertigo for a sec until everything came into place.
The colors stop being blurred, the shapes take noticeable forms, I can begin to tell the depth of what's around me after a while.
I find myself looking at some sort of street. It looks really run down though. Also, everything looks so much bigger.
"Bro! Wait right there!" A child shouts in the distance. I can't really control anything here, similar to that time I couldn't materialize and ended up getting punched by Sumika back into this world.
"Bleh! Jouji, you slowpoke!" My view moved back, and I saw two boys running towards me.
Both with black hair, one had a red bandanna on his forehead, was wearing a white shirt and blue shorts. The other had a red shirt and black shorts. Their clothes look really old, like in the style the ones my Dad had on those old pictures he showed me. The last shriek of fashion in town, before it was brutally murdered.
"Takeru! It's not fair!" The bandanna-less boy shouted as they tried to catch up. However I, or rather this little version of me, turned around and started sprinting again.
He jumped over fallen stuff that someone left lying around, took a turn to his left and went near some sort of park. Then, without slowing down, he jumped on some sort of fence climbing game, and reached the top in no time at all. Way to go, little me.
"Uuuh! Bro, you just wait!" The boy with a bandanna tried to do the same, but ended up falling. That must have hurt a lot.
"Hey, Jouji! You okay?"
"Uuuuuhhhh…" His eyes were two big whirlwinds. Little me got down from the game and went near him.
"No, you're not. C'mon, get up." He helps this Jouji up, as the boy rubs his head. Hey, he's nicer than I was when I was little.
"Hey, did Jouji hit his head again?" The other boy got closer.
"Yeah, he's really dumb."
"Like you're not! Bro, you're the dumbest of them all! Only you would think in climbing like a monkey!"
"What?! I'm not a monkey!"
"Yes, you are! Like the ones in that book you're always reading!"
Little me and Jouji start arguing about who's dumber, with the other boy trying to make peace between them. This looks like your everyday life, is this in the Hiiragi district? It doesn't seem that different from my life back home, considering how much I fought over the most silly things with the boys in Pee Park.
Hehehe… I forgot how… nice this was. Just fooling around with your friends. I'm glad he also had someone like that. So he wasn't always alone.
"H-Hey! Takeru, Jouji… S-She's here." The second boy says as if he just saw a ghost.
Little me looks towards where he's pointing and I see a tall figure getting… What the hell?! You've got to be kidding me.
"Takeru, what did I tell you about playing outside?"
"That I shouldn't do anything dangerous?"
"And did you?"
"No? There is no proble-Eeeh! It hurts! Maya-nee, let go of my ear!" Maya-san came closer, looking infuriated, and pulled his left ear quite strongly it seems.
"No problem?! What would I have done if you fell from that height?! Gosh, what am I gonna do with you? I let you out of my sight for a second and you run off to the park."
"Let me go! I won't do it anymore!"
"You always say that. No more playing outside this week."
"EEH?! No fair!"
"Silence. You have no right to complain. Now, let's go back home." Maya-san starts pulling little me away, who tries to resist in vain.
"Don't worry Takeru! We'll go visit you later!" The boy whose name I don't know waves at little me, after a while the one named Jouji starts waving too.
After some steps, Maya-san lets go of his ear and instead grabs his wrist, and so they keep walking quite fast. Little me waves at them with his free hand, before turning forward.
"Maya-nee, let me go. It hurts."
"Hmph, pouting won't help you." She says as she arranges her glasses like she usually does.
They keep going somewhere, but with a clear direction. This person is without a doubt Maya-san, she looks to be around my current age but she isn't wearing her Guard suit, or a dignified one either. She looks like a commoner, wearing a crimson and white dress. Her hair is tied in a similar fashion to my world's Maya-san.
But… This only brings more questions. Little me called her Maya-nee, she said going back home. As for how she scolded him, it would seem they're actually siblings. But that's impossible, since his last name is still Shirogane.
Mion did seem to like him, and Tsukuyomi-san did act weirdly last time we met after I called those two pickles. And now this. Were our families that close?
Maya-san is looking out for him a lot, she's actually worried about him. He's still complaining at her.
…She does look like an older sister right now. Family, huh?
…Is that why he was so hurt? Because the Tsukuyomis were Guards and he felt betrayed by someone he trusted a lot?
No, they're the retainers of the Koubuin family. Why is she taking care of little me? She doesn't seem to be bothered, it feels… Like when Mom always scolded me, but finished the rant with a kiss to my forehead. Why is she here? What is he to her?
Slowly, the image starts to lose color and twists itself in a whirl. Everything mixes itself into a weird gray, where all shapes are part of some sort of giant abstract 'something'.
"Takeru-san, I can't focus on that memory anymore. Do you still feel fine?" I hear Kasumi's voice from somewhere.
"Yeah, no problem. Can you keep going?" I didn't really reply. It's like my thoughts simply reach her without much effort.
"Yes. Give me one second."
