Chapter 5 for "The Soldier and the Bride" here! Going to be switching from 1st person view to 3rd person view from now on. Not much difference between them anyway.
Anyway, to answer some questions:
Dragon God xx – Yeah, that's where I got it from:) The two kinda fit appearance wise.
KingOgnik – Depends. It was supposed to end when Ichika and Laura get together, but it will depend on how many people read this and where they want this to go. To anybody reading, leave your thoughts on this.
The waves lapped at the shore, turning the sand and the surrounding area moist. Here is where the Shwarzer Hase usually had their training to for land and sea operations. Since this stretch of beach was located far off the area, rarely anyone ever came here, which guaranteed privacy. Thankfully it was within walking distance of the base and only took 30 minutes or so.
"Alright, everybody line up and prepare yourselves!" Instructor Orimura yelled. She'd only been with us for a week or so, but she already had both our respect and fear. Well, mostly fear. Blair still refuses to come to morning practice ever since she partnered with her.
"Yes Ma'am!"
All of us lined up by smallest to largest, with me obviously up front...not that I resent that or anything. Being small had its advantages after all. Who cares if I can't reach the highest shelf or I had a harder time doing the Standing long jump? Not me that's for sure!
"Alright, lets get started." She paced left and right, holding the whistle between her fingers, "All of you will pair up with your training partner and do the CPR exercise." I had to resist the urge to flinch, "One of you will be the receiver, the other giving the resuscitation. To emphasize the urgency of the situation, we'll be making it as realistic as impossible?
Realistic? What did she mean by that? The others were already whispering amongst themselves. They had gotten interested as well.
She smirked before calling out, "Ichika, get your butt up here!" She yelled and walked to the edge of the shore. The water went up to her knees but she ignored it. I hope she has another pair of pants handy.
"E-Eh, why me...?" He pointed at himself, mouth wide open in shock. Why are you so shocked? It's not like she'd pick anybody else here. Blair still won't leave the cabin and Clarissa's trying to get her to come out even now. It's not like she knows anybody here very well.
"Just get up here! No questions!"
Ichika grimaced and looked at me with a slight beg. What? Why are you looking at me? It's not like I can do anything against the instructor. I don't want to be the next person rocking back and forth on the barracks muttering to myself that I'll never go outside again.
"Now, Orimura, before I lose my patience!" She scowled. Ichika, you may want to go to her before all of us end up getting in trouble.
"Yes, Chifuyu-nee" He slumped sadly and slowly walked forward. Don't be too sad Ichika, at least you don't have to partner with her everyday.
"Alright class, first things first." She raised her fist and brought it down on Ichika's head, "When I'm training you, everyone calls me Instructor Orimura. No exceptions, ifs, ands, or, buts. Is that clear?"
"Yes, Instructor Orimura!" All of us stood up straighter and saluted. We knew her well enough that she deserved the highest amount of respect for anything she did.
"Good." She smiled, "Now, as you most likely know, CPR, or as it's more likely known, 'the kiss of life', is a maneuver where you resuscitate someone after they have ingested a high amount of water through their mouth." Some of the others were touching their lips and blushing now. Why? It's a common procedure.
"And so, to stop any of you from losing focus, we're going to have to make the situation more realistic" She turned to Ichika, "Alright, Orimura, take off your shirt."
Did I mishear that? No, I must be imagining it.
"H-Huh? What did you say Chifu- Intructor Orimura?"
"Hmph, you heard me. Take off your shirt, and your pants too. We need it for the next part." She ignored his flabbergasted expression and continued, "Besides, you didn't have any objections to doing it earlier when you and Bodewig were feeling each other up."
"We weren't feeling each other up!" Everybody turned to look at me. Wait, did I just say that out loud? Oh...not good.
"I was just joking, Bodewing, no need to get so angry." Was my face blushing? It felt really hot right now. I better not be blushing, it's not proper for someone with my performance record to start getting emotional, "Anyway Orimura, if you don't want to take off your clothes, then that's fine. Just don't complain afterwards."
He looked like he was going to ask what she meant before she shushed him quickly. She quickly grabbed him by the back of the head and dunked his head in the water- Waaah! Was she trying to murder him!
