Shirogane Takeru
November 11, 2001
PX
"No, according to the Multiservice tactical brevity code, a Bogey refers to an Unknown contact in view or on radar."
"So it's kinda like a UFO!"
"What, no. A UFO is an Unidentified flying object, meaning anything in the sky that cannot be associated with a traditional aircraft."
"But if a Bogey is something in the sky and I don't know what it is, then it could be a UFO, right?"
"…Negative. In the event where you have visual or a radar ping of the Unknown it should be referred to as a Bogey."
"But that doesn't mean a UFO can't be a Bogey! If I don't know what it is then you can't say what it's not!"
"What— stop, Sumika-san, stop. You're wrong, you're incorrect, false, you made a mistake." If Kasumi had a few more layers of aspect to her character she could definitely modify that somewhat stunned expression to a totally unready embarrassment.
"Hey! You can't do that, Kasumi-chan! This time I'm right, you tell her, Takeru-chan!"
"Kasumi, it's like how all thumbs are fingers but not all fingers are thumbs. Sumika's got you there, she isn't wrong." I was an ally of truth and authenticity before a tormentor of the mentally disabled, so even though it pained me to my very core, I must approve Sumika for her evidential fact.
"…I can't accept this… I cannot. UFOs don't even exist…" It appeared our debate was near its deathbed seeing as my diminishing interest was virtually depleted once the two espers begun to argue about the existence of UFOs when we faced an extraterrestrial crisis every second.
And just when we actually made it to our unofficially reserved table at the PX, Mikoto was present to present a spectacularly executed seven-twenty YY nade-cancel knife-flip no scope trickshot with her strings replacing the Intervention… or DSR-50, depending on her MLG preference.
"Ahhhh! My dancing butterfly fell apart! I'll never be able to make that again!" Today was truly a tragic day for humanity.
"…Unlucky."
"Oh, boy, I love open casket funerals!" Sumika's reverence for the dead was creepily skewered, and not in a good way.
"Such a shame, it was truly a magnificent piece…" I was sure the butterfly was very grateful for Meiya's sympathy.
"Hauuuu…"
"Don't get so depressed over a piece of string." Class rep spoke as the sensible man in seeing how foolish Mikoto was.
"But…"
"That aside, will you eat with us? You too as well, Takeru, Kagami and Yashiro." Good for Meiya to notice us, were that not the case I was fully prepared to 'sweep the leg' with Mikoto for running past me without a hello.
—
"-And! How should I say this… then all the pieces suddenly came into my head!" Mikoto was telling the tale of her meeting with the dancing butterfly, destiny had abruptly brought them together and just as abruptly tore them apart.
Any day now, ring upon me that buzzzzzzzz and free me. I was bored out of my mind and my mind was out of this dimension judging by how long it stood idle. This downtime wistfully reminded me of the time when we'd have a scheduled fire alarm evacuation during school back in the old world, that feeling when I was just staring at that red bell knowing it would blast my eardrums any second.
For what it was worth, Kasumi seemed intrigued with sharing her secret Cat's cradle tactics with Mikoto while Sumika was just doing her robot thing.
"~My spirit's sleeping somewhere cold~! Until you find it there~ and lead it~… back~… home~…" To my pleasant surprise, this was something I could relate to.
"~Wake m—"
-~Wake me up~! The instant I clearly projected my thoughts into lyrics, Sumika's eyelids sprung up like a mousetrap. However, since she was as close to a professional singer as I'd ever meet, the rhythm of her music wasn't broken by her wonder.
"~Wake me up inside~!"
I can't wake up!
"~Wake me up inside~!"
"Save me!"
"~Call my name and save me from—!"
What our emergency alert did wasn't exactly saving me from the dark, although the boredom was quite close enough. Also, I totally heard my and Sumika's voice during the last chord and the siren actually saved us in a sense from another annoying excuse to the Squadron.
Yokohama briefing room
Kasumi, you passed on the message just like I wrote, right?
"Positive, I did not divert from the script even by a single word."
And remember that I told you what to say, you're like my pigeon, okay.
"I understand, Takeru-san. I am the messenger."
"Okay, I'll explain the situation." Marimo-chan didn't waste a split-second once she perceived the Squadron as assembled.
"At 06:20 this morning, a brigade-sized herd of BETA emerged from the Sadogashima Hive and began to move south along the ocean floor. Then at 06:27, the enemy penetrated the Ocean Defense Line held by the Imperial Navy's fleet in the Sea of Japan and surfaced in Niigata soon after. At 06:48, the Imperial Army's 12th Division encountered the enemy on the old national highway." RIP 12th Division, those dudes were very unfortunately beyond saving.
"07:10, the battle line collapsed before an overwhelming number of BETA after reinforcements failed to arrive in time. The remaining BETA dispersed and moved inland. We lost track of them since the Imperial Army's 14th Division was unable to pursue."
"And then, thirty-three minutes ago… the 14th Division was able to catch up with the BETA herds that had dispersed earlier, they are currently engaging the regrouped BETA forces. However, a part of the BETA hordes had resurfaced in Gunma before that. The second group of BETA is marching at the border of Niigata, Nagano and Gunma prefectures." According to my decaying memory, that was where the Sado Stab ended and my bug friends had to peek their heads out.
"The Imperial Army's 5th and 7th Divisions are currently engaging the second group of BETA. It's an even fight for now. But if the BETA near Mt. Hakkai were to reach the second group it would be a difficult battle for the Imperial Army."
"In addition, it was just predicted that the enemy's objective is… here, Yokohama Base. The Yokohama Base CO has currently declared DEFCON 2. In the case that the Imperial Army retreats, this base will move to DEFCON 1… that means even you cadets will be sent into battle." I was sure that the 5th and 7th Divisions could hold against half a brigade of alien-crawling things, same for whoever was with the A-01.
"Listen carefully… this is not a drill. Our comrades-in-arms are fighting the enemy as we speak, right on our doorstep. I order you eight cadets to arm yourselves and standby until you receive further order!"
With a heart of stone, I saluted Instructor Jinguuji along with the rest of my team before we stepped outside to don our proper gear. Was there guilt lingering in my chest for the lives I couldn't save? Maybe just a scrap of conscience was left for the regret to trickle in. I understood how all lives were worth saving, but not all were equally worthy.
Shirogane's room
In due time, once the Generals and high-ranking officers had confirmed the total destruction of our space foes the DEFCON level was lowered back down to five. Commiserating with cadets who just underwent the first emergency alert of many, Marimo-chan was kind enough to dismiss us on a Sunday morning.
