Chapter 38 – Teaching the ropes

A few days have passed since Shirley's and Toshiro's victory. Dominica and Jane dropped them a call once they got back safely. Judging by their tone, both Junko and Federica weren't rather fond of their total loss.

On the 26th, a knock on the door sounded, as Minna and Toshiro were doing paperwork after breakfast.

"Come in." Toshiro said, not lifting his eyes from the paper he was filling out.

"Uuuhmm… I have a request…" Perrine's silent voice sounded in the room.

To that, Toshiro had to lift his head.

"Oh, you have a request? Let's hear it."

"I want to go on leave from today till the 1st of June…"

"Hmmm… What do you say, Minna? Can we dispose of Perrine for these few days?"

"I guess we can… Toshiro, want to write out a leave form?"

"That would be my first time. Yes, please."

"I believe there are some in your desk."

Toshiro rummaged his desk, and pulled out a single A5 size sheet of paper.

"Okaay… I have your credentials…" Toshiro mumbled and filled that part out. "And I have the time you want to spend out of base… Now I need the reason."

"Uhhhh… Personal reasons…"

"Perrine… I could write personal reasons if I was requesting a leave from the steel mill, because I'm too fucking drunk to go. Details."

"Can't that do…?"

"No. I have to have something better, or my superiors will smack me on the head."

"Ugh… Okay… I got a letter from a school in Gallia whose reconstruction I'm funding… They want me to supervise…"

"Dawwwww… Perrine with a heart of gold… Hmmm… Hah, now I can just write disaster relief as the reason! Nobody will be able to pin shit on me or Perrine!"

"Genius!" Minna shouted clapping her hands together.

"But wait a second, if you want to get there today, you'll need a plane, right?" Minna asked.

"Eheheh… Well…"

"Don't worry, we will grease some gears, and you'll be in Gallia today." Minna said with a smile.

"Thank you!" Perrine cheered.

Toshiro finished writing, slammed his seal against the paper and presented it to Perrine.

"Here, Perrine. Pack your bags, I have the feeling that when Minna will make a call, things will start happening rather fast."

"Heehee, thank you, Toshiro! You helped me with Gallia once again!"

"Heh… Just don't kiss me this time!"

"You'd wish!"

Two hours haven't passed, and Perrine was already flying towards her homeland.

On the 27th, Toshiro had to personally supervise the arrival of Erica to the hospital, so her teeth could be treated. She squirmed, she begged but Toshiro was adamant about this. Once he set her off, he rejoined the rest, who were doing a shopping trip. Needless to say, letting so much girls run around a city with cash to spend almost ended in his financial ruin, but Trude kept them all at bay, so the expenses were bigger than planned only by a hundred lire. By the time they ended, Erica was clear for pick up, so Toshiro decided to reveal why Erica wasn't shopping with them.

Once he drove up the truck to the hospital, they saw Erica standing in front of it. At first she looked scared looking at Trude, but then she simply walked up to them and jumped inside.

"Hartmann? Why were you at the hospital?" Trude asked.

"I was at the dentist." Erica replied.

"The dentist… So… Ah! The sweets finally came around and bit you in the ass?"

"Pretty much…"

"No more sweets for you, missy!"

"Oh no you don't! Angela said I can eat sweets every day, but I have to brush my teeth thrice daily and use floss…"

"Toshiro, what do you say about this?"

He opened the sliding door in the back of the drivers' cabin and said, "If you're willing to look after her, why not. You like giving orders…"

"Good. Remember, Hartmann, from today on, if you'll give me a reason for not brushing your biters else than a notarial verified death certificate, you're in for a world of pain, understood?"

"Yes, Trudy…"

"Good, I'll see to that."

"Hey, Toshiro, why were you keeping this a secret?" Yoshika, who was sitting between Mio and him asked.

"Because Trude would nag the poor Erica hour by hour until this hour if she knew beforehand."

"Ooooh… Clever of you! Now she was more… condescending…"

"People tend to overreact before the fact, Miyafuji." Mio said. "Trude got to know about Erica's dental problems post-factum, with a good result, so she didn't get too steamy."

"I understand…" Yoshika murmured. "That's a big bottle of sake, Miss Sakamoto… Not too much?"

"How would you know about too much, Miyafuji… My private spirit cache is empty, I had to restock…"

"Mhhhmmm… I don't like alcohol anyway… But that bag of green bottles must be for Miss Minna, right?"

"Yes. Five year old Jägermeister, her favorite."

"Why can we actually keep alcohol in the unit? Isn't it against military regulations to drink on duty?"

"Out of sight, out of mind, Miyafuji. Officers can keep alcohol for… representative purposes."

"Ah, okay, I understand." Yoshika smiled.

After that some time passed. Yoshika was training diligently. She mastered flying the Shinden, but even a Unyou was too much for her now.

Today was a Sunday, the 3rd of June, 1945.

Hmmm… It's 5 AM, and it's already a bit warm…

Toshiro went out to his jogging session, which fortunately wasn't interrupted by anyone. He saw Mio training from afar, but she didn't bat an eyelid towards him, visibly immersed in self-perfecting herself.