"As you see here, a person struggles when water tries to enter every orifice, making it hard to breath." She pointed to his flailing arms, "Limbs tend to become useless due to the panic making it hard to make coherent decisions." No, I think they're useless right now because you're dunking his head underwater.
I really wanted to go out there and help him, but I didn't want to break orders. I mean he was my partner, right? It's normal for partners to want to help one another in times of crisis. It also didn't have anything to do with the fact that I found her extremely scary.
"Now, it usually takes about a minute or so before the person suffocates and- Oh, looks like it's already happened."
Ichika was lying facedown on the water now, there wasn't even a single bubble coming out of the water...Is he alright? H-He doesn't look like he's breathing...
"Well, now we have to start the exercise on CPR already." She shrugged lazily. Shouldn't you be more worried? He's not moving...at all, "So who wants to do it? Normally partners would do it, but I don't want someone who'll hesitate right now."
The next second could be described as the lovechild of a storm and an earthquake. Loud screams of "Me!" filled the entire area. The people in the nearby towns probably thought bombs were being shelled or something.
But I should be happy, right? I don't have to be the one to do it and it saves me the trouble of embarrassing myself by k-k-k-kissing him in front of everyone. It's better this way, right?"
"I-I-I'LL DO IT!" Strange, that last one sounds really familiar. And why did I feel like I just screamed my lungs out?
"L-Laura wants to do it!"
"I-Impossible! Laura's blushing!"
"How cute~"
Everybody was pointing at me, why was everybody pointing at me? Was I the one who just yelled? No, impossible!
"I'm not blushing!" Now I know I just yelled. But why? Normally I'd be looking at things logically, strategically, trying to make solutions before a problem even starts. Not just blurting out every little thing that comes into mind. That's the course of action an untrained rookie on his first day makes.
"Uh, ladies? I don't want to interrupt, but Ichika is kind of dying here" Instructor Orimura, why do you look so nonchalant about your brother possible drowning to death?
Everybody stopped yelling and started pushing me to the collapsed boy, "Uwaa, stop pushing me~!" I planted my feet in the ground and tried to hold my place. There was no way I was going to be forced to do it. No way!
"Why are you being so resistant, Laura-chan? You said you wanted to do it." No I wasn't, you were hearing things! And why are you adding a 'chan' at the end? You've been spending too much time with Clarissa. Speaking of which, where is she? Making Blair come out shouldn't take too long.
"Bodewig, just hurry up and do it before this idiot drowns and kills himself..." You still don't sound very concerned, Instructor.
"A-Alright, I'll do it. Just...stop pushing me!" I shook off the pushing hands and kneeled down. 'Okay, just turn him around.' I ignored the moisture seeping into my knees and grabbed his shoulders before turning him on his back.
"I'm so excited~"
"T-They grow up so fast!"
"Quick, get the camera before she does it!"
Why do they have to make this so awkward? Be more professional, please. I'm just trying to make sure my training partner doesn't end up going to a watery grave because the instructor doesn't seem care at all.
"Alright Bodewig, begin the procedure." Why are you smirking? This is serious!
'You don't need to remind me, Instructor, I'm well aware.' I placed both hands on his face, careful to try and avoid unnecessary discomfort... his sleeping face looked really cu- odd.
'It's alright, I can do this. This doesn't have to be so weird: Just lean in, put your lips over his, then ki- resuscitate him. Simple and easy, just the way everything should. This shouldn't be bothering me so much.' I tried to ignore the bubbling feeling in my stomach that something was wrong.
With that thought in my head, I slowly leaned down before stopping just a couple of inches before contact. At this point a single push, a single movement would be enough to-
"Mmmmh, Laura? What's going on?" Wait, that voice sounds like...
"I-Ichika!" I immediately backed away, landing not so gracefully on my butt with my face steaming, "Wh-Why are you awake! I-I mean, how are you okay after you nearly drowned?" The others were still going on about a camera. Didn't you just see what happened?
"Huh?" What do you mean 'huh'? That should be my line! "I was always used to holding my breath when I was younger, maybe that's it?" Why are you asking me? You're the one who somehow managed to wake up from being drowned even without help, not me.
"Y-You idiot!" I smacked him hard on the head. "H-How can you just say that when you were clearly passed out earlier! " And here I was again letting my emotions run rampant. God, I must sound like an idiot right now.
