Time pasted slowly the next two days. Confined to his quarters, John was forced to recover. Although his physical injuries had passed after Yoshika had a chance to heal him, John needed rest. The over exertion upon his body was beginning to take a heavy toll. Johns magic energy could only help circulate excess amounts of energy throughout his body while still keeping the shards of metal away from his vital organs. With his body being used so often John could barely move his legs, even with the stored energy of the magic battery. The past few hours were desperately needed if he were to confront any threat in the near future.
John sat in Shirley's room, as he had lost his right to be in Sanya's room, bouncing a ball off the wall and catching it in his hand only to throw it once again. Although John's rest was desperately needed, it was not his own decision to stay inside for so long. It was by Yoshika's request that he was to receive bed rest for a large amount of time, if he wanted it or not.
John was sitting upon Shirley's bed as he played with the ball, a dull look on his face that showed how little enjoyment he obtained through the constant throwing. Shirley lay across from him, tinkering with an engine starter she had removed from one of the jeeps. She was surrounded by screwdrivers and rusty bolts, a clear indication that she had been working for a large sum of time. She had also been confined to her room for recovery. The two of them were the last people who would be expected to sit by for a few days, but it was by Yoshika's request, so they did as they were asked. They knew the young pilot was only looking out for them and she probably knew what was best for them. Given the choice John and Shirley would be out on the hunt for the General, who still had not revealed himself. The silence from their enemy had been putting them on edge from both fronts. John had normally expected a head on attack from the Hounds like every other attack that had come before but, for some reason, nothing was happening. It was a calm before the storm that was terrifying him. On the war front there was also silence, for the past few days the Neuroi haven't attempted an attack. This put the entire base on high alert. Something was a miss but no one could put their finger on what was really going on.
John bounced the ball off the ground and it hit the wall with another loud noise. Putting his hand up to receive it on the way around John waited for the ball, but it never reached his hand. Breaking his stare from the wall and taking in what was going on around him John saw a hand had reached out and quickly grabbed the ball before it reached him. John turned around to see Shirley was holding it.
"You have been bouncing this thing for more than an hour. It's really annoying" she said tossing it to the side.
"Sorry. I have been a little out of it lately. I hadn't even noticed I had been doing it for so long." He said dropping back onto the bed.
"*sigh* you're doing as bad as I am, aren't you" Shirley said dropping to his side on the bed as well.
"I think I have had enough rest, I need to stretch my legs for a little bit." John said.
"Yeah, I haven't even gone for a walk since the incident, we need to get off base for a little bit." Shirley said.
"Do you think the commander will allow that after what just happened?" John questioned reminding her of the dangers still present.
"Maybe, but there is a restaurant only a stones throw away, we can take Barkhorn along with us. Ya know. Safety in numbers." Shirley said hopping up from the bed. She feels her legs and sees that they are still perfectly fine, in her mind she still remembers the pain. Her legs would have taken months to heal but her friend helped her in a day. It will be helpful for her to get out on them and move.
"Besides, you still owe me that date, right?" Shirley winked to the boy as she opened the door. John quickly gave chase as she headed to speak with commander Minna.
They arrived at the commanders office to see she was finishing some paper work and looked as though she was very bored.
"Commander Minna! Captain Yeager and Officer Walker requesting a short period off base to have a meal and stretch our legs." Shirley said formally to her superior officer. Although Shirley was not one to follow protocol, she did really want this request granted so she thought playing by the rules would make it easier.
"Is that such a good idea. You and John just got back from being kidnapped and almost killed, now you want to go back out there?" Minna questioned, attempting to find any good reason why she should allow them to leave.
"We will only be a short distance in a very popular area, the amount of people will ward off any attackers trying to kidnap one of us once again. We were also going to request that Captain Barkhorn come along as well... For protection." Shirley said. John looks over at Shirley in surprise that she had planned this out so well. He turned to Minna to see she was not as impressed.
"And why the sudden urge to leave base, is Yoshika's cooking not good enough for you" Minna questioned, John thought it a bit harsh but Shirley quickly replied.
"Simply put... Walker promised me a date but still owes me. It's hard to be on a date when the only place to eat here is a formal table for all twelve of us." Shirley said out right. John was embarrassed on the spot as Minna chuckled.