After eating our lunch in complete and uncomfortable silence, my plan was to retreat to my room and receive an update from the Russian girl who would be there with the latest intel on our current situation.
"Kasumi, you talked to Yuuko-sensei?" I spared no second for chit-chat, this was urgent news I had to recognize.
"Yes, A-01 was able to locate the Sadogashima Stab entrance for a potential blockade operation. As for the number of caged Tangos, approximately a large company of two hundred units plus roughly fifty laser units."
"Fuck me, where did they find all those Lux? Was a batch of lasers dudes taking a goddamn nap?" Kasumi said nothing to my rhetorical question.
"Regarding the friendly casualties of A-01; two confirmed K.I.A and W.I.A, 2nd Lieuten—"
"Spare me the dead, don't care about them. Let me guess, it was Asakura and Takahara that got wounded, yeah?" When the course of history only picked a couple of cards to play every round, it was difficult not remembering its hand.
"Positive, 2nd Lt. Asakura received amputation of her left arm to prevent infection. There is no update from 2nd Lt. Takahara in the hospital."
"Well, that's hella unlucky… man, I'm kinda overusing that word these days. I don't… I don't know what to say, do you believe in the cherry blossom and how the ghosts of the dead watch over us from there, Kasumi?" If there was truly a God in our world, I wouldn't place too much of my faith in the guy. However, spirits were a different ideal altogether, it wasn't something too terrible to wish for.
"Yes, the souls of men sometimes linger amongst the living for periods indefinite. I've lived for a long time too, Takeru-san. I've seen phantoms guiding our hands… or haunting our sights…" The gaze which Kasumi dropped on the floor was melancholic and remorseful in ways I couldn't describe, thus I concluded it was best to leave her alone to a sorrow I had no say in.
"…Moving on, I guess. You know anything about what they're planning to do with the tunnel?"
"Nothing concrete… metaphorically concrete."
"How about the XM3? How's that coming along?"
"I need… three more days to finish." It was quicker than I ever expected for her to be capable of alone.
"Okay… okay. Is there anything else you should tell me?"
"Negative." For the moment, my witty cracks weren't doing any good to ease the despondent nature of our circumstances. Even Kasumi appeared to be burdened ever so slightly by the notion of death.
"Here, you can play my Game Guy for a bit. I'll go for a stroll or something, really not much to do."
"If you so desire, we can engage in coitus." She was really inspired to bring that up at the most freakish of timings.
"…Maybe… maybe later."
Hallway
It was not my intention to so coincidentally happen upon the ace of the Valkyries, Hayase Mitsuki while aimlessly wandering the base looking for pastime. Nonetheless, since that savage of a woman was apparently practicing some anger boxing, I found it to be not the worst case to run into her.
"…Fuck…"
Without realization, I lost count of time as I watched her perform the martial exercise. Those hands swathed in white cotton wraps continuously dished out robust jabs, hooks and punches on the sandbag like no tomorrow. Her perspiring back was only hidden by the thin layer of her t-shirt that was already soaked and transparent, strewing the vague smell of her sweat over the gym.
No bras… interesting.
"…Fuck, fuckin' fuck… fuck! Fucking goddamnit! You idiots! AAH!"
Finishing her combo with a powerful uppercut, Hayase sent the punching bag launching into the air, pivoting by the chains that locked it in place. Knowing that woman was all brawls and no brain, it was to nobody's surprise for the sixty-something pounds bag to swing down and totally plough her away like a fly. So, very fortunately for me she flew right into my face and crashed both of us on the ground.
"-Agalalala!" While I wouldn't consider Hayase a landwhale, she was definitely no Barbie girl either.
"Agra—! What the-! Who're you!?"
"Just please, get off me. You kinda stink, lady." Mentioning her odour was a lightning fast way to gain some distance from the Valkyrie.
"Alright, alright! But who're you!? How long you've been there!?"
"How does it feel to be Hank Aaron's 715th home run, lady? You sure sailed the same distance." I too climbed off the matted floor was and greeted by the anger fueled Hayase only a few feet away from me.
"I've never seen you here before, soldier! State your name and rank immediately!"
"Cadet Shirogane Takeru of Training Squadron 207, ma'am." I gave her a hasty salute since describing our initial meeting as improper was a major understatement.
"Cadet? I see… well, Cadet Shirogane, how long have you been there?"
"About five minutes, I believe."
"Okay… I'm 1st Lt. Hayase Mitsuki, sup." She put even less effort into military gesture than I did, and that was saying a lot.
"Hello to you too, Lieutenant."
"Alright, so about what happened, let's not talk about it. And you shouldn't talk about how you saw me here, we clear?"
"Sure, of course, Lieutenant." Being respectful for a change wasn't all bad, especially since it'd be the last time I stood below her.
"Glad we solved it then, now get outta here, Cadet."
"Be on my way." So I turned to leave, and took a bunch of steps too.
"Wait! Hold up, Shirogane… you- err… you think we'll see each other again, young man?"
"Maybe sooner than you think, ma'am."
November 16, 2001. CCSE Day 1
A southern island
I ever talk about how I sunk a nuclear sub once? It was true.
"That was during the Battle of Mann on July fifteen, 2010. Takeru-san dived after two Vanguard class SSBNs of the Royal Navy and—"
-Kasumi, can you like- let me tell my story?
"Oh, what, really!? Wait, why wasn't I there if Kasumi-chan remembers?
Because bitch you're ded as shit, obviously.
"Hey! That's so mean! It's uncalled for!" Ask stupid question, get stupid answer.
Anyway, the two subs were called V something and V some-other-thing. They had nukes loaded into some Trident IIs and were trying to send it to Quebec, to the French, basically. Can't remember who I fought for and how we caught them but we did, and then we deployed to intercept the fleet by the Isle of Man.
"We sure fight other humans a lot, huh." That was the one iron truth of our world. If the BETA were gone, humanity wouldn't have any trouble finding new enemies.
Only if we don't like them, but then we don't like anyone. Any~way! We shot, they shot, I probably shot more than they did. Ended up having to dive after the submarines for a couple kilometres in a TSF to fill it up with HE shells, although it was suited for underwater combat like a TSA… shit, what was I flying that time?
"Rafale F3R Modified."
