"Hmmmmm... Good thing the store also sells batteries or else we might be having problems using it." Hajime inserted the requirements for Ellie's megaphone after fixing the used item that has been out of commission for years.
"Thanks Hajime~" Ellie smiled with glee as she played around with the buttons as she saw fit. "I never knew you were skillful with these kinds of tech."
"Eh... In my line of work, things like these tend to break down easily so I had to learn how to fix a thing or two instead of waiting for someone else to do it." I mean... Considering how much destruction Kiana caused on the bridge on her first day as my bridge duty valkyrie...
"Still I honestly thought you wanted the latest model where it has its own Homu as an Ai. Not the vintage one."
"What can I say? I am an old soul." She smiled and He nodded.
"Now you fixed the megaphone and lost the bet, You know what that means~" Hajime sighed as Ellie leaned close to his face. "Come on! I know a good place for us to do it." Ellie pulled him to the bazaar but Hajime stopped her.
"Fine... I will do it." He crossed his arms at her. "But still... Do you think it is a good idea to present yourself in the bazaar wearing just a cloak?" He pointed to her brown clothing.
"Don't you have anything else under there?"
"My~My~ Ha~Ji~Me. So eager to see me naked?" He raised an eyebrow after she smiled sultrily.
"You expect me to believe you are going commando? You do realize I can see your thigh boots and the half skirt right?" Elysia pouted.
"Here I thought, I could make you go flustered. That usually works."
"Unfortunately for you, I have experience and also it pays to be perceptive." Literally.
She tapped her lips with her index finger. "One of these days, I will find a way to make you go flustered on me."
"Good luck. My co-worker tried her best. Kinda doubt you are any better." She giggled.
"Oh, I will. Anyways, Do you know any good clothing stores for me? These are all I have right now." He shrugged as she played with her fingers, blushing.
"Sure. I don't even mind paying. Come on. I think there is a store here that my cousin and I used to go to."
"It's a date then."
Huh... Date. Been a while since I heard that word.
"Ugh... How did my date reject me so easily? I did everything well too." As Young Hajime was reading a book "How to do Magic for Dummies" while listening to another certain red-haired complaining.
"Maybe it is because you showed your true nature by being a boozehound? 'Cause sometimes guys like me don't like people, especially women being inebriated."
"I was a mature adult."
"By adult you mean telling your date how many kids you would like to have for the next 3 years... sure."
"I was planning for my future!"
"Well... Your planning skills put me in awe, cousin. And yet it confounds me that you still somehow ended up being single for the last 2 years. Maybe the dating market is rigged? Perhaps that is the reason why you still haven't got any perfect match?" The older one put out her tongue to him.
"You are not fun to be around, Hajime."
"I get that a lot." As he turned the page he was reading.
"Kinda wish you could join me for a round in a bar."
"If I started drinking with you, then nobody else would bail us out for the possible misdemeanor. And I am doing well bailing your sorry butt so far."
"I was trying to have fun after being rejected."
"Himeko? You overreacted and started that fistfight. I am glad that you didn't leave any... well... underclothing in that bar like you normally do. Goodness knows that it will take an eternity to process that on paper while other officers look at me with a smug smile, disgust or confusion."
"THEY WERE TIGHT ON ME!"
"I did try to tell you to buy a size bigger but noooooooooo... You decided to buy those to increase your sex appeal." He took an empty can of beer from her hand and gave her another which she mouthed him thanks.
"You have no love life, let alone social life, outside your work. You have no right to talk about my sex appeal."
"You are right. I don't. But since i am your usual bail man, i kinda have the right to." He mindlessly shrugged. "Besides, I kinda doubt that there is a single girl who finds me socially interesting." He turned the page.
"Oh really? How about that British girl you usually work with?"
"Rita? Pretty sure we are just work friends or such."
"Really? I have seen her the way she looks at you."
"Oh? Maybe that's how she always looks at people."
"I am pretty sure she was looking at you as if you were a very delicious snack."
"You sure that isn't the alcohol talking?" Himeko rolled her eyes.
"Would you at least try to pretend to be interested in this conversation?" He sighed.
"Why are you insistent about this? I am pretty sure i can handle things on my own and besides i need to also watch your stuff for you whenever you get deployed."
"I..." Himeko was interrupted by a phone call.
"This is Murata..." Himeko nodded. "Understood, squad leader."
"Was that Ragna?"
"Yeah... Apparently the squad and I are going to be deployed in Siberia."
"Miles long way from home. Did she say something about a possible honkai wave?"
"No. Ragna said something about a Retrieval mission."
"You four are being deployed to Siberia while Ragna is leading the team? Sounds like a very important package if you ask me."