Even on a Sunday, when we have free time…

After getting a glass of water, he returned to his room. The documentation for the Shinden had over five hundred pages, so he had some reading material to burn through. After some time, and a hundred pages of dull reading, Yoshika called him in through the PA system.

It wasn't anything special, but what happened afterwards was slightly unusual. Trude and Eila both wanted to speak to Toshiro in private at the same time, so they were looking at each other as if stares could kill.

"Eila, you first, since I probably know what you're going to talk about with me. Sorry, Trude, please wait a moment."

"Whatever…"

Eila took Toshiro behind the corner, and with her face flushed deep red she said, "Thanks for meddling again…"

"Oh? Did it get better after that little falling out?"

"You wouldn't even guess how! I mean… Sanya… With her hand… Me…"

"Oh… I see… But she didn't want to be on the receiving end just yet?"

"No, she's adamant about that. But hey, at least something, heehee… Okay, I'm going now, or Trude will get mad at me for taking too much time."

"Sure thing, glad I could help. Be sure to thank Yoshika!"

"I will!"

Toshiro went back to Trude.

"So, what's up?"

"Uh… You know, that time I asked you about some driving lessons…"

"You want to take up on that? Today would be a good day to be honest, nobodies got shit in their schedules."

"Oh, would you do it today? Really?"

"Yeah, rea…" Toshiro stopped as something struck him. "Saaaay, would you mind if it were a bit… coeducational?"

"In what meaning?"

"I would like to teach Yoshika how to drive."

"You know what… That's a good idea! I could have someone to drive me to town besides Erica! Ugh, I mean…"

"If Yoshika wants to… So, you go fetch Yoshika, and I'll go to the hangar to prepare the truck."

"The truck? But Shirley repaired the racecar…"

"You want my girlfriend, a first time driver to drive something that has almost two hundred horsepower?"

"Ah, yeah… I wouldn't drive it either… A truck seems a good start. I'll be going then!"

Toshiro went to the storage room under the hangar, and scavenged two wooden blocks and two long rubber bands. He pierced the wooden blocks with his swords and pulled the rubber bands through the slits.

"Hah, perfect!" He said to himself.

Then he picked up a bigger wooden block, the size of a Holy Bible. He took these peculiar wooden items, and went with them topside.

Trude and Yoshika were already waiting for him besides the truck, which he approached.

"Toshiro! Toshiro! Will you really be teaching me how to drive?!" Yoshika asked with sparkling eyes.

"Yes. What, you wanted to learn all along?"

"Yes! But I was always busy with training and stuff… Or I simply forgot that I wanted to, heheh…"

"So this is a good occasion. First you'll watch Trude struggle with her clumsy driving, and then I'll teach you, okay?"

"Okay!" Yoshika cheered. "But… What's that you have in your hands?"

"These are there if you prove to be a bit too short to drive comfortably."

"Ooooooh… Niiice…"

"Let's go you all. Trude - driver's seat, Yoshika - middle."

"Roger!" They both shouted and jumped into the truck.

"Oh, wait you two, I have to report this to Minna, heheh…"

Toshiro approached the PA panel, switched the channel to 'office' and said, "Minna; Trude, Yoshika and me are going out of the base for some driving lessons."

A few second passed, and Minna responded, "Be careful, Toshiro, Trude can be a real klutz behind the wheel. But anyway, affirmative, I have noted that you will be off-base."

"Thanks, Minna."

"By the way, what do you need Yoshika for? Could it be that..."

"Oh shush you closet pervert… I'll teach her to drive, that's all."

"Aaaaahh… Okay, okay… I just thought that…"

"Don't think, please…"

Toshiro returned to the girls, and boarded the truck.

"Okay, Trude, choke on, neutral, clutch and let's go."

"Sure… Sure…" Trude said with an uneven voice.

She pulled the choke rod, turned the key and the engine came to life. She tried putting in first gear, but she didn't press the clutch hard enough, and the gearbox protested with a loud noise.

"Shit, sorry!" Trude shouted and corrected her mistake.

"This happens when you don't press the clutch hard enough, Yoshika…" Toshiro explained. "You saw which pedal that is?"

"Yes, the left one! The center one is the break, and the right one is the accelerator!" Yoshika cheered.

"Very good, at least I won't have to teach you that. So, Trude, let's go."

"Ahhhh… But the gate is shut…"

"Heh, right… I'll go open it."

Toshiro jumped out, and press the button to open the gate. It slowly slid to the side, and Toshiro entered the truck.

"Let's go, Trude. Take the first left and follow my directions."

"Okay…"

Trude slowly but surely drove out of the base, but there was a problem at the first intersection.

"Trude, you should slow down now, and prepare for a left turn…" Toshiro said.

"Okay, slow down…"

Trude lifted her foot from the accelerator pedal, and tried to gently press the brake. But it seems that gentle in Trude's dictionary was written in all-caps and an underline, because she actually slammed the brake. And since Shirley was doing a good job with maintenance, the truck stopped immediately, almost sending Toshiro and Yoshika through the front windshield.

"Waaah, Trude, what was that about?!" Yoshika screamed massaging her forehead.

"I'm sorry…" She huffed while scraping herself of the steering wheel.