Oh, yeah… I was with the Frog boys that time! That's right! We're re-enacting the hundred years war with TSFs and nukes! Good times, good times. UN was gone by then, so we were backed by the Americans and British by the Russians. I remember now! Also dated a blonde chick in the military. That short little thing… damn it what's her name?
"…Bernadette Le Tigre De La Rivière." Kasumi's mental pronunciation in French was more accurate than I could ever hope to match.
Right, thanks. What a fucking mouthful though, I always wanted to try a blonde sometime in my life, was not disappointed. It was also hella hard to raise her flags too, French Tiger was very against crossbreeding and experimenting, super proud of her lineage and stuff. I didn't even nail her for that long, she died during the battle. It saddened me for the time, tragic even. My encounters with blondes was a rare encounter in itself.
"She was killed via an extended Blade Motor cutting horizontally across the cockpit, the incision was made right over the abdomen region. However, her purple Rafale didn't explode afterwards and her body fell into the ocean."
…What a bloody shame, never forget, the only blonde I remember tapping. By the way, where were you during that fight, Kasumi? Sorry, my memories are kinda bad. It was almost outlandish how I didn't recall my precious Kasumi at one of the most critical wars during that time-era.
"I was with the 227th Experimental Tactical Armoured Battalion."
Hold up, I never heard of that from the French or US.
"I served with the 'Glavnoye Razvedyvatel'noye Upravleniye Generalnovo Shtaba'." She was absolutely, undeniably, intentionally speaking Russian to piss me off. And those long line of very complicated words made me blank out on any of the details.
"...Woah, now I'm really upset I missed all this fun! Why don't you say it properly for Takeru-chan so his dumb brain can understand, Kasumi-chan?" The quantum computer pulled a fast one on me by understanding more languages.
"I served with the SPETSNAZ GRU during the battle of Mann, we were part of the Royal Navy unit escorting the Vanguard class SSBNs Victorious and Vigilant. En route we were intercepted by the French Army's 13th Tactical Dragoon Regiment and the United States Army's 66th and 42nd Tactical Armoured Battalions, Hunter and Misfit; along with a detachment of unknown operators from USSOCOM's SFOD-D."
…Holy… shit, we… err… so like you were on the Russian side and we fought against each other, Kasumi? I'm really, actually sorry about that. I-I didn't know. I was again shown how the twists of fate were truly unpredictable even to this extent, how could anyone believe that Kasumi and I had once been adversaries fighting under two opposite banners.
"That is incorrect, Takeru-san. I was the one who killed Bernadette. You knew at the time I was there during the battle, we dueled over the ocean for hours before you breached my cockpit—"
-Okay…!? so Tiger was done in by you? See now I don't feel so bad anymore—
"-You breached my cockpit and proceeded to crush me in your TSF's hand."
…I think we should stop switching team mid-game, my dude.
—
Kasumi ran off the boat as eager steps printed her mark on the sandy beach of a deserted island. Looking toward the vast, beautiful ocean with gleeful eyes of a child, how long had it been since that petite rabbit last perceived so much blue in her life? I probably could never certainly grasp how arduous her torment was when she trailed behind me on my journey through the multiverse, same could be said for Sumika as well, was their torture even worse than mine?
Still, seeing her artificial rabbit ears twitch in genuine excitement relieved me of that anxious worry, just because it accommodated for the lack of emotion she showed on her face, Kasumi had every right to prove her own existence as much as everyone else.
"Oh, you're finally here? I've been waiting. How was the boat ride, Yashiro? Come over here." The Yuuko-sensei that greeted us in her purple bikini emphasized Kasumi's arrival more than the rest of us.
Another funny thing I noticed just then, that Russian loli was the reason we weren't sent to the exam site via human torpedoes shot by some not-nuclear submarines. Apparently, sensei had the decency to care for Kasumi's health so every time she tagged along for the CCSE we had a relaxing boat ferry us instead.
"Here you go, this's the mission stuff, take it to your friends. And this's your own backpack, don't lose it when you're out there, think of it as my sponsorship. Stay safe now." Hence, Kasumi came back to us with the bags of equipment and her own exclusive backpack. She gave the map and the utility belt for class rep to distribute to the rest of us.
"Orders received, ma'am."
"Well, do your best and try not to get killed."
"…Understood."
"If it gets really bad, use the radio in your bags. Of course, that means failing the exam. Or you could just get Shirogane to do everything, a safer method." There was no such thing as bad publicity, particularly when it was good publicity.
"How reliable, Takeru. We will be in your care if the worst come to past." Class rep lightly patted my shoulder, not like I wasn't willing to give them a hand.
"Alright, boys. I hate camping and I hate nature, but let's do this thing anyway."
"At least your attitude is passable. Here, your equipment."
"What's this piece of shit. You guys wanna go dumpster-diving with me next time? We can find something better."
"Want to swap with my belt kit?" The kind and generous Mikoto offered an exchange between the crappy belt and the shitty belt.
"Nah, it's fine. I will work with it."
"That's enough chit-chat. We'll now review your operational objectives… wait, Yashiro, where did you get that backpack?" Marimo-chan stopped her briefing when Kasumi got spotted with her hacks on.
"It's from Professor Kouzuki, she is my sponsor."
"Sponsor…? What does she even… hold on, I'll be right back." The Instructor jogged over and was quickly defeated by Yuuko-sensei's infinite wisdom.
"Okay. It's a lucky break for you cadets this time, Yashiro received a care package from the Professor and I'll allow it. Continuing on with the overview; during this operation, you had no choice but to…" And then I completely blanked out as Marimo-chan wouldn't shut up about how ridiculously impossible that scenario was.
"-That is all the information you have at the present time. Are there any questions?" My head fished nothing outta my imagination.
"Synchronize your watches. Fifty-seven, fifty-eight, fifteen-nine… —Operation Start!" Marimo-chan released us to be one with nature.
"Understood!" We got together to brainstorm some pro-strats.
"From the looks of it, we don't have the time to go one location at a time as a group."
"Let's split into three groups."
"How shall we divide this uneven lineup?" It was Meiya who first made a comment that differentiated from the script followed by Mikoto and Chizuru.
"Good team-comp is very important my dudes. Even though IRL has a high TTK so team-shot isn't too strong, we don't have any mini-map to help us. Also, can I just say this map is totally shit? It's like playing Summoner's Rift but instead of having three lanes and jungles on the inside you have three jungles with jungles on the inside."
"Takeru… more than fifty percent of your attempts at communication results in miscommunication." It was only because Meiya wasn't even ranked Gold.