"In any case, I need to pack up my gear. You don't mind..."
"I will be a fine cousin. I should be asking you that question." Himeko chuckled.
"I can kick ass harder than I grope them. I will be fine." Hajime rolled his eyes.
"Just try not to give Ragna a hard time. She is one of the best things that happened to you."
"Hey... You know me cuz. I am the life of a party." She strapped on to her greatsword and gave her dearest cousin a hug.
"Promise me that you will give that Rita girl a chance. Ask her on a date."
"I really... I don't know the premise on how to date someone, Himeko..." He muttered softly.
"Just promise me that you will give whoever you'll end up dating, a good time just by being with you." Himeko laid her hand on his shoulder.
"You know what? If you, Ragna and others came back alive , I might do that by asking her on a date. Will that suffice?" She chuckled.
"Deal. Heck, I might tell Ragna the news. Pretty sure she will be glad to hear you opening up to people." She socked him on the shoulder.
"Also, i hope i get to have small kids calling me Auntie Himeko soon."
"KEEP ON DREAMING, HIMEKO!" He chuckled as he saw his dear cousin wink at him through the window and ran.
Hajime looked around and saw that the calendar on the wall was still January 31 2010.
"Oh right. Today is February 1." He ripped the calendar for updates.
Hajime was leaning on the door of Ellie's changing room while being aware that he was being stared at. He couldn't blame them since he is literally in a women's clothing store. Some of the women gave him a disgusted look while others eyed him with either suspicion or lust.
He couldn't give a damn though and decided to cross his arms and shut out his other senses and only wanted Elysia to say something.
"Okay. Hajime. I am ready~" He turned around and saw Ellie in her white cardigans and black jeans.
"How do I look?"
"You look great." She frowned.
"'Just great? Hajime, you've got to give me more than that. After all, you are the only handsome guy here who gets to see how I look amazing in this." He sighed and decided to try again after taking a good look at her.
"The buttoned cardigan shirt looks snuggly on your chest with your white tube top you are originally wearing and it even fits on everywhere else. The jeans look amazing on you as it is form fitting." She giggled as Hajime mindlessly worded his observations.
"Hell, your ass looks amazing in those jeans." Elysia gasped while the nearby store clerks just looked at him in shock.
"A little bold there, Hajime." She held her chest and leaned towards him with a smile.
"Hey. You asked me for my opinions. I might as well go all out with it. Besides, I kinda doubt that you wanted to wear that just for fun." She giggled.
"Guilty as charged~ I wanted to look cute for my best friend. And I have done my best so far." He raised her an eyebrow.
"Hmmmmm... I don't know about that, Ellie." He went to a nearby store clerk as Ellie widened her eyes at him in confusion
Elysia watched him talk to the shocked store clerk and got confused at the sight that the store clerk just laughed at him with Joy as she gave him a few accessories and a pile of clothings.
"Here..." He handed her a pair of pink colored wide glasses and a pair of elbow length gloves. "Try them on if you will." Elysia nodded and complied.
She removed her lone left black gloves and tried them on.
To Hajime's peripheral vision, he saw a shining silver ring on her left ring finger.
Elysia turned in front of the mirror and she was amazed that she looked even more cuter with the glasses and the gloves on. She hugged Hajime's arm and jumped excitedly.
"All right, Why don't you pick the ones you want and I will help you buy them?" The store clerks widened their eyes at him.
"You sure? They look like It is a lot for you to pay."
"It's fine. You recently came to Soukai with basically nothing and I already offered. It would be rude of me to take back what I said, no?"
"Still... This feels a little bit too much. I am okay with a few things and all." Elysia frowned but Hajime chuckled as he held on to the clothes that Elysia picked as she was about to return them.
"And what? Give you an impression of 'You don't deserve to wear more cute clothes? You only deserve the ones you already have?'" He chuckled as he helped her carry them to the counter.
"It is normal to want things, Elysia. And considering that you look more of a lost lamb in a jungle, I am not going to leave you behind. What kind of best friend would I be if I let you suffer alone in the city?"
"Come on, let's have a look around in the mall and see what else that might interest you after I loaded these into my car." He went out first while carrying Elysia's new clothes.
"He is willing to pay all of that for his best friend?"
"He even looks like a decent man, not a pig either."
"Doubt that even a pig would be willing to do this to a girl who recently came to Soukai City."
"Not only that. She looks like she is married to someone else. Not even surprising since she is a looker."
"You think he wants to steal a married woman? He doesn't look like one to me."
"And yet he is willing to do everything to make her happy."
"Damn... the huge cojones of this man."
After Hajime paid for Elysia's fashion shopping, the store clerks just looked at him with wide eyes, blushing cheeks or huge smiles.