"Is that so. What do you have to say about that John" Minna asked.
"Uh... Yes, it's true. I still owe Captain Yeager a date" John replied.
"Well... I guess that is a good enough reason, given you will abide by everything you have told me. I'll give you a pass, but return before dark." Minna said as Barkhorn walked into the room with some paper's for the commander.
"Ah. Barkhorn. Right on time" Minna said as the girl put the files down on the desk.
"On time for what" she said looking at the two standing before the commander.
"Put on something nice captain" John said.
"You are coming with us to grab a bite to eat" Shirley finished.
"What!" Barkhorn responded
"I can't believe you talked the commander into letting you do this" Barkhorn complained from the back seat of the jeep. The car road smoothly into town as sunlight reflected off John and Shirley's sunglasses. John turned in his seat to better speak to the girl, Barkhorn could see herself in the reflection of the glasses. It was strange not seeing Johns eyes or eyebrows to express his emotion as he spoke.
"Hey, Shirley talked her into letting 'us' do this you mean" John corrected the girl, the two laughed but Barkhorn was not amused.
"Very funny. Shouldn't you two be getting rest? You have been through a lot, haven't you?" Barkhorn questioned.
"Come on Barkhorn, I think after two days we have our batteries charged." Shirley said.
"Yeah. I was going a bit stir crazy. It's nice to get some fresh air." John replied.
"*sigh* I guess there is no stopping this trip. So where are we going" Barkhorn asked.
"There is a nice place Lynnette showed me when we went on a supply run. They make Romagnan dishes. It's great." Shirley said.
"Sounds amazing. I haven't had Romagnan in such a long time. It's been military rations until I came to this base." John said putting his arm up on the chair and looking around at the beautiful buildings they were driving by.
"I never get a chance to enjoy the scenery. Every time I'm out here someone is in trouble." John said as they passed by a fountain. John smiles as he takes time to appreciate the little details around him.
"*sigh* you get so distracted. Aren't you the one who is supposed to be taking Shirley out on a... Date" Barkhorn asked, her cheeks turn a bit red as she thinks how embarrassing it is she has to tag along on this event.
"Yeah, what's the problem?" John asked.
"Well... Aren't dates supposed to be planed by the one asking the person out... And be only the two people and not their... Bodyguard?" Barkhorn asked.
"What, you don't want to have a romantic time with us Barkhorn?" Shirley joked.
"That is the last thing I would possible want" she said bluntly. John thought back to the other night when Barkhorn stole a kiss from him as she said that. He didn't plan on bringing that back up any time soon but he couldn't help from smiling at the girl as she said this.
"What are you smiling about?!" Barkhorn snapped John out of his mind.
"Oh... Just that you think I could plan a date. I'm not really good at this kind of stuff. I'm glad Shirley took control of this, Sanya and I never even went on a date." John said.
"Yeah? Why didn't it work out between you two?" Shirley asked.
"Well we weren't really that much together. Sure we kind of fooled around but it wasn't anything serious... Do you think she is alright with me going back out with you so soon." John asked.
"I saw her the other day" Barkhorn interrupted. "She seems to have gotten over you. Eila helped her, she shouldn't be that mad." Barkhorn said.
"I just hope we can still be friends." John said.
"Don't worry. She's a nice girl, I don't see her as one to hold a grudge." Shirley said.
"Lets... Change the subject." John said not wanting to dwell on his misfortunes.
"Alright. Barkhorn, what would you do if two guys ran in the middle of our diner and grabbed John and I? Who would you go after as your first reaction?" Shirley asked trying to make some lighthearted conversation with their tagalong protector. John disliked the choice of conversation because he had a feeling he knew what her answers would be, he just didn't know what she would say to explain herself.
"What kind of stupid situation would that be. I'm not answering something like that." Barkhorn said to johns relief.
"Alright, you don't have to be so grumpy. You'll loosen up as the night goes on" Shirley laughed.
"What about you John? Same question but with Barkhorn instead of you. Who do you go after?" Shirley asked. John looked back at Barkhorn to see she was biting her bottom lip as she waited for him to answer. It was quickly replaced when he looked for too long but he knew there was something more to Barkhorn he hadn't realized before.