"Whatever, I recommend the teams be me with Mikoto. Meiya, class rep with Tama and Sumika, Kasumi with Ayamine. Sounds good?"
"It doesn't look too bad, is there a reason you organized it like this?" It'd be mind-boggling for anyone to reject my proposal, but even more so if I let them reject it.
"I dunno, to be honest. We got eight dudes here, Mikoto's good at outdoor shit so I'll stick with her since I hate it. And then two pairs of you want to kill each other in their sleep so we should separate those ones, that's about it, really."
"Okay… anyone that opposes Takeru's suggestion?" It was with surgical precision that I pinpointed the best possible team-comp in the history of competitive gaming.
"Alright, I'll trust you two with the hardest objective since you're so confident. My team will take A-point and I'll leave C-point to you guys, Kagami."
"Kay-kay! Then I say we should meet back again there!" Sumika happily participated in the strategizing, pointing at the tallest hill on the island for our location of rendezvous.
"Good call, Kagami. Let's strive to be there by the third day. We need to leave as much time as possible to get to the evac."
"Agreed. With that done should we peek into Kasumi-chan's backpack?" At the recognition of Kasumi's secret stash, she demonstrated a fearful appearance and hugged her bag closely to her chest.
"But… this is my stuff, you can't have my stuff."
"Oh, geez what a selfish girl, Kasumi-chan! Stop being so cheap and share!"
"But I don't wanna share." The Russian esper who had theoretically killed hundreds of people was surprisingly childish, but not as childish as the theoretical extinction event who just ripped the bag away from her.
"Aaah… Sumika-san is a bad person."
"~Wooow! Check this out, everyone! Look at all this loot!" On that account, it was very much raining goodies.
Stashed away inside a rugged backpack was an array of survival necessities sensei stocked away for her favourite student. A tube of sunscreen, a pair of sunglasses, a flashlight, a lighter thing that was like a stick, a few bottles of water and a whole lotta snacks. If she had any more candy Kasumi could be seen as going on a school field trip instead.
"It's mine… please don't steal it."
"…An incredible stroke of good fortune or to compensate for the difficulty of this evaluation, that I do not know. However, the Professor has prepared this wide range of additional welfare to Yashiro's benefit, it is not our place to pillage her commodities."
"But even if you say that Yashiro's got two times the ration and water. It's enough to last her the entirety of the six days. She could afford to share at least half of the edibles in her backpack."
"But I don't really think Yashiro-san can last as long as we do on the same amount of food. Not to be mean or anything… Yashiro-san doesn't look too sturdy." Somehow, the advantage of having extra stuff was turning the situation sour.
"Yashiro-san, do you think you'll need all of this food and water?" Tama inched over to the fellow short loli and kindly asked for her opinion.
"I don't know… but I don't wanna eat snakes… or frogs… or carrots."
"…A hoarder then…"
"Ohmygod stop being so stringy, Kasumi-chan! Give us the sunscreen first, you can share that at least, right?" The privileged one swiftly nodded, squeezing a bit of the lubricant into everyone's palms.
"Nope, I don't want it. Miss me with that gay shit." Except I didn't accept her lube because no real man should be slimy.
"Sakaki, do you earnestly believe it is mandatory for us to loot Yashiro's necessities?"
"Well… she's not the only one who doesn't like eating snakes."
"I personally do not believe we require this abundant supply of rations if the evaluation goes according to plan, and in any case, the food must be more vital to Yashiro than the rest of us."
"But you know, Kasumi-chan's gotta get used to this sorta stuff eventually. Back when we were doing our thing together she also avoided all the physical training too." Meiya was covering for the little guy more than Sumika tried to, the 00 Unit could be scarily cold-hearted at random times for minimal reasons.
"Psst, psst, Kasumi. Over here, over here." I gestured for the troubled undercover Jew to sneak away from their heating argument.
"Yes, Takeru-san?"
"So listen, I see that you really hate doing this survival thing and I can understand your pain. How about this, gimme one bottle of water and bribe Ayamine with something too so you two can set off early. Ditch Sumika, she's a robot anyway, can't die in the jungle."
Virtually with feverish passion, Kasumi nodded. Immediately she willingly surrendered a plastic bottle of water to me and jogged merrily over to Ayamine, pulling the stoic girl's hand down to whisper secrecy into her ears. Not a while after the taller of the two gave a sly nod and together disappeared into the woods.
"Mikoto, Yoroi Mikoto. Let's go, on me." Following suit, I then slipped through the debating mob to yank Mikoto out of the fun by her collar and towed her away to our objective.
The jungle
"Buzz— buzz— be advised, I've spotted an active trip-mine to your ten O'clock, over."
"Buzz— buzz— roger, roger, will disarm, over."
"Buzz— buzz— good work, over."
"Buzz— buzz— roger that, continuing, over."
"Buzz— buzz— I'm getting bored now, let's end this, over."
"Buzz— buzz— but how do we do that, Takeru? Over."
"Buzz— buzz— you have to say 'out', over."
"Buzz— buzz— out, over- oh-wait—"
"-Buzz— buzz— over, out."
"Is this really how radio commutation used to work? It's really a bit annoying." Annoying was right, thankfully surface fighter pilots were no longer required to talk like doofuses.
Traversing this thick forest had its ways of draining the fun out of all aspects of hiking, and it became especially apparent for me since I literally never went on a single hike in my entire life.
As for our progress, there really wasn't much tension of failing. At least personally for me, the geographic layout of that island was printed well in my head, maybe only behind my map knowledge of Dust II.
"Takeru, Takeru. How're you finding all these traps so easily!?"
"I mean, do you not see them too?"
"Well, Yes I do but it's usually after you point them out first."
"That's cuz I'm taller than you womanlet, it ain't got that complication involved, B."
"~Hahaha! Takeru does talk funnily, just like the others said." There was no cure for her autism yet from modern medical science.
"You not understanding my scripture is a serious insult to my holy status, and being insulted makes me hella thirsty, hold up."
"Takeru, you're drinking too much water already! We won't know when we're gonna find another water source, you should conserve more of the water!"
"You shut up, don't try to limit my H2O intake, that's how kids in Africa die by the buckets. Speaking of not dying… check it. Right over there, by that cavern. You see it? Behind that tree to your left." Fortunately, our aimless ramble had somehow led us right in front of the target. It had to be some kind of miracle that we stumbled upon this location by pure luck.
"Huh? Where?"