As for Elysia? The pink haired girl just softly smiled at him longest time for the first time.
Captain Hajime was never an easy man to surprise.
He plans by analyzing the situation.
He analyzes by planning ahead.
He finds the sense at every angle.
Every angle, there is always an opportunity for him to exploit.
In every opportunity and chance, there is always hidden evidence that he failed miserably. To him, these are his learning materials.
Hajime always learns and he intends to keep learning.
Seeing Elysia playing a roulette machine and winning 13 straight was something he never expected her to do.
I mean... It is a roulette machine powered by Honkai.
It would be surprising if someone can actually hack the damn thing.
"ALL RIGHT! 13 wins." He chuckled as he helped her get the winning tickets and yet kept a confused look.
How do you exactly win a roulette game 13 times in a row?
They both reached the counter and Elysia pointed out a certain stuff.
A Whale Plushie
A White Chicken Plush Toy
And lastly, something he never expected, A cute green spider keychain.
"Thank you very much, sir." Hajime chuckled at the cute sight of her hugging the whale.
And she was really hugging that whale with her dear life.
"I am guessing that you had fun?" Elysia nodded with a grin as she was hugging her prizes. This causes Hajime to chuckle.
"All right, Why don't I help you put them in the trunk? Still I honestly expected myself to have my account be empty after this but no, I was wrong. You are either one lucky woman or you just know how to win." She giggled.
"Come on! I think I saw an art fair at the center of the mall. I wanna make some art as a souvenir." He chuckled as she dragged him to the center as they both finished loading everything in the trunk of his car.
Hajime was starting to think that he had bitten off more than he could chew with Elysia but he didn't mind.
He doesn't know why but Seeing Elysia this happy eased him.
Both Hajime and Elysia were attendants and participants of 'Paint-Your-Own-Canvas' Fair and Hajime was done with his. He only made a scene of the beautiful sky and sea scenery. Both are so close to the surface that it is difficult to tell which is which.
It wasn't exactly that hard for him to picture considering that is usually what he sees whenever Hyperion gets flying in the air.
But still, it was a piece of art nonetheless.
Ellie's however was blank. She has been staring at the empty canvas for who knows how long. The more she stared into it, the more holes it bore into it.
"Are you doing okay, Ellie?" She sighed.
"Not really sure what I am supposed to put on to be honest."
"Huh... I kinda honestly expected you to have some ideas considering you traveled the world. Not one rings any bell?" She shook her head.
"How about your home then? You could at least try that." She slumped her shoulders and hung her head low.
"Sorry I mentioned it." He looked at her mindlessly painting the canvas with an empty brush.
He looked around and saw participating children painting flowers, night sky and stars.
"They say that art is inspired from what you see, what you observe and what you felt during your times of struggle. So if you don't have any inspirations from your journey, then have a look around. You are bound to get something from people here." Elysia slowly looked around and watched people enjoying their times of their lives.
"People looked so happy here." Elysia sighed in melancholy.
"Because they know they are living peacefully. They can practice their arts and culture here because they know their world is safe. Peace will always find its way to people whether they like it or not." Elysia chuckled softly as Hajime did his best to cheer her up.
"Guess you are right." Elysia slapped her cheeks and tried to look around again.
"Hmmmmmmm... A night sky, flowers and Stars."
"What kind of flower should I use?" She tapped the corner of her lip.
"Well... You have been weirdly fond of using pink. You have pink hair, eyes and glasses. You might as well go nuts with the color considering that it is that easy to make a pink paint." Elysia giggled at his joke. The usual giggle that he knew Elysia feels a bit better.
"A pink flower... What kind of flower?"
"You could try using tulips or carnations for your flower garden."
"No... Thinking about the idea never struck me. Tulips aren't fully blooming and carnations look a bit more difficult to paint."
"How about a Sakura then?"
"Wha..."
"Don't tell me you dont know a sakura flower?" He took out his phone and showed it to her. "Design looks simple and beautiful. They also grow on trees so you don't have to focus the whole entirety of the canvas painting it with sakura. You just have to add a tree and add some sakura blooming on them.
"It's perfect. Then I get to put a space rocket heading towards the Moon."
"You got that from a child drawing a star?" Elysia giggled at his confusion and yet she still painted anyways.
The end result?
A Painting of a Sakura tree field in the night showing a distant rocket leaving contrails that is heading towards the moon and moths chasing towards the flame of a camp.
Hajime never understood where she got the idea of moth chasing flames came from though.
I wonder what was that all about.
"Ugh... Glad that's over." He cracked his neck.
"I never knew that you don't have tolerance to passion filled areas like the ones in the kitchen or the two doctors discussing the best way to research a medicinal drug."