"I would have to make a choice of strategy. Barkhorn could probably break any attacker with her hand tied behind her back so I would go after Shirley." John said.
"Ha ha. I knew you would make the right choice." Shirley laughed as they pulled up to their destination.
"Here we are. Lets go grab a table" Shirley said.
Diner progressed nicely as the three had conversations about their striker units over wine and spoke of the war effort to break the ice. They sat outside below a umbrella, surrounded by others enjoying their diner. John and Shirley tried to keep their flirtatious comments out of their conversation seeing as Barkhorn was sitting right there. At some points Johns hand would run over to Shirley's thigh and she would take it in her hand. Other times Shirley's leg would move towards his. They were enjoying having to keep their antics hidden more than if they were on a date alone. As their diner arrived the conversation moved towards John.
"You never did finish telling me that story about when you ran with hound and were trapped in the building in New York. What happened?" Shirley asked.
"Yeah. Minna was asking about this one the other day. I tied the rope down and jumped from the building. Just kind of kicked off the wall and let myself down, mix that with the fear of falling and getting shot at and you have a crazy story, but I don't feel like telling that one in detail over diner." John said
"Speaking of you telling stories to the commander, Commander Minna has really loosened up around you John. She normally dislikes boys, yet you have come far with her" Shirley said.
"Yeah, she has been helping me get through this Hound stuff. It's been kind of hard but I guess that forms some bonds." John said.
"The Hounds are the reason you built that new striker? I can't make heads or tails of that thing" Barkhorn said.
"Yeah. I'm even confused about that and I helped you build it." Shirley added.
"It's just a last resort in case things go to far... And things have been known to go way to far." John said.
"*sigh* I don't want to think about that. The Hounds have been hunting you non stop. Tonight you can rest easy." Shirley said.
"Thanks. I feel safe with you two" John smiled
"So... We all know what I did before I came here... What did you two do?" John asked moving the conversation around.
"I really just trained for the Karlsland Air Force. I started at a young age so that was most of my recent life before now." Barkhorn said.
"I was a racer. I had broken some speed records and done some big races. One thing led to another and here I am with the witches." Shirley said.
"What was it like when you joined... I kind of had a good response from the team." John asked.
"Well my rank kind of made it so my joining would be welcomed, some of us didn't get such a warm welcome though. It took Yoshika some time to get to know everyone." Shirley said.
"Ha. She seems so likable, I'm surprised." John said.
"Yeah, I knew from the first time I saw her she was nice though" Shirley responded.
"Barkhorn on the other hand" she smiled at the other girl.
"What?! Yoshika and I became great friends" Barkhorn.
"Pfft. Yeah after you got that chip off your shoulder." Shirley replied
"You can think whatever you wan-" Barkhorn was saying before they were interrupted from a crash in the kitchen. The three stood up and looked towards the restaurant. From the doorway they heard a strange sound that was close to rocks pushed across tile. From the darkness a small dalmatian leapt towards them with a sausage in its mouth followed by an angry chef. The dog jumped into Johns arms, John fell back in surprise. The chef yell and screamed at the dog before stepping back inside. The dog glowed blue along with John as he held it.
"What's happening?" John asked the girls as they helped him up.
"I don't believe it?" Barkhorn said as she looked at John with an astonished look on her face.
"What? Believe what?" John said as his body tingled. He felt his head quiver and soon two Dalmatian ears appeared from beneath his hair. Then on his lower back he felt the same feeling. Poking from beneath his jacket came a dogs tail.
"No way, you never bonded with a familiar before now?" Shirley said.
"What? I thought the tails and ears was just a cute thing?" John said feeling his head.
"No. It allows the transfer of magic to work. Without them the witches would be powerless. They appear when we use our magic. When you came in contact with that dog it became your familiar." Barkhorn said as she looked the boy over.
"But you do look cute with them" Shirley smiled. John concentrated and the ears went away. The three sat down to finish their meal and the dog jumped up on Barkhorns lap.
"He's persistent and full of energy. No wonder you bonded with him so easily." Barkhorn said looking down at the puppy.