"Look to your left, no, the other left… and a bit higher…"
"Oh, yeah, Takeru. I can see it now!" She excitingly peeked over a tall bush that was blocking her sightline and gained the opportunity to view the world from the same angle as I did.
"Damn son it's hella late already, let's just settle down for tonight. We'll hit this thing tomorrow and do whatever then."
"Alright, I'll set up a fire for us." Mikoto was a pretty agreeable guy, she had a way of going about doing stuff that was agreeable.
Fucking camping… goddamnit sleeping outside like some barbarian… bitch fuck…
"…This shit won't even be useful, fuckin' implying I'd be shot down, ever…"
"Ahh… aha-haha, does that mean you're not a big fan of the evaluation, Takeru?" Awkwardly, Mikoto dryly laughed off my cursing when it drifted into her earshot. In a sense, I was as mentally retarded as everyone else with how often I talk outwardly by accident.
"Just- don't worry about it, drink some water and get to bed, let's not waste time."
—
"Takeru, Takeru, are you asleep?"
"Yes."
"Oh okay then, so are you still angry that we have to go through the exam?" This woman wouldn't pick up a hint if it rocket-punched her right in the kisser.
"Listen, I don't like the outside, okay? That's not a joke- I used to live luxuriously, in many places too. It bothers me to hang around and jerk off all day to basic training." Whenever Mikoto and I were alone, her calming aura and chilled personality had that magical effect of loosening my tongue, and not in a weird way.
"But you gave up the draft exempt and joined the army, right? I think that's really brave of you."
"Yep, that's a fact. I could've lived a peaceful life… but then this whole BETA shit happened. After that, I could've lived a comfy life… but it cost me too much, there were some things I couldn't let go…" My blind blathering went too far too soon it became undecipherable despite coming from my mouth.
"Takeru, that sounds pretty tough. But I'm happy… that you're here, that you can be with us."
"…Yeah? Same, same."
November 167 2001. CCSE Day 2
One would think a six-day CCSE on an abandoned island should be stack full of gruelling endeavours one after another, where we'd exchange our blood and sweat for the highest score possible. To be fair, what happened the first time I experienced the evaluation was just that, but the same as playing one game repeatedly on a flight without internet, burning out from the sheer boredom of it all wasn't too uncommon.
"Looks clear, Takeru. You seeing anymore?"
"I listen to the earth, the forest, the dirt… and they reply to me… 'leaveeeeee~ thereeeee issss nothinggggg forrr youuuu hereeeeee~!'."
"If the escape path is clear, should we do some more recon of the area before approaching? You said you want to infiltrate at night, right?"
"Did you know the tallest breed of trees is the Sequoia sempervirens? It's true, commonly called coastal redwood, they are an evergreen monoecious species of trees that live from twelve hundred to eighteen hundred years. In fact, the current tallest tree in the world is one of them measuring up a hundred fifty-five metres in the Redwood National Park, California."
"If we only had some kind of binoculars we can see clearly into the hangar and know what we should grab. We also don't have a viable way of destroying the entire place unless there's something there we can use."
"I think my single favourite artist of all time is Bob Ross, the guy that hosted 'The Joy of Painting'. Best tv marathon I ever watched, what a nice and peaceful man. He even served in the US Air Force, fortunately for the universe he didn't die or anything before becoming a painter."
"I'm a bit thirsty, just give me a minute." Mikoto savoured some water from her own canteen.
"…It was once said that—"
"-Oh, Takeru, look! A pond turtle! I wonder if it'll taste good."
Fuck it, I can't compete against this, I just can't. This bitch's oblivion is way too strong to ever think around trumping. This's like a dick measuring contest except we're measuring how inwardly grown it is.
"I'm heading back to take a nap now, call me when night falls."
"Alright, sure. I think I'll roam around a bit more and look for any leftover traps. You know which way the camp is at? Getting lost in this jungle would be the last thing we want!"
Please, I fuckin' love you girl, but Mikoto just shut the fuck up you dumb insensible little shit.
"Yeah, don't worry man. I'll be fine. Wake me when you need me, so don't wake me."
—
"Takeru, psst…! Wake up Takeru!"
"…Hmm, yeah, boy. What you need?" I never slept well under daylight, it was a bit too bright.
"It's eleven O'clock already, do you think we should go?" Or it was just Mikoto's makeshift torch that she held right over my face.
"Uh-huh, clean this shit up and get ready." I watched Mikoto carefully pile leaves and dirt onto campfire, extinguishing it before scrambling the branches and ashes.
An exciting and intense twenty minutes walk ensued.
"Area looks clear, let's take a look around for anything useful."
"Alright, cool." So I waited while Mikoto was running around poking at anything and everything with her curiosity, the massive downtime obviously hastened my metabolism and caused severe dehydration to plague my body.
Man, am I thirsty… indeed, I am very thirsty, why thank you.
"Takeruuu~! Come over here!" I was in the middle of quenching my thirst when Mikoto pulled my attention.
"Yo, you seeing some good shit?"
"Look, Takeru. There's a Humvee here! But its engine block is gone though, let's grab that tarp on top instead."
"Solid ideas, using your brain that much must have made you thirsty too. Here, drink water, it's good for you." I thrust my canteen into Mikoto's stupid open mouth and force-fed her a couple gulps of water, her initial resistance quickly died down and she slurped away with joy. I shouldn't be surprised at her willingness to share an indirect kiss, but its casualness did create a marginal sense of insecurity.
"Okay, thanks Takeru."
"…Anyway, what else are we looking at here?"
"Not much, actually. There's electricity running here but… ah, wait! There's gasoline in those drums, we can use it to rig the entire place up as a gasoline bomb!"
"Now we're thinking with portals, let's set that up. But first, give me your canteen." A bit confused, Mikoto nevertheless handed over her water bottle, I was steady in pouring the remaining liquid from my container to hers as her puzzlement only grew in size.
"I'mma fetch some fuel before you spread them all, yeah?"
"Ahh… I guess, since yours is empty now we can use it." Most agreeable kid.
—
"~I wanna celebrate to live my life~! Saying anal, ~gotta let's go~! I throw my hands up in the air sometimes~! Singing A-hole, ~baby let go~!"
"Takeru… you're being really loud…!"
"~Cuz we gon' rock this club, ~cuz we gon' go all night, ~cuz we gon' light it up, ~like it's dynamite~! …Like it's d—" Literally the definition of garbage timing, Similar to how the only time I ever got a porn popup on my screen was when my parents were looking.
