"You're doing great, Tatsumi!"

A boisterous, masculine call echoed through the riverbank's surroundings, surprising Tatsumi and Sheele. Both of them recognized that voice. As Sheele kept an eye on Tatsumi's training - via having him swim underwater while wearing a suit of armor - it turned out that someone else had been keeping an eye on the rookie as well.

And quite an entrance did that someone else deliver.

Splash.

"Ha, ha, ha, ha!"

Bursting out of the river came Bulat, proudly flexing his muscles as he showed off his bare, glistening body. By itself, it was quite a breathtaking spectacle.

Except that Tatsumi couldn't care less, for his eyes stared into the depths of pure, unadulterated apathy. He was clearly used to this by now, for the only thoughts that came to his mind were how long Bulat had been underwater and why he was there in the first place. By contrast, his companion had a different reaction.

"Heh heh heh heh heh heh..."

"Huh?"

"HA HA HA HA HA HA!"

"HUH?!"

To his utter shock, Tatsumi gaped at the sight of Sheele bursting out laughter, clutching her gut as she did so. He knew that no one at Night Raid was truly normal to begin with, but he always thought that Sheele was the closest thing to be considered normal at all. To see the quiet-mannered woman laughing in such a hysterical manner, it didn't take long for him to be reminded again that Night Raid had and will always be a mixed bag of oddities.

"Hey! What's so funny, huh?!" Tatsumi asked, annoyed.

Sheele took a while to regain composure before wiping away the lighthearted tears on her face. "I'm sorry, so sorry. It's just that it was all so sudden, that's all."

"Oh, didn't know that my entrance could garner such a reaction like that," said Bulat. He really hadn't planned on making someone laugh from his theatrical entrance, but it didn't bother him much; he was slightly amused, actually. At the same time though, he wondered why Tatsumi didn't go all starstruck - but that wasn't important at the moment. "So, Sheele, how's the progress coming along? You training him alright?"

Sheele nodded enthusiastically. "Yes! I'm doing the best I could!"

"That's the spirit!" Bulat slapped Tatsumi's back with enough force to make the boy jolt. "It's only a matter of time until he becomes as strong as the rest of us!"

Tatsumi, recovering from the iron-cladded pat, nervously chuckled. "Ha, ha, yeah..." He felt suspicious in where this was going.

"Of course, it's gonna take a lot more in order to to reach the skill level of this guy over here!" Bulat immediately pointed to himself as he said so. Tatsumi definitely felt the fiery passion within him all right.

And his arm.

"U-uh, Bro. Bro," stuttered Tatsumi, whose face felt sweat drops upon realizing that a wet, muscular arm draped over his shoulder. "I think you're praising me a bit too much here..."

"Nonsense! It's only natural to praise someone who's been giving it his all," exclaimed Bulat, whose face wasn't that far off from Tatsumi's. It made sense since they were in close proximity towards each other, but Bulat's face was moving in close.

Too close.

"And I mean all," he added, with a tone that made Tatsumi turn white due to its abrupt suggestiveness.

"B-Bro, quit it!" Not wanting to deal with the uncomfortable proximity, Tatsumi placed a hand between their faces to space out the difference.

"Oh, come on! I'm just proud that you've come a long way, that's all!"

Meanwhile, as the two males not-so-subtly debated on their physical closeness, Sheele stood there and silently watched.

Ever since Tatsumi joined Night Raid, it was always like this.

Bulat training Tatsumi.

Bulat paying attention to Tatsumi.

Bulat showing affection to Tatsumi.

First it was Lubbock, now it was Tatsumi getting all the special treatment. And Sheele had to endure it every single day.

On one hand, Tatsumi was just a rookie, so of course it made sense for Bulat to focus on him in order to help the boy succeed. On the other hand though...

"Someday you'll make a pretty fine man, you know that? A very fine man, indeed..."

"Yeah, but until that day, I'm pretty fine with where I am right now! So no need to rush me here!"

All Sheele could do was just look down, trying to push their conversation to the back of her mind. It made her uncomfortable seeing Bulat all over Tatsumi, but it wasn't because of his peculiar tastes. It was more of how Tatsumi got uncomfortable as well, even though Bulat never seemed to pick up the obvious signals.