"*sigh* so you are gonna be hanging around with me from now on?" John said as he looked at the dog. It just returned an open stare that John couldn't help but smile at.
"What are you going to call him?" Shirley asked.
"Hmm... How about Rorschach. His spots kind of remind me of a Rorschach test." John said.
"Aw... Why not something cute like spot or drop" Shirley said.
"He wants a tuff dog. Giving it a name like that won't get it any respect." Barkhorn said. The dog then jumped for Shirley's lap, as it did it knocked over the drinks, pulling with it a splash of wine on her uniform.
"Ah! My jacket!" Shirley said as the dog jumped back in fear.
"No... No it's alright. I have a jacket in the car. I'll be right back." She said as she left to retrieve the change in uniform.
"Bad boy." John said as Rorschach jumped onto his lap.
"You are going to need to train him to be a military dog. This can't go on at the base." Barkhorn said.
"I know. *sigh* more responsibility just dropped into my lap." John said as Barkhorn laughed for the first time that night.
"Well, I haven't heard that come out of you before." John said.
"Don't get used to it. And don't go telling the yank, I already hear enough of her jokes." Barkhorn said with a smile.
" at least you are loosening up... Maybe loosened enough to answer Shirley's question" John said, knowing he was trading into dangerous waters. Barkhorn could find out he retained his memory from the other night.
"What question?" Barkhorn asked
"You know. Who would you save?" John said.
"*sigh* still going on about this" Barkhorn rolled her eyes.
"Well?" John asked.
"I Would go after Shirley, She is more experienced and worth more to the team." Barkhorn said.
"Yeah. But who would you not want to lose the most?" John said, he immediately wanted to take it back, he had gone to far and was at risk of Barkhorn bringing her rage down on him. He noticed she was staring at him, her cheeks had turned a bit red.
"I... I would save... Y-" Barkhorn was saying when Shirley returned to the table.
"Sorry I took so long." Shirley said.
"It's fine" Barkhorn said.
The diner went on normally from then on. They had some laughs and as the sun set John and Shirley's flirting became more apparent to Barkhorn. She would get angry at them for being so blunt in public. Soon John payed for their meals and they were heading back to the base. They did not want to break their word to Minna. Soon they were back at the base, John walked Shirley to her door.
"I had a really nice time tonight" Shirley said.
"Yeah. I really enjoyed it as well" John said looking deep into her eyes. Shirley closed her eyes and moved in on him. He did the same and they met each others lips. John slowly stroked his hand through her orange hair as she pressed her large breasts against his chest. She reached her arms around his back as they moved their tongues between each others mouths. They pulled back as a sting of saliva connected Shirley's tongue to John's lips.
"I'll go check in with Minna" John said softly.
"Alright, I'll wait for you in my room. We can cuddle." She winked at him as she closed the door.
John walked slowly down the dark hall towards the commanders office when suddenly a door opened and a pair of hands grabbed him by his jacket. He was thrown down on the ground as he heard the door lock in the moonlit room. In the haze he did not know what was happening. He believed he was being attacked by the hounds but couldn't see who it was. From the darkness Barkhorn emerged, for a second John was relived but then she jumped on top of him. She used her legs to hold his arms down and allow her hands to be used. John felt shock and pain as he didn't know what was going on. Then he was grabbed by the hair and felt something jammed up against his head. He looked to see a Luger was shining in the moons light. Fear swept over him as he didn't know what was going to happen next. Then Barkhorn spoke.
"What the fuck was that about you bastard" she said.
"What! What are you talking about! Barkhorn! Get this gun out of my face! Lets calm do- ah!" John was saying quickly as Barkhorn used the heal of her boot to crush his fingers to silence him.
"What I'm talking about is that question you asked! Huh!? You think your trying to work one over on me!" She said with rage in her eyes. John knew he had gone to far at diner when he asked that.
"Barkhorn it was just a fun question. Nothing mo- ah!" John was silenced by a tug of the hair and another press of the gun forcefully against his head.
"Stop trying to lie. I asked commander Minna about the drinking and said you were never drunk" she said. This really shocked John, he had no idea why she didn't confront him about it until now.
"I never said I was. It was a misunderstanding" John said.