"Likeitsdynamite~!" The night sky was riddled by sparkles of the brilliant fire, seeing it amidst the darkness really was an altogether different experience.
"Woah! That wasn't too bad at all since we improvised the explosive!"
"Pretty good stuff, my dude. Let's go now, if we had imaginary enemies around they be woke as hell."
Carrying swiftness and speed in our every step, we retreated from the objective area as stealthily and quickly as possible. A while afterwards, I had the pleasant chance to be reunited with the first foe that stood in the way of my grand plan, the first trial I must overcome in order to fully emerge as a man.
"~Hello darkness, my old friend~… I've come to talk with you again~"
"Ah! Be careful Takeru! That snake is venomous, get bitten and you'll be in a lot of trouble."
"But I bet you didn't know I enjoy trouble the most! Get over here, you gay little shit!"
Kagami Sumika
November 18, 2001. CCSE Day 3
The Jungle
"~What a thrill… ~with darkness and silence through the night…"
The snake crept, serpentining over the mud. The predator that always sat near the top on the food chain was unaware of when it had become the prey.
"~What a thrill… ~I'm searching and I'll melt into you… ~What a- fear in my heart, ~but you're so supreme~…!"
"Just a bit more… c'mon…"
"~I give my life! ~Not for honor, but for you~! …In my time, there'll be no~ one~ elseeee~! Crime…~! It's the way~ I fly~ to you~!"
"Just… sit still… dinner…"
"I'm still~… ~in a dream~! ~Snake Eater~…!"
"…Score. Hisssssss— to you too."
—
"You see, Ayamine-san. It's important to properly skin its leather and clean out its insides before trying to cook it, curry powder just makes your mouth numb, doesn't solve the real problem."
Sumika was dedicated to showing off her expertise at preparing cuisine even when she faced the most basic ingredient. Kei kneeled closely beside her, watching her every move as she severed the snake's head and sliced a clean cut down its stomach to peel away the skin and scoop out its intestines.
"Huh… we weren't taught that." Sumika had skewered the snake onto a sharp branch and left it on the campfire to cook.
"I had more advanced survival training before coming here, you could say that I'm… pretty good."
"Pretty… good. Let's eat." Thus, the two young soldiers tore apart the paper wrapping of the energy bars and happily chomped them down.
"…My food, I hate you, Sumika-san." Sumika's feeling of guilt was easily overwhelmed by her satisfied belly, tuning herself to remove hunger wasn't a difficult adjustment, but also unnecessary when she had a surplus of nourishment to spare, for herself.
"…The snake stares at you, Yashiro… your dinner is served."
"Ayamine-san… traitor, you betrayed me. I'll never forgive you."
"Et me, Brute."
Kasumi's stare of death didn't seem to intimidate Kei all that much judging by how wily she was eating the former girl's provisions, the provisions which she offered to share in exchange for a safe escort away from Sumika, but when the vengeful 00 Unit caught up the cunning Kei had no issues switching sides.
"C'mon, Kasumi-chan. We all went through worse."
Like that time when we were stranded on the great salt-plain of Canada and ran into the cannibals, and Takeru-chan saved the last piece of canned food for you? Remember what he had to eat? Should I keep going?
Just because she didn't visually express herself didn't mean Sumika couldn't notice the disgust and cringe rising in Kasumi's chest, behind the two espers and their saviour was years nobody desired to recall in the slightest. The horrible days when they chased the carrot dubbed as hope on a stick held by destiny.
"You're right, let's not talk about it." Kasumi solemnly cast her gaze downwards, picked up the snake and ate in silence.
"…Good girl… good girl."
—
Would Sumika count her trek across the jungle as tedious? Sure. However, she couldn't say it was a strenuous slog with a straight face. After all, whether or not they fit the description, her and the time travelling bunch were still cadets according to the military ranks. That gave them the right to take things easy for the time being, knowing that time wouldn't last forever.
"So Kasumi, how did the snake taste?"
"…Taste like sadness."
"You'll be happy once you get used to that, fight fire with fire."
Around late afternoon of the third day was when Sumika's team made it to the rendezvous, there Takeru's Element had already set up camp and was preparing some less than desirable meals containing mostly of leaves and mushrooms. Kasumi was slowly rotting away from the dreadful nature of being forced to eat wild grass for survival, and Sumika herself wasn't too thrilled either.
They passed the night in short chats, waiting for Chizuru's group to arrive.
November 19, 2001. CCSE Day 4
At the break of dawn echoes of wobbly footsteps rushing and staggering through the thick woods caught the attention of the campers, Takeru was the first to take charge and explore the unknown lands with Sumika following close after. Although in the end, their cautious exploit resulted in a fairly lacklustre discovery of Chizuru's team.
"A bit late, boys, a bit late. How's it goes?"
"Not much, Mitsurugi got hit in the face by a branch. Apparently, her eye isn't working too well." Hearing about Meiya's accident, Sumika was struck by a wave of remorse. The blame was hers for their duel the week before, she didn't think her wound would take so long to heal.
"Is that a slander towards me, Sakaki?"
"Don't misunderstand, I'm only telling the truth."
"Alright forget about that, what we got, kids? Show off your Christmas presents." Taking her cue, Sumika proudly hauled the Barrett she and her crew found from their objective.
"Look! We found an M95, although it only got a single round. And this map very conveniently marking the location of the evac!"
"Damn that is convenient. My people got this tarp, I dunno it's pretty flat, I guess. Oh, also some gas, in case you wanna immolate some dude, I'm all for it." The general census was to shake heads at Takeru and ignore him.
"We found a grappling rope, could come in handy soon."
"Great, good hustle overall, my dudes. Let's get moving then."
—
"I see a cliff up ahead! There's a river below." In time, the collected Squadron had progressed to a cliffside that was cut through by running water over the period of countless years.
"Going around this would be a waste of time. Ayamine, tie this rope to the other side."
"Aye."
In the time it took Kei to climb down the valley, hop over the river and scale another cliff the weather had turned for the worse, dumping buckets and buckets of rainwater down rinsing the soldiers wet.
Takeru-chan… you know how you used to avoid the rain by being smart? What happened to that?
"You happened, you stupid shit, now shut up. We'll go by the OG plan."
—
Takeru-chan, they're doing the rope vs gun battle again.
"Good for them, it's always a fun fight." Takeru wasn't at all concerned for the argument pestering the rest of his teammates as he kneeled over by Kasumi, both of them studying the ground to draw letters and numbers.