"R-Really? Sorry for worrying you."
"I-I wasn't worried about you!" There's a voice saying 'liar' at the back of my head, but I'm choosing to ignore that, "I just didn't want to kis- do CPR with you when its not necessary." It wasn't going to be kissing anyway, just standard medical procedure.
"Eh, why? Isn't it just normal?" No, don't do that tilting your head where you look confused, it's really starting to bother me, "Anyway, its not like it'd be a big deal even if we did do it."
"Not a big deal..."
He was right, it shouldn't be a big deal. I could confidently say I'd do the procedure with anybody else here – even Instructor Orimura, if necessary – so why was the thought of doing it with him so hard? What makes him any different from anybody else that I find it hard to do something so simple?
I don't know, I'm just confusing myself right now.
The two of us just sat there, staring at each other, not saying a word. The others and Orimura-sensei? Not sure, they weren't here right now, and I didn't exactly want to of out of my to find them right now. Still, the two of use here, alone, while the waves lapped at hour knees felt...nice, almost peaceful. The entire week's either been training or awkward moments, so any break I can get is welcome.
"Blair, get back here this instant!"
And of course, the minute I say that there's bound to be interruptions. Of course.
"I'd rather die than go back to training with her!"
Blair was running towards us with Clarissa in tow, red hair disheveled and green eyes panicked. Well, it looked more like Blair was running for dear life while Clarissa was trying to drag her back. Off topic, but Blair's still wearing her pajamas and it was unbuttoned, most likely because she was running away, so her rather ample chest was showing.
Blair was usually one of the more experienced soldiers. Born from a German dad and Irish mom, both of who were soldiers, she had a natural talent for combat situations and excelled in the group. At 16 years old, she could probably give seasoned officers a run for their money.
Of course, this all changed when she got paired with Instructor Orimura. Being forced to help her set up the obstacle course 5 hours before everyone woke up, being used to "test" it just in case it had something that could actually kill someone instead of just seriously injuring them, training with the instructor even after everyone was done. The list of tasks she had to do over the week just went on and on, and finally, she just didn't want to leave her room this morning.
"Oh come one, Chifuyu can't be that bad!"
"Not that bad! She made a spike pit a few days ago and then pushed me in to see if the spikes 'were blunt enough'. How could you say she's not that bad!" Wow, she sounds really angry right now. Maybe she was holding it in all week? This is the most angry I've seen her since I've known her.
"It just shows that she trusts you not to hurt yourself!" There were some bloodstains on the ground I saw when we jumped over the pit. Nobody fell in last time I checked, so whose bloodstains were those?
"Well she sure has a funny way of showing it!"
The two of them ran in circles for about a minute before Blair saw the two of us just sitting there just staring at the two of them. She immediately beelined for us, with Clarissa trailing right behind her.
"Laura, help me! Clarissa's gone crazy!"
"Laura, hold her down so I can bring her back!"
Both of them were asking for my help and I was torn. As a Soldier, following the orders of a superior officer was priority. However, as a comrade, helping you fellow member was also a priority. I didn't know who to help so I just followed my instincts.
"Not my problem!" Military training kicked in and I rolled out of the way to the side to avoid them. Unfortunately, neither of them expected that and crashed into the remaining person there, namely Ichika.
"Uwaah!"
"Ichika, are you al...right?"
The scene in front to of me can only be described as something out of Clarissa's Japanese manga. The three of them were a tangled mess of limbs; Ichika on the bottom, with Blair and Clarissa on top of him. Blair's chest was covering his face and it looked like he was suffocating.
"B-Blair, get off him!" I ran towards the three sprawled on the ground and pushed the two off from him. "Get off him, he's mine!"
"Wai- Laura, what did you just say?" Clarissa was looking at me with a big smile on her face. She was ignoring the fact that both she and Blair were soaking wet by now.
Wait, what did she just say? Uh, that didn't come out right! "He mine...training partner, yes. He's my training partner." I nodded my head frantically, trying to keep my breathing steady and face not red.
"Uh-huh, whatever you say~" Don't you have a soldier to catch? You really shouldn't be looking like Christmas early.
"U-Um, Clarissa-san, I think Blaire-san's already left." Ichika pointed to the retreating figure of the girl. Wow, I didn't even see her leave. She really is good at what she does.
