July 5, 2019

"How big is that fire in District 6?" Kanan and You both ran into the firehouse at the same time as they saw both of the paid firefighters get ready and board Rescue 151 in the middle of the day.

"Pretty fucking big," You replied as she quickly donned her gear. "I was recording the audio at home. It came in as a gas explosion at a restaurant!" Once both were ready, they ran to the rescue along with Volunteer Lieutenant Yamada Masako to grab the SCBA from the cab and put them on. As they then climbed aboard the rescue, Chika watched from the sidelines, not allowed to go since she wasn't interior or a driver yet. You waved to her and told her, "See ya later, Chika-chan!"

The rescue then pulled out of the station. Masako called en route with, "Rescue 151's en route with 5, all interior." She then turned around to the three-man crew behind her. "Alright, we're going right to staging to back up Rescue 61! They're currently searching the buildings around the restaurant to look for survivors! They're gonna need help with clearing the rubble, so get the collapse tools and shoring!"

You, Kanan, and the paid firefighter with them all understood their mission. Kanan turned to the paid firefighter and told him, "I'll grab the cribbing. What do you wanna grab?"

"The RIT pack and some hand tools," he replied. "You-kun, grab all the spare cylinders and bring them to the SCBA cylinder area."

...

Later on, on scene, You and Kanan stood by in the staging area, fully geared up and ready to go if necessary. The scene was utter chaos as half of the restaurant had collapsed as a result of the explosion, which had caught a building next door on fire as well, and the other half still had people trapped inside and heavy fire throughout, nearly 26 minutes after the first units had been dispatched. As they stood, a familiar face walked over to the, clearly tired out as she took her helmet off and revealed her jet black hair. "Hey girls, I'm gonna need another bottle." She then pointed to her air pack on her back, indicating it was almost empty as sweat poured down her face.

"I got it," You replied as she grabbed a spare air bottle from the ground behind her and then walled over to her. "Tsuki-chan, is your pack off?"

"Yeah," she replied as she wiped sweat off of her face with her gloved hand, smearing some soot and ash on it. "How fucking hot is it?"

"Kanan-chan said it was like 36 Celsius," You replied as she took out Tsuki's old bottle and slid her new bottle in. "What's the situation so far?"

"I was on an attack line for the first engine out," she replied as she looked over the fire scene. "I'm going back in right away to search for more survivors." You then turned her air pack on again and patted her bottle to give the okay signal. "Thanks, man."

"Go get 'em," You replied as Tsuki ran back over to the front of the building to join a search team. As she did, You turned to Kanan and noted to her, "She looked pretty tired out already."

"Yeah," she replied, somewhat concerned by it. "Are you sure she should have gone in for a second round?"

"She'll be fine," You assured her. As she looked around, she tried to pass the time by thinking of the sights around her. "Tsuki-chan mentioned this restaurant before. She said it was really good. It must suck having to see it in ruins."

A few minutes later, as You and Kanan drank from bottles of water to cool themselves down, they both heard a frantic message go over the radio. "Mayday, Mayday, Mayday!"

"What the fuck?" Kanan was in disbelief at first, but then quickly snapped out of it as she realized what had to be done. "You-chan, get ready." She then turned her air pack on and took her helmet off to begin putting her mask on.

"On it," You replied as she began to do the same as more information came in about the situation. Then, just as they mentioned the downed firefighter's name and You put her mask on, she froze. "Wait, that's... Oh my God, it's Tsuki!" Both she and Kanan looked at each other in shock, the latter picking up hand tools for entry and search.

Masako yelled over to them, "Let's go, ladies! You two are going in to find and rescue Firefighter Watanabe! She's on the second floor!"

"On it," You replied as she finished up and ran over, Kanan following close behind her. You tried to keep herself calm, but deep down inside, she was panicking over her cousin. When the two rounded two corners and reached the rear of the restaurant, several firefighters pointed towards the entrance and directed them straight into the heavy smoke that still filled what left of the restaurant.

"She had just carried a victim out," one firefighter who was tired out told them as he knelt on the ground and pointed. "She went back in, and then her partner reported she had collapsed!"

Inside, Kanan and You quickly went up the stairs, You carrying a Pack-Tracker and a halligan bar and Kanan carrying an axe. The Pack-Tracker beeped loudly, and had a light that glowed in greater intensity as one got closer to a downed firefighter's air pack. As the two reached the foot of the stairs, the smoke blinded them, forcing them to have to crawl in the oppressive heat. "What's the tracker say, You-chan?!"