"Look, no you're not drawing it right, Kasumi. It's ABCDEFGHIJKLM on the top and the rest on the bottom, under that is 1 to 0 and GOOD BYE. You know what, find me a piece of fancy-looking rock and let me do this." Kasumi nodded and left, only to return not a minute later holding a smooth piece of stone in her hands.
"Are you really making an Ouija board in the mud? It's not gonna last long, I mean- it's raining right now, Takeru-chan!" Again, Takeru did not even raise his head to speak to Sumika.
"You're hella annoying woman, c'mon it'll be fun, have you ever used an Ouija board? I don't think so."
"Emm, guess that true. So what're we doing?" No one ever claimed Sumika was interested in her squad's debate either.
"Kasumi, give me the rock… and now we just have to summon a ghost to talk to, watch this sick chant."
"I know the chant too, let me help you." Sumika wasn't sure if she should shake her head at their silliness or laugh and play along to Takeru's games.
"~Eekum Bokum Eekum Bokum Boodagabo Boodagabo! Eekum Bokum Eekum Bokum Eekum Bokum dududa!"
As Takeru and Kasumi waved their arms around frantically and probably mocking an entire culture of people for his joke, the rest of his friends had caught onto the eccentric performance and gathered by the trio to watch in bewilderment.
"…I can't even use words to describe what they're doing right now."
"Likewise, a most peculiar activity indeed."
"Is Takeru trying to summon a spirit or something? I never saw a ritual like this before!"
"…They lost it."
"…All of you, shut up! I finally got a friendly ghost and now I'll ask it one single question! Listen to me, ghost! When will this rain stop!?"
"Ooooooooh, tell us, Ghost-san. Oooooooooh." So far in her life, that was the most unenthusiastic 'ooh' Sumika ever heard.
When the stone laying on top of the deteriorating board made no effort to slide in any direction, Takeru very casually pushed that rock from the centre to the number two with his left hand, leaving behind a drag mark and destroying half of the board.
"And the spirit says two! Twooooooo~!"
"Thank you, Ghost-san. Goodbye." They stopped chanting, and then it was over.
"Alright boys, let's wait for the rain to stop in two hours, and another two for the water to go down. Now someone set up that tarp for shelter."
"What- excuse me, what? Do you honestly expect me to believe that you communicated with a spirit and it told you when the rain will stop?! You're making a mockery of all of us, Takeru!" Red-faced and angry, Chizuru shouted harshly at Takeru for his… whatever it was he did.
"Hahaha~! JK, actually the weather should clear up in two. If it doesn't I'll give you one million dollars, wait- sorry, I mean ~one ~million ~dollars." The second time, Takeru put this pinkie to mouth and spoke in English.
"Guess we might as well hang out for four hours then, not like it's a major time lost, right, Sakaki-san? This kinda rain is a quick shower, should let up pretty soon. Besides, if Takeru-chan turns out to be a big idiot instead we can make the decision then, also you can get ~one million dollars." Sumika was there to support Takeru when it counted, so naturally very rarely did she concur to his suggestions.
"…Haa… you people are such weirdos all around… whatever, Squadron! We'll take four hours break here!"
Following that, the events of the future lined up with Takeru's prophecy down to a tee.
November 20, 2001. CCSE Day 5
"It's time… to fuckin' kill myself, girls. Literally favourite part of the CCSE."
Have a safe trip, Takeru-chan! We'll throw some sand at you if it gets too close!
"Don't trip on your shoelaces, Takeru-san."
The proceeding scene of Takeru waving his flare to signal for the evac helo, followed by him coming under fire from the auto turret and retreating back behind the rock formations involved no sand throwing or tripping on shoelaces.
"Holy fucking shit…! I joked about this being too easy but fucking trying to blast me into outer space!? Going too far, too far, Professor!"
"Ah geez! What a mess that was, you're not hurt anywhere are you?" Sumika gave Takeru a fast check for any injuries he wasn't aware of under the influence of adrenaline that came with being shot at by a sea of explosive rounds.
"—Howdy. You guys still alive over there?" A bit after everyone commented on the unfortunate but foreseeable turn of events, Kouzuki radioed the Squadron to inform them of an update she pretended to be improvised.
"…Well, you all heard her. The new Evac point will be right behind the gun battery."
"Sensei really pulled a fast one on us. Still, this is her style, doesn't make her less of a bitch, but expected."
"I think so too, this feels exactly like something the Professor would do." Miki agreed easily.
"However, while the Professor trolled us like mad, I got some positive news here. I saw a rib boat back there when I was waving the flares earlier, looks intact and lucky for us we have some fuel."
"Wait… does that mean we can go straight to the evac?"
"Not so fast, Tamase. We go onto the sea we'll be ripped to shreds by that gun battery, we have to destroy it first." The team pondered for a good long period without an answer, it wasn't until Takeru pointed out the strange white ball thingy that they realized what the radome was for.
"Huh? Yeah, there's a… radome over there… Ayamine-san, give me the rifle! I'll check it out with the scope!" After another short discussion on how to utilize the new information, the squad decided it'd be the wisest to fire on the radome and hope for the best.
"Alright, I'm gonna shoot it. Please stand clear!"
Miki laid prone on the ground, gradually unfolding the bipod of her sniper rifle and fixing her posture to accommodate on the rocky surface. She accurately adjusted the knobs and dials on the scope to perfectly zero out her shot, as any proficient sniper should be capable of.
"…Like her hands, she reaches out, and she touches her mark… a gentle tap. The bullet touches its mark just as she intended, should only need one shot." Inexplicably, Kasumi murmured a lucid notion to herself that was loud enough for Sumika to notice.
Kasumi-chan? Whacha talking about?
"It's nothing… I admire Miki-san's skill, she is truly one of the best snipers of our time. She's the reason I stopped extreme range shooting and practiced more marksmanship on moving targets." Sumika reflected on her best friend's reveal, but said nothing more.
"The struggle, Kasumi. I remember I was once on the receiving end of Tama's bullets, 0/10, would not recommend."
"Target destroyed!" Miki's announcement of success interrupted the time-traveller's undisclosed conversation.
"Let's test it right away… Kei-san, Meiya-san, give me a hand!" Mikoto called for Meiya and Kei to accompany her as they went to check on the status of the turret, soon afterwards she returned to confirm the deactivation of their number one threat.