"Oh shit, better catch her! Don't do anything I wouldn't do!" She picked herself up and ran after the retreating soldier. With all due respect, maybe you'd get better luck if you removed your high heels since we're on a sandy beach.
"You know, you sounded jealous earlier." He smirked up at me. I really wanted to wipe that smirk off his face, but we made a truce. Partner's don't hurt one another...well, unless you're Instructor Orimura.
"Wh-What are you saying? I-I wasn't jealous." I was nearly yelling again. He always knew what to say to make me mad.
"Huh, if say so~"
"Grr, stop smirking! I. Was. Not. Jealous!" I stamped my foot in the ground for emphasis. It was a calculated action to show seriousness, not out of impulse.
"All right, calm down, I believe you!" He held up his hands in surrender. Good, at least he knew where we stood.
"..."
"..."
"So...what do we do now?" Don't ask me, I'm still wondering where the others and instructor Orimura went.
"Well...have you heard the story about the man who fixed all of our technology and only asked for bottlecaps in return?" I couldn't help but smile when he gave me an incredulous look. I took a seat beside him and removed my shoes and socks before tossing them backwards. No need for it to make get any wetter.
"Well, a few months ago..."
POV: 3rd person view.
Clarissa groaned and sunk into her seat. Dealing with Soldiers who decided to become shut ins was certainly unique, but she'd give anything not to have to do it again. Teen soldier's were even worse.
"Damn Chifuyu, what did you do to that girl? She was kicking and screaming the whole way back." The woman in question just shrugged and opened the wine bottle. She needed a drink after a long day.
"I mean, I've seen her stare at grown men with guns aimed at her head without even flinching and now she's suddenly a nervous wreck and refuses to leave her room. When I dragged her out, she ran all the way to the beach in her pajamas then back. I spent over an hour chasing her!"
Chifuyu ignored her friend's ramblings and poured the drink into two glasses, passing one onto her and leaned back in her seat.
"So...was there any progress in their relationship?" Clarissa asked.
"Mmmh, not really." Chifuyu sighed and drank the wine in one gulp, "I didn't see much progress from before. They're friends right now, but I don't really see much progress going on."
"Speaking of which, drowning your little brother, really? I've heard you were tough on him, but that's kinda going overboard." Clarissa downed her glass too. Drinking helped the closer the project day came.
"He was always hardy even when he was a kid. I knew he could handle it, I wouldn't have done it otherwise." The nonchalant tone Chifuyu used caused Clarissa to shiver. There was a reason the German Military had her come in for more than just IS training.
"Anyway, enough about that. I've had a long day and I just want to relax. No worries, no playing cupid, just relax." She stretched and yawned.
"Chifuyu, do you have any other plans for tonight?" Clarissa asked suddenly.
"Huh? Not really, why?"
"I was going to go into town and was wondering if you wanted to come with me."
Chifuyu immediately knew what that meant, "You're planning to go see that guy, aren't you?" The small laugh Clarissa did just confirmed it, "Listen, I don't think trying to get into a relationship with a guy who's covered head to toe in bandages is a good idea. Do you even know how old he is?"
"No, but that just adds to the appeal! It makes him more mysterious like that!" Chifuyu should've known trying to talk her friend out of her odd habits was pointless. She really should've never given her that one manga when they were younger.
"Can this guy even take care of himself? You don't exactly live a carefree life, you know." She tried one last chance to dissuade her.
"I saw him snipe someone standing on a hill from 500 yards away with a pistol with one hand." Okay, she had to admit, that took skill, "Also saw him get shot in the head a couple of times and he just shrugged it off."
"Yeah, that would be impressive...if we didn't live in a world where any woman could pilot Weapons of Mass Destruction."
Clarissa ignored her friends snarking and continued, "So, are you coming or not? I'm sure it'll be better than just staying here doing nothing."
'Well, she's right about that' She sighed and grabbed the keys from the desk.
"I'm driving."
Alright, next chapter done!
Laura gets more Tsundere in this chapter the more she gets close with our bumbling hero:D Will she get sweeter as the story goes on? Will she get that kiss she wants? Will Blair get out of her partnership with the instructor from hell?
All of this and more will be answered in the coming chapters so stay tuned and keep reading:)