"Damn you to hell, Trude.." Toshiro mumbled. "Is that your only flaw behind the steering wheel? Binary acceleration and braking?"

"Pretty much…" She mumbled.

"How can you be such a good Striker Unit user, and yet such a miserable driver?"

"Uh… Accelerating and decelerating in a Striker is more willpower related, and I have a lot of that."

"But you're controlling your feet with your mind, right?"

"Yeah…"

"So, why are you such a klutz behind the wheel?"

"I didn't have much practice…"

"And how did you get your driver qualifications then?"

"The exam was easy…"

Toshiro pondered for a few seconds and said, "I have the perfect solution, Trude."

"Hmmm?"

"Since you like Shirley so much, I'll assign her as your tutor."

"No damn way! No way in hell am I going to spend time alone with her!"

"Trude, you can stop acting before Yoshika, she won't tell anyone… Right, pumpkin?"

"Whatever it is, if it's a secret, then my lips are shut."

Trude sighed and said, "Well okay, I'll have Shirley teach me… But you do the talking!"

"So what is this secret all about?" Yoshika asked.

"Trude is friendlier toward Shirley than it meets the eye."

"Aaaaah… Well, I suspected so much, but now I have some confirmation. But Trude… Why keep this under wraps?"

"Another one moralizing me… I just have my reasons…" Trude puffed her cheeks. "But Shirley knows already, so it's mutual."

"Ooooookaaaay…" Yoshika said slowly. "This is very weird to me, but I can play along…"

"So, we have that settled." Toshiro said. "Trude, Yoshika – swap places."

"Wooo, yay!" Yoshika cheered.

The two swapped places, rubbing against Toshiro. Yoshika sat in a proper position, but as Toshiro predicted, she was a bit too small for the truck.

"Aaaaw… I guess I'll have to use that wooden gear you made for me…" Yoshika sighed.

"But hey, maybe you'll learn something."

Toshiro tied the wooden clogs to her feet, and placed the wooden block under her toosh.

"Better?" He asked.

"Much better! I can see over the wheel, and I can reach the pedals!"

"Good! Since the engine got killed after our… incident… we will start from the basics. Pull the choke rod, Yoshika."

"This one?" She said while pointing it out.

"Yes, all the way out."

"Okay, now what?"

"Press the clutch pedal firmly."

"Done, now?"

"Look at the gear lever."

"Hmmm… The knob has some diagram on it…"

"This is the gear layout. The gears with numbers are forward gear, the one marked as 'R' is reverse. Shift the lever to the centermost position."

"Okaaay… Now?"

"Move it gently to the sides, can you feel like it wobbles?"

"Yup. Does it mean something?"

"It means we're in neutral. Turn the ignition key all the way back now."

"Like this?"

"Yes, like this. Now, turn it just a bit forward."

"Hmmm… Oh, the engine didn't start?"

"This position of the key enables the turning of the wheel and the working of the electrics. Now you can turn the key all the way forward. Hold it like that."

Yoshika turned the key, and the started kicked in, engaging the motor.

"Yaaaaaaay! It works! Now what?"

"Now move the lever according to the diagram to get us into first."

Yoshika move the lever with a bit of effort, but the gear went in.

"Now?!"

"Kill the choke."

Yoshika depressed the choke rod.

"And now?"

"This will be tricky. You have to slowly lift the clutch pedal, while pressing the accelerator in the same amount. Think of it as a teeter-totter."

Yoshika looked at him with a stern face, and tried what he told her. The engine revs went up steadily.

"Okay, Yoshika, less clutch… Less… More gas…"

"It's rumbling under my foot!"

"Floor the accelerator and let go of the clutch!"

Yoshika flicked the two pedals, and the truck tumbled forward.

"Waaah! I'm driving! I'm driving!" Yoshika shouted in enthusiasm.

"Change the gear to second, Yoshika. Same as you would start, just a bit faster."

Yoshika managed to change the gear to second, with only a slight noise.

"Good! Let off some pressure off the pedal, so we'll go at a steady speed."

"Okay."

"Now, turn the wheel slightly left and right. Don't do it violently. The road is wide-ish, so you can get a feel of the truck."

Yoshika turned the wheel a bit, first left, then right, then left again.

"I think I'm getting a hang of this…"

"See, easy stuff." Toshiro turned around to Trude. "My girlfriend drives better than you, heheheh…"

"What a disgrace…" Trude hid her face in her hands.

"Toshirooo, there's a truck coming from the opposite direction."

"We both have enough space to pass, just drive on the side of the road."

"Okay, I'll try…"

Yoshika turned the wheel a bit to the right, going out of harm's way, and to the left to straighten out.

"Very good, Yoshika! You know what? As a judicial officer I can issue you a Motor Vehicle Operator's Permit. But you still have to pass the exam, sorry."

"Maybe Shirley could teach me… Oh, wait! Maybe Erica could teach me, she's almost always free!"

"While I detest Erica's way of living, she is a good driver… Good thinking, Yoshika." Trude said. "Maybe you should also learn how to drive a motorcycle? That would look nice in your papers."