And she never understood why.

Why would the pompadoured man be interested in someone who had made it clear that he wasn't interested? More importantly, what did he see in him? What could he have possibly seen in him?

Was it the duration the two had known each other? Which was a few weeks, at most a few months? Sheele knew the man far longer than he had known Tatsumi, that's for sure.

Was there something special about the boy? Did he have some sort of hidden talent that went beyond his abilities as a fighter? Although Sheele observed that Tatsumi had more perseverance and endurance than the typical newcomer, it was too early to tell whether or not he would make a supreme assassin.

Was it the way the boy acted? Was there a certain charm in him that drew the man's attention? One thing's for sure, Tatsumi had far more elegance than Sheele would ever have, for he was far less likely to stumble and fall compared to her.

Was it the boy's staunch idealism? That his beliefs tasted so sweet compared to the rest of the team's more bitter views? Admirable as they were, but they had no help when it came to the unforgiving battlefield.

Really, what was it? What was the reason? Sheele could think of all possible reasons, but deep down she knew that there was one answer.

One simple answer.

An answer that she would always realize, yet never come to be.

Just when Sheele was in the depths of her resigned melancholy, Tatsumi called out to her.

"Sheele, is something wrong?" While he somehow succeeded in getting a blissfully unaware Bulat to give him some space, he noticed how Sheele looked so surprisingly down. Just like how he never saw her laughing, he never saw her like this before.

Sheele jolted her face up. "Oh, uh, nothing is wrong." To ease Tatsumi's concerns, she put on a small smile. Even when she had that certain kind of thought, she couldn't hate Tatsumi. She had no reason to hold a grudge against him, especially since he was still new. She still saw him as a dear comrade.

The brown-haired boy didn't seem fully convinced, but decided not to ask any further. It didn't seem like a good opportunity to ask, especially with Bulat around.

"Well, we should head back to the base now, just in case any mission comes up," said Bulat, still brimming with liveliness as ever.

"Uh, yeah, good idea..." said Tatsumi. Hopefully after this puzzling episode, he would have some peace and quiet to think to himself just what had happened.

Sheele didn't say much, just a "hmm" and a small nod. And with that unanimous agreement, off they went.

But it wasn't like they all walked on the same side. Bulat marched in front, while Tatsumi followed right behind him. Sheele, on the other hand, trailed further back.

And as she did, she thought to herself, You know, there are times where I do wonder. She wondered if the man could've acted like that towards her. Wrap his arm around her, tell her that he was proud of her for overcoming the obstacles.

Tell her that he loved her.

Maybe if she had been born a man, things would have been different. Things would have definitely gone her way...

And yet, she would try to tell yourself, Silly girl, you and your infatuation. He'll never love you back, you might as well give up now.

But even when she did, she never got over him. To her, he was a rarity. A rarity that was well within her reach, but was too far for her to touch.

And it pained her that she was never able to touch him.

But even if Sheele would never be able to touch him, she certainly wondered what it would have been like if she was strong enough to tell him how she felt.

Like if she were to say that she loved him out of the blue while she was assisting him in his exercise. Or if she were to give him a heartfelt speech of why he was such an amazing person after he comforted her from her woes. Or if she were to outright tell him that he was hitting on the wrong person and that he would be far better off moving on to someone else. And what did she hope from imagining all of this?

His reaction.

Would he react with wide eyes and a dropped jaw? Would he react with dismayed eyes and a sad frown, like he knew what he was going to say next? Or maybe he would completely turn himself away from her, trying to comprehend what he had just heard? Or maybe if she was brave enough to wrap her arms behind him, would she have gained a more definite reaction?

She wanted to know. She wanted to see. She wanted to be absolutely sure.

...

Well, it doesn't matter now. Alive or dead, the end result will always be rejection.

Rejection.

Rejection.

Permanent rejection.

All Sheele could do now is to hope for Bulat to keep living on.

To keep rallying for the rebellion.

To keep striving for that goal.

To keep fighting for her.

Unbeknownst to the woman, it won't be long until he too will join her beyond this cruel world.

FIN.

(P.S. This chapter was a bit shorter than the previous two, but that's because I wanted to continue typing more AGK fanfics that I have in mind, so this had to be out of the way first.)