"Alright, now all there is left is to cross the ocean and we will be done. Let's get ready and go."
"Hold your horses, boys. I say we wait for nightfall, that way if there're baddies in the ocean we'd be a bit more discreet instead of crossing under bright daylight.
"…Good point, Takeru. We'll set off after dark, everyone!"
—
"Not gonna lie, I was worried Sumika's fat ass would sink us the second we got on."
"Hey! Only fat people call others fat! You're the fatty here! Stop being such a fatty, you big overweight obese person!" A strong rebuttal, if Sumika did say so herself.
"Enough already! Keep it down and keep a watch out, Ayamine almost made it to the top." Kei had always been the nimblest of them all, even Sumika had trouble competing against her in tightrope walking or obstacle courses. This time was no different either, a couple of leaps and climbs was all it took for her to reach the top of a twenty-metre cliff.
One by one, each member of Squadron 207 all scaled the craggy ledge and pulled themselves to the top. Even Kasumi who had the hardest time climbing anything didn't waste too long pulling herself up the rope, Sumika was honestly pretty impressed by how closely she kept up with her teammates in terms of stamina.
At the finish line, there greeted them was Instructor Jinguuji and a CH-46 Sea Knight under a giant piece of camouflage sheet with its blades folded in.
"Evaluation complete! Squad 207B, form up!" Following order, the Company fell in line.
"This Comprehensive Combat Skill Evaluation is hereby complete. You've all done well. I will now inform you of the result." The team carried an anxious mood with them, while the future seers were just relaxing and waiting for the clock to tick on.
"Your choice of routes, means of destroying enemy facilities, capture and use of their tools, and total time elapsed… all exceeded my expectations. Also, you neutralized the greatest threat in this exercise, the gun battery in such a short time which also exceeded my expectations." So far so good, Sumika smiled boastfully at their accomplishments.
"However, since my expectations were for you to exceed my expectations, you have only reached my expectations. Furthermore, seeing as you only reached my expectations when I expected you to exceed them, all of you have failed to meet my expectations."
If discomfort could have a value applied to it, the number would be strictly immeasurable during that second of that day. The whole team knew Sergeant Jinguuji was only joking, they must know, but for such an out-of-place gag at such a critical moment no one could envision a proper reaction that would smooth out the transition of continuing their assessment.
"Aaaah… pardon me, Instructor?"
"…That was Professor Kouzuki's message to you. As for me, I want to congratulate you all for successfully passing the CCSE with one of the highest scores ever recorded. Truly a feat to marvel at, Squad 207. As your drill Sergeant, I can admit I stand as a proud teacher here."
Everyone wonderfully paraded traits of delight at hearing the final verdict of the exam. It was a rare occasion where tears of joy inconspicuously leaked down the faces of Sumika's teammates, they had every right to celebrate that glorious victory, for the next opportunity would be still far away.
Well, that wasn't too bad, was it Takeru-chan?
"If I was trying to beat my personal best speedrun record of 'Life', I'd reset after missing the frame-perfect trick of not being the Causality Conductor. But as a marathon, this run is alright even if it isn't on WR pace."
…That might be the most convoluted way of saying good job I've ever heard.
Shirogane Takeru
November 21, 2001. CCSE over
Southern island beach
"Look at this, all this, Shirogane. Feast your eyes upon the miracle that is sexualized female figures swimming in bikinis, how could you not want to join them?" Sipping her probably criminally expensive wine as she taunted me, Yuuko-sensei laid back on her beach chair tanning herself under the sun.
"You know, sometimes a man just gotta think, just gotta reflect on his life decisions. That's what's happening right now."
"And your conclusion is?" Sensei apparently wasn't aware of how contemplating life only cause it to complicate further.
"I dunno… I see these girls playing in the sea, so happy and stuff and it's— it looks like there's nothing wrong with the world, but that's not true, we all know it. Just because I'm used to this place doesn't mean I don't miss my old one, that's all." Rarely I still dreamed of days on that peaceful planet, although it got easier to tell the difference every time I looked back.
"Say, just as a hypothesis. If you had the choice to go back to your original world, would you do it?" A layer of irony shrouded the theory sensei asked me.
"…Man, this takes me back. It's kinda like the red pill blue pill scene in The Matrix, except I had to spit out the blue pill and take the red one instead. I dealt with a bunch of hesitation when it first—"
"-Takeru! On what ground have you warranted the right to sulk after your heroic victory!?" My profound and downhearted speech was painstakingly ruined by an intruding Meiya who realized my absence.
"Hold on, I'm just talking to the Professor about—"
"-Ah~! There's a Takeru-chan not swimming in the ocean!? ~Naaaaniii!? Is Takeru-chan like- stoopid or something!?" Why couldn't Sumika express herself without behaving in the cringiest manner possible?
I'll seriously, legitimately fucking murder you, woman. And then I'll feel bad about it cuz I actually did it not as a joke.
"Takeru-san, your thoughts misalign with your decree, please fix this fallacy immediately." Kasumi was in queue to mess with me next.
"…You know what, you're right. I should just kill Sumika once and for all, and the rest of you can go with." For my design to become reality, I must first get off the sandy beach and venture into the sea.
"Shirogane… for what it's worth, I think you chose wisely." Yuuko-sensei didn't approve of my decision with her usual light-hearted sarcasm, it was a weird tone to hear from her.
"You know what, I think so too."
—
"-Huh? Is Takeru coming to play to with— wait- where's he going…?"
"Is Takeru-san going back to our boat? Did he forget his swimsuit?"
"…Hold up… that thing got a water cannon on the front…"
"…There's no way Takeru would do something like that, right? That boat was converted from a fireboat, its deluge gun can shoot up to a hundred metres vertical!"
"Yeah, he's probably trying to scare us or something… it could be lethal if somebody got hit by the stream."
"…Except he's doing it…"
"…You can't be serious- GO! Go, run for cover!"
[Mission failed, we'll get'em next time]
—
Updated on 09/28/2017
Author's note
I actually don't know how many BETA were used during the XM3 trials, and I doubt there's a solid number out there but if there is you can come and laugh at me for not researching.
Another thing about the italics, when Takeru sings it isn't in that because he sings badly, but Sumika can probably sing better in English or other languages so she gets the italic treatment. BTW, as you seen whoever has the PoV of a section of the story their thoughts are in Italic only without "", so there's that.
Thanks for wasting time here, let me know if there's stuff you want me to know.
BETA done by chad001
Test: 🅱💯