"I will! I'm just a normal Sergeant, so I want to at least shine in some way…"

"You shine in combat, Yoshika, don't worry…" Toshiro said. "We'll make a roundabout, and return to the base, okay?"

"Okay!"

They made a whole lap like in the race a few days ago. Yoshika seemed a naturally talented driver. She even drove into the base on her own, and parked the truck where they took it from.

"Brilliant, Yoshika. You'll pass the exam in no time!"

"Heeheee… Now I'll go look for Miss Mio, maybe she wanted to do some training…"

"It's Sunday, Yoshika…"

"You never know with her…" Yoshika mumbled.

"It was fun driving, Toshiro! Till later!"

Yoshika opened the door on her own and jumped out.

"Waaaaah!" She screamed and fell on the ground.

Both Toshiro and Trude sighed. The latter jumped out to help Yoshika get up.

"Thanks, Trude… I forgot I had these clogs…"

"No problem…" Trude said while undoing the rubber bands. "There you go."

"Thanks again!" Yoshika cheered and ran away. "Aaaaah, wait, give me Yumemaru!" She turned around suddenly

The sword appeared in her hand immediately.

"Thanks!"

"Don't run with the sword, damn you!"

"She really is like an older Chris…" Trude sighed.

"Missing your little sister, huh?"

"Yes… But at least I know she's well and safe. Oh, I totally forgot to thank Yoshika for buying that dress for her… Snap…"

"Just tell her that at the nearest occasion, don't beat yourself up for it."

"You always have an answer ready… I'll be going now, Toshiro. You'll probably want to report your findings to Minna, right?"'

"Heheh, yeah… I'm really surprised that Yoshika can drive so well."

"Much to my misery…"

"Oh, don't worry, Trude, Shirley will straighten you out."

Trude sighed and went her way. Toshiro climbed up to the office.

"How was the trip, Toshiro?" Minna asked.

"Nice. I now know what's wrong with Trudy, and… heheh… I learned something…"

"Do tell."

"Yoshika is a very good driver, we should give her an exam."

"Now that's a surprise… But I guess everyone has some hidden talents. When does she want to undertake it?"

"Yoshika wants to brush up on her skills first, Erica will help her with that."

"Erica? What an explosive combo… Do we even have blank permits?"

"I believe we have… Wait a second…"

Toshiro rummaged his desk, and found one, slightly blue blank permit.

"Found one!" Toshiro said.

"Good, save it. Want to help me with something?"

"Don't say the word paperwork, it's a Sunday…"

"No, no… I want to look at Mio training with Yoshika, if they're doing it. I never saw her swinging a real sword."

"Hmmm…" Toshiro pondered while scanning the vicinity. "Okay, let's go. I would like to see how she progresses."

"Where are they?" Minna asked.

"Their usual training spot, come on."

The two went to the small thicket, and saw Mio leaned over a tree, watching how Yoshika practices swings. She wasn't doing boring kendo drills however, she was doing real, swift and deadly moves that would probably rip a reinforced concrete pillar with ease.

"My, my, you look really deadly, Yoshika." Minna said while slowly clapping her hands.

"Oh, Miss Minna. And Toshiro! Did you both come to look at me training?"

"Yes." Minna said.

"You amaze me, Yoshika. If we had a spar, you could probably keep up with me if I held myself back a bit."

"Naaaaaaaaaaaaaaah… I'm still a bit clumsy with this sword…"

"Stop talking, Miyafuji, train!" Mio shouted.

"Yes ma'am!" Yoshika twitched and began training again. "I'm sorry, but I can't talk and train at the same time."

"No problem, Yoshika, I saw enough." Minna said "Toshiro, coming with me?"

"Yeah… Good job, Yoshika, you're progressing at an astounding rate. See you at dinner!"

"Thanks Toshiro!"

"Put your back into it, Miyafuji!"

"Yeees maaaam!"

As they were walking back to the castle, Minna asked, "So, how would you rate Yoshika now?"

"8/10, would bang."

"Uuuuugh… Not in that scale!"

"Ah, you mean her swordsmanship? Well now, she's doing well right now. I reached a similar level of proficiency in a similar time, so she's doing reaaally fine. But I wonder when she'll master the Cloud Spark…"

"Is it hard to pull off?"

"I never tried it, but there's a chance I could master it in less than an hour with my current skill level."

"And with hers?"

"I have the feeling she'll pull it off by the end of next week."

"So soon?"

"It's a relatively easy technique from what I observed. You basically sharpen your blade with magic, that's all. The hard part is controlling the magic flow. She could always go the easy way."

"Which would be?"

"She could ask Kuji to assist her, just like Yuki helped me pull of my Rending Gales until I learned to do it on my own. But she won't, because she wants to rely on her own strength."

"My, my… What resolve… Who could think that little brown haired girl would have such a big spirit…"

"Right? I remember the day when we first met... She was looking around clueless, standing before the Akagi like a dunce… She's still a bit airheaded now, but she is changing slowly… And I like the direction this is taking, and hate it at the same time…"

"Why do you hate it?"