"So even though it was you tried to work out of me that I have feelings for you!" Barkhorn yelled.
"Yes!" John replied.
"Why!" Barkhorn questioned, John could almost see tears in her eyes in the moonlight.
"Because I have feelings for you!" John shouted up at the girl. There was silence for a long period of time as the two stared at each other, panting from the intensity of the situation. Barkhorn through the gun to the side and fell off John. John kicked back to a safe distance and sat up against the bed stand.
"What the fuck... Fuck" John said to himself as he looked around the room.
"I'm... Sorry... It wasn't loaded... I just needed the truth." Barkhorn said from her side of the room.
"I... You... Shit" John said looking at the gun.
"I just never thought about it like that... You being on a date with Shirley and all" she said.
"I love Shirley... But I have strong feelings for you... I don't really understand it all yet. I can't be forced to choose" John said moving closer to the side of the room Barkhorn is on.
"I'm not asking you to choose... I won't tell Shirley about this... And I'll leave you alone. There. You choice is made. You two looked happy together today. I don't want to get in between that." Barkhorn said, her knees tucked against her chest as she sat against the wall. Her head pressed against them as she tried not to look at the boy as she said this.
"No. That's not an option." John said as Barkhorn looked at him.
"What are you talking about." Barkhorn asked.
"I'm talking about this... Right here... In the dark..." He said leaning in and kissing Barkhorn. The girl was stunned as she fell onto her side taking the boy with her. John continued to kiss her on the ground as Barkhorn's eyes slowly fluttered and closed. The two lay on the wood floored with their arms around one another as they share a passionate kiss after such a crazy moment. They separate lips as John hugs close against the girl.
"We can do this as long as no one knows. No one gets hurt, Shirley won't have to know. We just keep it to the shadows. Is that an alright choice." John asks.
"It's not a good choice... But I want to make that choice" she smiles at the boy.
John and Barkhorn exit Barkhorn's room and head for Minna's office. They believed she would be there waiting for them to check in. As they walked John felt Barkhorn's fingers wiggle into his hand. He couldn't help from smiling at the girl as they approached the door to Minna's office. John pushes it open and the two enter, the room was only lit by one lamp that illuminated it with a cozy, warm, golden light.
"Hey commander, its been a crazy night and -" John started when he saw that commander Minna wasn't the person sitting in the chair. A man with a white mustache and stern look on his face had his boots kicked up on her desk.
"Oh please, do go on about your crazy night officer Walker. It's got a long way to go" the man said as two soldiers emerge from behind Barkhorn and John holding sten sub machine guns. The shoved them into the two's backs and pushed them forward.
"Who the hell are you? Where is the Wing Commander" Barkhorn questioned.
" She had to leave on... business. My name is captain Smith, I'm with the MP's. I'm here to question you two, probably court martial you both. Tie you up really pretty like and hang you out there for the firing squad, probably get a few commendations for this whole case." He said with a smug smile on his face.
"Court Martial us! For what?" Barkhorn asked.
"We have you, Captain, for a fist full of homicide charges, accomplice to murder, we have people that can place you at that cargo plane crash, and a whole lot of murder. And for you, Walker, you can pretty much double what I told her and throw a couple more things in." He said.
"This is ridiculous, all of those deaths were connected to military commands. Those were all people attempting to threaten either me or the witches of this unit." John said.
"Well we don't have any of those orders anywhere around here, if you had someone to vouch for you then I could turn you loose to run rampant once again. Huh. There isn't anyone around here who could have given that order or know where to find those orders. All I see are to murderers." He smiled pulling out his hand cuffs cuffing them to chairs that he had bolted to the ground before they arrived.
"You just wait until commander Minna gets back. There will be hell to pay for this." Barkhorn said.
"Hah! I think she should get going then, I may be done with this investigation by the time she gets back" he said looking at his watch.
"What do you want from us?" John asked.
"I want answers, son, I'm gonna ask you questions and you two answers them. Now, first question, why did you kill these men and women." He asked handing out photographs of the bodies of the hound unit they had recovered. John was shocked to see this was the reason he was being interrogated. Everything was going wrong and it seemed like there was someone else pulling the wires.