"We're getting close," she replied with slight relief. She then shouted, "CAN ANYONE HEAR US?! TSUKI-CHAN!"

Then, Tsuki's partner shouted back to the relief of both Kanan and You, "HERE!"

The two looked at each other and nodded. "Let's go get them," Kanan affirmed. The two them began to high-tail it down the hallway on their hands and knees. As they approached the last room, they entered it, and what they found made You gasp in horror.

Tsuki was passed out, and her partner had managed to drag her to a window in the hopes that a ladder could be raised to her. "She's not waking up!" He clearly was panicking and deeply concerned for her, and his low-air Alarm was now going off as a result of consuming more air from hyperventilating.

"Don't panic," Kanan tried to assure him. "We'll get you both out! You'll be fine!"

You rolled Tsuki over and looked through her mask. Her eyes were closed, and her breaths were more shallow than normal. "Fucking hell, Tsuki-chan, wake up!" She shook her a few times, but to no avail. "Kanan-chan, Shinji-kun, we're going to pick her up and take her out, okay?!"

"On it," Shinji replied as he held her head. "You guys got the legs, right?"

"Yeah," Kanan replied as she slid her axe into her ladder belt. "On the count of three, lift. One, two, three!" All three of them then picked Tsuki up together and began to carry her out, crawling out of the room and down the hallway once more. Kanan radioed out, "Rescue 15 to Command, we have Firefighter Watanabe and Firefighter Hayate with us! We'll be coming out shortly!"

As they carefully but quickly moved Tsuki down the stairs, Shinji could feel the mask begin to suck onto his face as his air began to run out. "Fuck, my mask is sticking!" He feared that he'd be out of air before they reached the end.

"Hold your breath," You commanded him. "You need to hold your breath, Shinji-kun! We're almost there!" As the three continued, she prayed they would get outside in time as the smoke continued to surround them. Finally, just as Shinji totally ran out of air, the three emerged from the smoke outside.

Immediately, several firefighters rushed to their aid as Shinji ripped his helmet and mask off. He then collapsed to his hands and knees as he opened his mouth up and profusely vomited on the pavement. After Kanan and You handed Tsuki off to an ambulance crew and took their masks and helmets off, they ran to Shinji, an older volunteer about 50 years of age with many years on the job. As they did, he sat up on his knees and then collapsed to the ground in exhaustion. "I... I'm..."

Kanan immediately began to rip his gear off of him as You took a bottle of water from another volunteer firefighter and poured it over Shinji's face to cool him down. "The heat and the smoke got to him," You told Kanan as another firefighter rushed to his aid. She then yelled out, "I NEED A FIREMAN THAT'S A PARAMEDIC HERE!"

"Shinji-kun," Kanan asked him. "Hey, can you hear me?!" Shinji looked over and attempted to vocalize something, but was unable to say any words. "Fuck, he's really out of it. Carrying Tsuki-chan down must have done a number on him."

...

Later that day after school, at Yoshiko's family's apartment, Hanamaru and Yousuke had just finished up another round of sex in his bedroom while Yoshiko was out on a date with Riko. They still had not told anyone aside from Ruby about their relationship. As the two young lovers laid in bed in the nude, thinking about the day and each other, they talked about what to do for the future. "We can't hide us forever," Hanamaru noted to him. "Eventually, she's gonna find out."

"I'm afraid of that," Yousuke replied. "I really am. But... I don't want to lose you, Hanamaru-chan." He then gave her a kiss on her cheek. "Whatever happens, I need to stay with you."

Suddenly, they heard the door open. Both looked at each other in panic before they rushed out of the bed and began to hurriedly throw on clothes. Yoshiko called out from the front room, "Hello? Yousuke-kun? Anyone?"

"In a minute," Yousuke called from his room. As he finished getting dressed ion his school uniform sans his coat, he whispered to Hanamaru, "When I get out, stay here for a few seconds and then quietly sneak out. Say you were in the bathroom or something."

"Got it," Hanamaru replied as she finished putting on her uniform. She then ran into a closet as Yousuke walked out of his bedroom and into the front living room.

Yoshiko turned around and waved to her brother. "Hey there."

"Hi, oneechan," he replied. "Hanamaru-chan's here, too. She's in the bathroom right now."

"Ah," she replied as she put her backpack away on a couch. "Anyway, how was school?"