I feel a slight jolt, the whirlwind moves again. Color returns to the visage in front of me, the shapes slowly return to reflect a normal view. Now, where is this place?
Again everything looks big, so I'm again seeing little me's memories. This place looks like… an old fashioned house? No, looks far more regal than that.
Looks actually like those houses of the nobles I saw on TV back home, but for real. He's walking behind someone in a red Royal Guard uniform. I start hearing two voices bickering.
"It's cheating! You can't clap my ears!"
"All is fair in a battle. You're merely jealous because I always win!"
Are those… Yep, it's them Pickles. Mion and Shion are arguing with each other, something about Shion cheating in some training. Both of them are wearing a red gi, similar to the ones people that do martial arts have. Mion's short hair has a small ponytail behind, while Shion's barely reaches her shoulders.
Little me rubs his hand, he has a bruise, he's on a gray gi instead. So they already trained? Uh… I wanted to see him fight, dammit. Now that everything came into view I can recognize the person walking in front of the three kids. Tsukuyomi-san, wearing her red Guard uniform, looks back at the girls as they argue before speaking.
"Alright, you two. Stop fighting already, Yuuhi-sama does not like noise on the table." Tsukuyomi-san opens a big door, and we enter into a bright room.
There was a table, its wood shiny and all, with a really nice looking cloth covering it. The wooden chairs having some curls, some design on their top and legs, remind me of some old and expensive store that was in the shopping district back home, only more regal and with the wood having a slightly darker color.
And looking our way, there was a small figure sitting on the left side. Wearing a white kimono-like robe, with a small purple ponytail, she smiled at us. Yep, that's Yuuhi.
"Oh, good evening. How was your training?" Her silky voice is a treat to my ears. It's hard to think this cute little thing wants to kill me now.
"I won both matches!" Shion declared proudly as she sits, puffing her chest.
"I couldn't win…" Mion drops her shoulders as she sits by Shion's side on the right side.
"Takeru, your arm is hurt." As little me sat by Yuuhi's side, she grabbed his arm and started softly rubbing his bruise.
"I'm fine Yuuhi, don't worry." He's calling her by her name, sitting by her side… Just who are you? Why are you here?
"Truly so?"
"Yeah! I might have lost once, but I'll do better next time." He seems to be beaming at her, because she immediately recovered her smile. He's also talking to her informally, like I usually do.
"Alright, no more talking. Here's dinner, so eat while it's still warm."
Tsukuyomi-san brought the food to the table and the little kids started to eat with her. It does look like he was part of the family, going by how everybody is treating him.
…Eating with your family. Something so trivial, something so irreplaceable.
One day, it was the last day I ate with my world's Meiya, one day it was the last day I talked with Grandpa, and those days, the days of the accidents… might have been the last days I spent with my world's versions of everyone.
But I didn't knew that.
It's obvious why they want me dead. I'm replacing someone that was like family to them. What would I do if someone tried impersonating…
…Didn't I replace Sumika with the 00 Unit in my last loop? Didn't I keep mixing my world's and that world's versions of them in my head?
…Who did I fall in love with again?
…Am I such a superficial person? Did I just not care? I just wanted someone to sleep with? …Or, did I actually love each and every one of them?
The happy voices around me only enlarge the clouds in my heart. Now I feel like shit, planning on replacing him like this. I mean, why did he grew so resentful towards the Guard if he was so close to them? Why didn't they reach out to him? Or did something happen between them when Yuuhi became the Shogun?
"Tsukuyomi, would it be alright for all four of us to go play for a while?" Yuuhi asks as she finished eating.
"Hmm… I guess you could all play some shogi?"
"Mana-nee, we're gonna lose again." Mion protested at Tsukuyomi-san's choice. Little me nodded in agreement.
"Nobody can beat Yuuhi in a game of Shogi." Little me's comment made Yuuhi blush a bit.
She does kind of remind me of the memory of that little Meiya of my world when we met in the park. That Meiya was more soft and less… aggressive? Frontal? Yuuhi does somewhat remind me of that polite and sweet side of my world's Meiya. The side… I might never see again.
Sadly, I now understand why she wants me gone.
"I'm not that good… Shion, do you want to play?"
"Only if I win something." She brought a finger to her lips as she grinned. So she was a devil since she was a kid.
"What would you be wanting? Oh, a new dress perhaps?" Little Yuuhi tilted her head with a big smile, but Shion's grin grew wider and wicked.
"I want Takeru to play with me all day tomorrow!" Wait, what?
"Shion! That's mean, you can't… do…" Mion was protesting against her cousin's idea but fell silent suddenly. And I can see why.
In the corner of my sight I could see blue flares come out of Yuuhi's eyes as she pouted. I mean, it isn't very intimidating for me, seems more cute and sweet than anything, but the kids seem to be scared of her.
"No. Takeru stays with me tomorrow." She then hugs little me tightly, as if to enforce her point.
"Yuuhi-sama, you don't have to get jealous. Tomorrow you'll all have time to play together." Tsukuyomi-san's attempt to calm Yuuhi failed spectacularly.