"Because if she has bigger combat capabilities, she'll start engaging enemies more, thus taking bigger risks. You saw my stance in combat for the past two months now, right? I'm stupidly overpowered compared to the rest of you, but I'm holding back, wanting for every single one of you to have a chance at combat. I just hope Yoshika won't start flying around like a berserker once she gains enough confidence to use a sword in a real fight…"

"Then simply forbid it. I would do it in your place."

"I can't. Who am I to hamper her ambitions? If she wants to fight, and likes to fight, then she should fight. I won't get any more gray hairs though, heheh…"

"You're really weird sometimes, Toshiro… But I admit you one thing – you care about us as if we were your family, and I'm very grateful."

"I was a half-orphan and Warrant Officer, and I tried to solve all your problems. I'm now a full orphan and a Colonel, and I have the means to care about all of you, it's that simple. Psychologists would probably say I try to compensate for not having a family, but whatever, they can all suck my balls for all I care."

"Heehee… So, what do we do now? Since we don't want to do paperwork on Sunday, why don't we just go lie on the beach?"

"Beach… Beach… Saaaaay…"

"Wait, wait, you have some idea, right?"

"Remember Britannia?"

"I see where you're going… What would you say to tomorrow?"

"Mio's three pets doing training and the rest of us lazing around? Bah! But let's do the paperwork today then, so we can idle with clean conscience tomorrow!"

"Good!"

And hour went by, and they were finished.

"That was fast…" Toshiro muttered.

"It's a Sunday after all. Let's check the water, okay?"

"Are you perhaps implying you have a bikini waiting for show?"

"Indeed, I am. Put on your swimming trunks, I'll put on my bikini."

"On my way!"

Toshiro slowly went up to his room, and changed into his beach attire. Then, he trotted down and to the beach. The sand was warm, and the sun was shining semi-intensely. Looking around, he saw Minna slowly approaching the beach. She had the same bikini she had in Britannia, a white frivolous set, but now, she didn't cover her upper body with a uniform loosely worn upon it.

"I have mixed feelings about you, Minna. You didn't buy a new bikini, but you're now uncovering more."

"And you didn't buy new trunks either, smartass. But I'm glad you're still wearing the ones I bought you, heehee…"

"Madame, care to take a dip?" Toshiro said nonchalantly.

"Why of course, kind sir, I would be glad."

The both giggled, and jumped into the water.

"Pffffwaah!" Minna spurted water when surfacing. "The water is rather warm, I must admit."

"Verily. Perfect for me. So, it's decided?"

"I'll just ask Mio, okay?"

"Do as you wish, Minna, but I'd rather you consulted me…" Toshiro pouted.

"Oh come on, don't be like that… I'm just fond of asking Mio for advice…"

"Heh… I'm joking…"

"Heeeeeeeeeeeeeeeey, Toshirooooo!" Shirley shouted from somewhere.

Toshiro and Minna turned around, and located them a hundred meters off from their current position.

"How's the waaaateeeer?" She asked.

"Ideal, come on!"

"All right!" She shouted and ran in the direction of the dorm.

"We have to limit the people coming to the beach today, or it will have no sense to do it tomorrow." Minna said.

"Shirley will be the last one, I promise."

"Shirley is okay." Minna smiled.

After less than five minutes, Shirley came running towards them. The laws of physics were a sight for Toshiro's sore eyes, because her plump breast were bouncing up and down, held only by her dark blue bikini. The upper part was a rather enclosed construct from the sides, held by two firm straps from the top, but it sure did reveal the important parts of Shirley's figure in the center. She had a white rabbit decal on her left breast side, and some the whole thing was tied down from the front with yellow shoelace. The lower part was worn dangerously low by her, revealing some of her groin area. A cute golden button found its way in the upper-center part of the pants.

Shirley rushed into the water, making a big splash with a belly flop.

"Wahoo!" She shouted while surfacing. "The water is ideal! I hereby declare the beach season as open!"

"Wait with that until tomorrow, Shirley." Minna said.

"Huh, why?"

"We're going to the beach officially tomorrow. Today's a… test run."

"Ah, okay. When will you announce it?"

"Supper, Toshiro?" Minna asked.

"Would be good. Nice bikini, Shirley. It brings out your… uhhh... valor's…"

"Heheheheh, I knew you'd like it! You like it too, Minna?"

"It looks nice, I can't deny it… Toshiro?"

"Yes?"

"Could you leave us? We have some… girls talk to do…" Minna said slightly flustered.

"Just wrap it up quickly, or more people will find out that the beach is good for recreational use already."

"Sure, sure. Now shoo."

"Okay, okay… You sure picked a weird place to have girly talks…"

Toshiro walked out of the water, and went back to the castle, drying himself with the use of his magic. He bumped into Francesca, who was obviously looking for something.

"Hey, Toshiro, did you see Shirley?"

"Dunno. I bet she's in the hangar."

"Thanks!"

Francesca ran towards the hangar, and he went to his room to change.

Hmmm… It's almost time for dinner… I have an idea!

Toshiro rushed down and to the dorm room. After throwing a quick peek into the dining room and kitchen, he ran to the pantry. After getting a whole sack of ingredients, he returned to the kitchen.

Today, I'm the cook!

He started preparing everything he needed for potato cakes, hamburgers and sushi.