"Pretty good," he replied, trying to get her to look away from his room so Hanamaru could sneak out. "Anyway, uh, can you get me an apple from the kitchen?"

"Sure," Yoshiko replied, somewhat confused as to why he could not get it himself but complying with the request anyway as she got up. Yousuke breathed a quick sigh of relief as she grabbed an apple from the refrigerator, giving Hanamaru enough time to position herself near the bathroom.

...

In You and Chika's apartment around the same time, Chika came back from her family home and noticed the door to her bedroom was closed. You had returned an hour earlier from the hospital where Tsuki had been. The fact the door was closed was odd, but what was even odder was when she tried to open it, only to find it locked. "Huh?" She then knocked. "You-chan?"

"Shit," replied her voice. "Uh, hold on, Chika-chan!" Chika then heard shuffling inside the room before she heard the door unlock. As You opened it, Chika saw that she was wearing a towel around her waist but had no top on. "Hey, Chika..."

"Uhhhh," Chika replied, confused. "Why are you-?" She very quickly got her answer when You's ex-boyfriend appeared next to her, wearing only underwear. "Ahhh... Hachirou-kun, it's been a while."

"Hey, Takami-san," he replied. "Me and You-chan were catching up. I was in the area and she wanted someone to talk to about the whole situation with her cousin."

"I see it progressed to more than just talk," Chika humorously noted, earning the laughter of the couple. "Hey, um, when you two are done, I need to speak to You-chan in private about something."

"I can step out now," Hachirou replied. "I'll wait outside." He then turned around to gather his clothes. After he got dressed, he walked back up to You and gave her a quick peck on the lips. "I'll be in the living room, You-chan!"

"Got it," she replied. She then turned around as Chika walked in and closed the door, locking it as well to ensure maximum privacy. "Chika-chan, is it about me and him?"

"No," Chika shook her head. "It's about me and Riko-chan."

You was deeply confused as she began to get dressed. "Huh? What about Riko-chan?"

"I've kept this a secret for two years," Chika began as she sat down on her bed. "But I can't anymore." She then shook her head to herself. "You-chan... I'm... I'm not a virgin."

You looked at her in surprise. "You're not? Who's the lucky guy who got to be your first?" She then began to take a sip of water from a bottle, cooling down from sex.

"It wasn't a boy," Chika replied. "It was Riko."

Immediately, You spit out her water, making it fly onto a wall next to her. "Wait, what the fuck? You banged Riko-chan?! When, where, how hard, and why?"

Chika intensely blushed in response to her rather explicit questions. "Well, uh, it happened exactly two years ago, and we... We did it on the beach in the middle of the night."

"We were all camping at your inn," You noted as she recalled July 5 in 2017. "Did you two sneak out?"

"Yeah," Chika replied. "We were just supposed to take a walk, but one thing led to another, she told me she loved me, and after that, something within me just told me to drag her in for a kiss." She then sighed. "We fell onto the beach below, and for the... For the next three hours, she taught me how to make love." Chika was clearly embarrassed by it, her cheeks reddened.

You was in disbelief. "Three whole hours?! Jesus Christ, that's long!"

"Yeah," Chika replied with a nervous laugh. "I guess when you're both girls, you can go for a long time. Anyway, we woke up early on the beach and ran back to our room before anyone else woke up. We swore to never tell a soul about it because we didn't know how you or Yoshiko-chan would react. Remember, that was during the time where you were questioning our friendship, and Riko-chan could tell Yoshiko-chan was developing a crush on her. We didn't want to hurt either of you, and we decided to just be friends after that night."

You nodded, understanding their reasoning and concerns. "I understand. Does Yoshiko-chan know?"

"No," Chika shook her head affirmatively. "And she hopefully never will. The last thing either of us want is a breakup."

"I see," You replied to her as she finished getting dressed. "She shouldn't find out, especially now. With what happened to Tsuki-chan, the last thing my mental health needs is a fight within Aqours, even if we're not actually an active idol group anymore." She then sighed and shook her head as she became more sullen. "Tsuki-chan may have to stop being interior if it's a medical issue, which means she can't be a paid firefighter or a paramedic. This fucking sucks. Who's to say it won't happen again? If it does, she may not be so lucky that time." She then wiped her eyes of tears. "My dad has been to two firefighter funerals, one in '06 for a volunteer captain that used to be the fire chief of Heda Village before Numazu annexed it, and another when he was in the JMSDF for a buddy of his who got killed in a ship fire he fought. Two is enough for him, and zero is enough for me."