"But he'll have to leave again after tomorrow…" Still protesting, she doesn't let go.
Leave? Where is he leaving? No, why is he leaving? I want answers, not more questions!
"See Shion? You're making Yuuhi sad. You dumb pickle!" Yeah, you tell 'em!
"W-What? I didn't…" Shion looks down, Mion grins at her making her pout and look away.
Then little me's vision goes towards the purple girl that was still hugging him. She doesn't look like she wants to let go.
"Don't worry, Yuuhi. Tomorrow we'll play a lot together! And next time, I'll bring you more souvenirs, so cheer up!" He patted her head and she slowly looked up at him, her eyes recovered the usual shine. She can't be so cute…
"You promise? You'll come back?"
"Yeah!"
Yuuhi smiles again and let's go of little me, Tsukuyomi-san laughs quietly as she watches. They seem to be awfully close. If he was so important to her, of course she would want to dispose of someone passing as him.
But… He said he'll come back with souvenirs. Did he came and went from the Hiiragi district to wherever this place is? Why? Where are my parents?! Actually… Who are my parents here? Are they… still alive?
They keep eating, talking about some festival, about how hard the trainings are. But again, slowly the images become distorted and start losing color. The shapes again mix and blend into that gray thing.
"Kasumi? How are you feeling?"
"I'm… fine. I can still…"
"You sound tired. Let's leave it for tonight. I mean, these two memories gave us a lot to work with. Take it easy, yes?"
"Alright."
Everything fades to black, and I feel a slight warmth all over me. As if rising back to the surface after diving in a pool, the tingly feeling slowly dissipates and I open my eyes, and see that I'm back on the cylinder room. My limbs feel all stiff as if I was sitting for hours on end, like when I had to study for my first finals.
"Ugh… Kasumi, how are you feeling?"
"Fine. Just a bit tired." She rubs her head with her eyes closed. She's having trouble calming her breath, so she did exert herself.
"That was awesome, I could see it as if I was there on real time. You did a great job, Kasumi." She giggles as she opens her eyes, I took the tiara out of my head.
"That's a relief. But we didn't get to see Sumika-san…" Then, a wild pout appears.
"Don't worry, we can keep trying. And even if we only saw two memories, that still gave us a lot of answers." And a lot of questions, too.
"Yes. Seems like he was part of the Shogun's household. But he also was in a normal city. He's weird." She moved her bunny ears as she breathed a sigh.
"Yeah, no kidding. I don't know whether he got adopted into the Tsukuyomi family or if my family also served the Koubuin House. Well, we'll find out eventually." I slowly try to get up. My legs feel really numb. Kasumi seems to also have trouble standing up.
"This was… more draining than I thought. I'll wait until tomorrow to show these images to Sumika-san."
"Yeah, don't exert yourself anymore. I'll be going back to my cell before it's too late, can you tell Sensei of what you saw?" I lend her my hand as she stands up, it feels as if she were made out of literal paper. This must have been really taxing on her.
"Yes. You go on and rest. By the way, how did you feel during the session? I didn't harm you?"
"No, it was really relaxing. It was kinda nice, to be honest. I do feel a bit stiff, but it's like all the tension I had stockpiled today vanished into thin air, all thanks to you."
"I see. So, should we continue with this approach?"
"I don't see why not, I did say that I kind of enjoyed it too, that feeling before seeing the memories. I did feel pain at the start, but the mental image of the ship helped out. How about you? Are you really fine?"
"Yes, don't worry. I am just exhausted, since I didn't knew how much I had to focus. Well, if it went well that's good enough. Let's be on our way."
I nod and we exit the room, talking about the whole feeling and the session as we walked on the creepy corridor as we stretch to remove the stiffness from our bodies.
"You should rest well today, just in case. Night, Kasumi." I hand her the tiara, and then wave at her.
"Bye bye." She waves back before entering Sensei's office.
As I make my way to my cell I can't help but wonder about what I saw.
He was apparently living with Maya-san when he was little and called her Maya-nee, so they were close. Where were my parents? Were they living with us? Maybe we were some sort of vassals of the Koubuin House? No, if that were the case, why were they in the Hiiragi district and not near Yuuhi?
And then, the second one. He seemed to be really close to Yuuhi, and from the looks of it I was training with Mion and Shion. Tsukuyomi-san didn't seem to treat me differently, so who was him?
Well, one thing is clear. Sensei was right, he was on good terms with Yuuhi. No wonder she and the Tsukuyomis are so mad with me. I wonder what will I see tomorrow, I sure hope I can see something about his life in the Guard this time. Or about his life with Sumika.
Anyways, today was a fruitful day. It seems I'll be able to get along with my squad for the time being, the railgun is proceeding steadily, my research started off with a good pace, and I got to learn some nice tidbits of info about him.
But I'm spent.
I'll have to be careful during training to not end up exhausted. Well, let's hit the shower and then go to sleep, tomorrow will be another long day.
…
"…Family, huh."