Speeding things up with magic, the preparations were complete rather fast. He had batter ready for the potato cakes, patties, buns and vegies for the burgers and nori, uncooked rice and raw fish – which was delivered in the morning – for the sushi. While heating up the oil in one pan and heating up an electric plate, he started cutting up the sushi ingredients and vegies.

"Yuki, you can kick in any time you want, seriously…"

"Nah… I'll watch you struggle for a few more minutes. But don't worry, I'll prevent a culinary disaster."

After pouring the first batch of batter on one pan, he started grilling the buns on the other. Flipping the potato cakes, he started to flick off the buns from the plate. Then he had to start boiling the rice.

"Toshiro, what are you doing?" Lynne suddenly asked from behind him.

"Food, what else? Could you help me a bit?"

"Oh, okay!" Lynne ran up and asked, "With what?"

"Watch out for the potato cakes, I'll start grilling the patties and watch the rice."

"Okay."

The two of them cooked for another few minutes, when Yoshika came in.

"Toshiro in the kitchen? Are you sick?"

"Ha… Ha… The sushi is waiting for you, Yoshika, go go go! I just put the rice off the fire."

"Okay, okay, don't be so bossy… I had a rough training session…"

"That's why you get to do the sushi, silly. You don't have to stand in the heat of the kitchen."

"Heehee, how nice of you…"

"Yeah, nice of you…"

"Oh shut up…"

"This will be a really weird dinner…" Yoshika said. "But I guess you wanted to make meals you know how to make, right?"

"Yup. I thought I'd relieve you two off cooking duty, but it sort of backfired when I started frying two things at a time…"

"Daawww, you really shouldn't have… Cooking for you is a pleasure to me." Yoshika said with a radiant smile.

"Now I know it, heh… I promise I'll never cook a single meal until I get permission."

Yoshika nodded and returned to rolling up sushi. Soon, Minna and Shirley appeared, dry and in uniforms.

"Hohohoooo! Hamburgers!" Shirley shouted enthusiastically.

"I hope you have some wasabi handy…" Minna giggled.

"No way in hell am I touching wasabi again! Bleh!" Shirley shouted in disgust. "I'll stick to relish and mustard…"

Toshiro laughed heartily and said, "We have everything, Shirley, don't worry. I didn't plan to incinerate your taste buds anyway."

"Yoshika?"

"Yes, Miss Minna?"

"Do you have some natto ready?"

"Of course! It's deep frozen, so all I need is to heat it up."

"Good. Please fetch me some, I wanted to try some with wasabi."

Everyone's jaws dropped collectively.

"I can't be worse, I'll try too!" Toshiro shouted.

"T-Toshiro, are you sure?" Yoshika asked. "I know that you like both wasabi and natto, but this combination is rather… unorthodox…"

"We're up to the challenge." Minna said.

"Oh okay… But don't you dare to leave anything! I put my heart and soul into the natto!"

Yoshika stopped rolling up the sushi and went to the pantry.

"Seriously, Minna?" Shirley asked.

"One has to challenge himself the whole time."

"Oh whatever…"

The rest of the girls rolled in, and everyone watched the peculiar scene. Toshiro and Minna both took a teaspoon of wasabi, and a long gooey string of natto. Chewing it down with a smile on their face, they continued ingesting the natto. The girls made surprised faces, but nodded in admiration.

"How was it?" Erica asked.

"Ugggh… Honestly?" Toshiro asked.

"Yup."

"My tongue is so numb that I probably could drink boiling water spiced up with tabasco sauce, and I didn't even feel the follow-up natto… How about you, Minna?"

"Same…"

"Awwww… But please eat the rest of the food…" Lynne pleaded silently.

"Okay, okay, don't worry… Our tongues may be numb, but our tummies our still empty!" Toshiro shouted. "Let's dig in!"

After pigging out, Toshiro went to relieve his boredom a little bit, and went to the radar room. A few minutes past 1600, a transmission came in.

"To all units around, this is an emergency! Please come in!"

Toshiro woke up from his nap immediately and said, "This is the 501st, what's happening?"

"Lodate il Signore! This is the Padua Forward Listening Outpost. We have detected a large Neuroi coming in from the north-east. We estimate it will be in Padua in slightly over an hour."

"Affirmative. We are sending in an emergency unit right away!"

Toshiro ran up to the PA panel and sounded the siren.

"Everyone assemble at the hangar! I repeat, everyone assemble in the hangar!" He shouted through the PA system and disabled the siren.

As he ran out, of the radar room, Minna ran out of the office.

"What is it, Toshiro?!"

"There's a single big Neuroi approaching Padua from the north-east. We have about an hour to get there and intercept it."

"Understood. Let's go!"

The two of them ran down to the hangar, where the girls started assembling.

"Minna, what's happening?" Trude asked.

"We have to intercept a Neuroi before it reaches the city of Padua." She explained. "Hmmmm… Toshiro, take Mio, Trude, Erica, Shirley, Lucchini, Yoshika, Lynne and Perrine."

"Roger." He said. "Girls, gear up, we don't have much time so spend on lollygagging!" He shouted.

"Roger!" The selected bunch shouted and started preparing.

Toshiro followed suit, and started assembling his gear. He loaded a full load of HEI-T ammo for his MG and a whole load of APCBC-HE for his cannon. Loaded like a packmule, he jumped into his Striker and started heating up the engines.

"Toshiro, if I may ask, I want to command during this operation." Mio said.

"Go ahead, Mio, I'm still green in that field."

"Affirmative. Everyone, let's go! Azimuth 0, cruise speed!"

"Roger!" Everyone responded, and in a deafening noise of Striker engines they all flew into battle.

After passing the town of Chioggia, Francesca cheered, "Hey, I see Venetia from here! I forgot its east of Padua!"

They flew over a big, red cantilever rail bridge. Toshiro noticed that Perrine was looking at it with reverence.

Mio was scouting carefully, and suddenly she shouted, "Enemy spotted, azimuth 140, prepare for battle!"

The clang of cocking levers could be heard. Toshiro's cannons pneumatic autoloader has whizzed. An enormous Neuroi, somewhat reminding an airboat speeded towards them firing a pair of beams. Everyone dispersed from it, and scrambled. Yoshika zoomed forward as if pushed by angels.

"Woah! She moved up so quickly!" Perrine shouted surprised

She decided to follow her.

Don't go so far ahead, stupid!

Toshiro braced himself and accelerated forward, buzzing past Perrine and closing in on Yoshika. She was fired at, but deflected the beams with one hand, and started shooting the Neuroi from atop.

"Yoshika, you amaze me, but you can't rush into the fray like that! Only Shirley and I have the means to keep up with you in terms of speed!"

Toshiro fired a shell, underlining his sentence. It ripped a nice crater in the enemy, but alas, no core hit.

"Oh, sorry, heheh…"

"You'll apologize later, now it's time to pepper this fucker with lead and RDX!"

"Roger!" Yoshika cheered and started firing anew.

Perrine caught up, with a sour face, but instead of pouting and bitching she started shooting. After a few seconds, the right wing of the Neuroi, just by the fuselage received a large hole.

The three of them looked down, and saw Lynne cheering happily.

"Got it!" She cheered through the transponder.

"Good job, Lynne!" Toshiro praised her.

The Neuroi however regenerated the wound almost immediately fired at Lynne. She dodged the beam, but it grazed the top of the bridge.

"Oh! The bridge…" Perrine gasped.

"The damage is minor. Don't break formation!" Mio commanded. "The next attack is coming."

Perrine didn't listen to her, because she flared up and followed the Neuroi.

"Perrine!" Both Mio and Toshiro shouted.

She started shooting the underside Neuroi with a steady stream of bullets, while simultaneously dodging the barrage of beams.

"Perrine is amazing…" Yoshika said.

"Yup…"

"Now's our chance! Everyone, attack!" Mio shouted.

"Roger!" They all responded.

Trude, Erica, Shirley and Francesca came in from the right, straight at the Neuroi.

They all started pounding the Neuroi with all they had. Toshiro switched to his MG, not bothering with reloading his cannon. The fiery rounds wreaked havoc, and suddenly, a red glint appeared.

"I can see the core!" Mio shouted.

Before Toshiro could aim down his sights, Perrine swooped down on the Neuroi shouting, "How dare you blast the bridge!"

After a few failed shots, she finally hit the core, shattering it into bits, and the Neuroi exploded into the usual flake storm.

Toshiro, Lynne and Yoshika flew to Perrine, and the first said, "Hoohoo! You did it, Perrine!"

"Nice job!" Yoshika cheered.

Perrine didn't mind them however, because she looked at the bridge like hypnotized.

Something odd is happening with Perrine… Why does she look at the bridge like that…? I'll have to ask her, but not now, not in front of everyone.

"Everyone, we're returning to base! Good job, Perrine."

Perrine didn't react.

Toshiro flew up to her, and poked her with his fingers in her sides.

"Waaaaaaaaah! What are you doing?!"

"Wake up, mademoiselle. We're returning home."

"Oh, ah… Okay, I'm coming…"

"Awwww… I wanted to visit Venice…" Francesca mumbled.

"Another day, Francesca…" Toshiro said calmly. "Come on, home awaits."

"Awkay…"

They returned to the base while the sun was setting slowly. Minna approached them and said, "Gather before the hangar, I have a few words to say. Toshiro, a quick recollection of events if I may please."

Toshiro briefly summarized what happened.

"I see… Okay, come with me. Mio, you come too."

"Sure." The both said.

The rest of the girls stood neatly in two rows before their superiors. Perrine was a bit under the weather, or so it seemed to Toshiro.

"Excellent work, everyone." Minna said.

"You all fought well." Mio said. "You have shown quite the prowess with the Shinden, Miyafuji. Good job!"

"Heheh, all thanks to you, Miss Mio. I still have a few knacks with it, but I hope you'll teach me further!"

"Atta girl! That's the spirit!" Mio cheered. "Talking about spirit… Perrine!"

No reaction. Everyone looked surprised at the Gallian.

"Perrine?" Mio asked surprised.

"Uh, wha… Y-y-yes?" Perrine woke up suddenly.

"You were our MVP today, you know?"

"Oh, thank you…" She said calmly while standing to attention, and then went off silently.

"Something's off with her…" Shirley said.

"Right?" Francesca suddenly said in a mysterious tone and leaned against Shirley's breasts.

"She definitely is…" Toshiro said.

"What's up?" Yoshika asked.

"You know, 'cause normally being praised by the Major would make her go…" Francesca assumed a faux modest being praised position, and with a voice mocking Perrine she continued, "Oh, Major! That's just how I am sometimes!"

"Annnnhhh… Please give me more of your praise!" Shirley moaned, also mocking Perrine, but she reverted to normal right away and said, "Et cetera, and so on."

"R-Really?" Lynne asked.

"Eheheheh…" Yoshika laughed dryly. "Yes, I see a pattern here…"

"So, who will help me with making a report today? Perrine is obviously out of the question, since she's on Mars with her consciousness right now. Yoshika, maybe you for a change?"

"Oh? Can I?"

"Of course you can. Come on, I'll tell you what to do."

"Okay!"

"Boooooriiing…" Yoshika moaned after she was done.

"Hey, I do stuff similar to this on a daily basis, as well as Minna. Normally we don't do much on Sundays, but the Neuroi don't seem to be accustomed to the human calendar."

"But why do so much boring paperwork…"

"The army works this way, Yoshika, you can't change that. This way it's kept efficient, and our higher ups can take draw better conclusions as how to lead this war." Minna explained.

"I see… You're really doing the dirty work here, Toshiro…"

"I don't mind to be honest. It's not dirty work per se, and it takes my mind off other stuff."

"Oh, okay. I'll go and make some nice supper."

"Please do, I'm hungry already."

"Oh that Yoshika… She's still innocent deep inside…" Minna said after Yoshika left.

"Despite her being sexually active already, and fighting Neuroi with guns, she really is just a middle school girl under all that… The Yoshika I first met…"

"Oh don't go schmaltzy right now, sheesh…"

"You started it, Minna." Toshiro laughed.

Minna only sighed.

Supper rolled in quickly, but Perrine wasn't present. Minna decided to do her announcement nevertheless.

"Everyone. Today, with the help of Shirley and Toshiro I have tested our beach, and the verdict is as follows – after tomorrows training, it's open for use for anyone, as long as he or she doesn't have an assigned task."

"Woohoo!" The girls cheered.

"Training?" Yoshika asked.

"Remember Britannia?" Toshiro asked.

"Yeee… Oh no… Don't tell me…"

"Sorry, Yoshika, not my call…"

"Aaaawwww… I hope we won't be cheated by some Neuroi like last time…"

"I hope too. Where's Perrine by the way?"

"Don't know, haven't seen her…" Yoshika said. "You can accompany me to her if you like…"

"Okay, so everyone, prepare your swimsuits, the 501st is going to the beach!" Toshiro shouted.

"Roger!"

Toshiro followed Yoshika, but she didn't go to Perrine's room. She quickly disappeared in her room, closing the door. After a minute, she reappeared in her nightgown.

"Hmmm? Do you have something in mind, perhaps?"

"Perhaps… Come on, let's go to Perrine."

Perrine's room was next door, so Yoshika went inside as if it was her own.

"Perrine!" Yoshika cheered while opening the door widely.

Perrine was kneeling before a cupboard holding something, but as soon as she heard Yoshika, she started panicking. She hid what she was holding in a drawer, and hastily closed it, but by some weird twist of fate, the top drawer opened, smacking her in the head and spilling a whole load of panties around.

Toshiro and Yoshika ran up to her, and the latter asked, "Perrine, are you okay?"

"What the hell is wrong with you, Yoshika…" Perrine moaned while rubbing her forehead. "Shouting and barging into my room like that!"

"Uh... The beach…" Yoshika said. "We're going to the beach tomorrow."

"T-the beach? Okaaay… Glad I have a swimsuit…"

Toshiro stared at Perrine, and she looked back at him.

"Why are you gawking on me like that, Toshiro?"

"Something's wrong with you, today? Care to take a load off you?"

"Nothing's wrong, Toshiro. You can go to sleep with a clear conscience."

"Really?"

"Really, really."

"I mean really really really? We're both your friends, you don't have to be ashamed. Well, if it's girly stuff, I can just go out, and you can out yourself to Yoshika…"

"I said I don't need help…" Perrine pouted.

"Okay then… What were you hiding by the way?"

"A… A trinket, nothing important…"

"Suit yourself, Perinne. But remember, Toshiro Life Counseling LLC – Romagnan Branch is always open."

"Just go already, I want to sleep… Well, maybe I'll fetch a sandwich beforehand… Whatever… Just go…"

"Good night, Perrine." Yoshika said along with Toshiro and they left.

"Perrine is weird…" Yoshika said.

"She's just different, like all of us… So, I'm going to my room. Good night?"

"Good night my ass! My period ended, and I demand to be ravaged!"

"Oooooh! You could say that in the first place! I aim to please, milady!"

"Heehee…"

And if you want to praise/rant about my story, please leave a signed review, so we can continue via PM's. Seriously, I don't bite. Unless provoked :]