The two recently came out of a Japanese restaurant and Elysia was feeling satisfied.
Hajime however felt a little stiff and tense due to the unfortunate events that started when a chef who works there got caught in the middle of the traffic.
To the staff's delight, they recognize Hajime as a mid-high ranking chef who frequently visits their restaurant for cooking lessons and he always excelled at them.
And considering one of his valkyries has a black hole for a stomach and is very picky with her food, he kinda has to have the skill of a professional chef since Mei was gone.
He was surprised that Kiana took a liking to Spicy foods that he makes one day out of nowhere.
Last time in his first year as a captain of the Hyperion, he served her a spicy dish but she wouldn't even look at it, making him groan in frustration and earning a sympathetic pat from Mei.
"Yeah... Due to certain circumstances I had to go through, one of the prices i had to pay was an ability to process my emotions well. Worst case scenario, I'll look like a nut case. Even though I made you that gourmet ramen as a participating guest chef of the restaurant, I don't really do well expressing my pride in my work or emotional stances of what is best for something. I usually deal with it by summarizing my experiences."
"You never tried to fully express yourself?"
"Best i can do is sass, sarcasm or playful but bad jokes. Other than that, I often sound like a very angry hostile prick."
"What about the times where you say something profound?"
"They are more based on observation and analysis of a certain situation while adding a slight philosophy to the mix. I don't trust how I feel that much. It often ended up with me being... unresponsive. So that is why I tend to have plans for everything just to make up for that." Elysia tapped the corner of her lips and smirked.
"I wonder..." She turned around and faced the tall red haired man. He raised his eyebrow at her.
"Is there something wrong?" She giggled.
"Giving my thanks to my best friend."
"Oh... You want to give me a hug or something? I don't mind." He opened up his arms towards her. She giggled.
"Even better." She walked towards the 5'7 tall man as a 5'3 pink haired girl and tiptoed in front of him.
Hajime felt something soft on his lip for a few seconds.
And For the first time in Hajime's Life, his brain shut down, rebooted thrice, overheated and crashed.
All in that order for the past two minutes.
He couldn't speak the words he needed to say.
He mouthed his words but no sound came out.
In other words, His 'best friend' broke his brain.
And she broke the man hard.
"Guess I Finally got You. Ha~Ji~Me." Elysia turned around to take a few steps.
What the hell was that?
Did I get kissed by a married woman?
Himeko. Please don't haunt me in my sleep.
Yet, somehow at the back of his mind, he can imagine his cousin's with her arms crossed and a very disappointed look leering down onto his nape.
Both reached the swing set of the playground near the Homu Mall.
Elysia sat on it while Hajime was pushing her, causing her to swing.
"..."
Hajime has been thinking about Elysia's action for the past few minutes.
"..."
He just couldn't understand it.
"..."
He thought Ellie was married.
"..."
If so, why Ellie risked her marriage for socially inept guys like him?
"Ha~Ji~Me." He immediately saw Ellie turn around to look at him with a smile.
"Yo... What is it?"
"I have been calling you for the past few minutes but you couldn't answer me."
"Oh... Sorry about that. I guess I have been thinking about..."Elysia leaned in closer as his voice got softer.
"What was that?"
"About...what... you... did..." She giggled to see how Hajime looked actually cute when he was blushing.
"My~My~ Do you want another one? All you have to do is to give me one on the same spot with the same intensity." Ellie gave him a smug smile which caused Hajime to look shocked.
"What? NO!" She giggled as he averted his eyes away from her. "I was curious why you do that when it has been established that you already belong to someone else." Elysia was confused as to why he was looking at her left hand while he was pointing at the ring finger.
After a few minutes, she realized what he was talking about.
"Oh, You mean this~ This isn't my wedding ring, silly." She removed her white gloves showing him a small silver winged ring with inscriptions.
"A friend gave it to me and she told me that it is her way of showing blessing and it will keep me safe before I left." He nodded as slightly pushed the swing.
"A tip for you since you don't know, never put your ring on that finger if you want to start settling with someone in the future. I guarantee you that you will not get anywhere with that on your ring finger. Traditions and such." Elysia gave an 'oh' and nodded as she put on her gloves back.
"So have you been keeping in touch with her or with your other friends lately?" She sighed in dejection.
"Hey... I didn't mean to make you upset." He sat beside her and held her gloved hand.
"It's not that. It is just that... I missed them a lot and it has been ages for me to track them down."
"Is that the reason why you were traveling around the world?" She nodded.
"Have you found them so far?" She shook her head.
"Not a single clue."
"I see... Can I ask what caused you guys to get separated? 'Cause you wouldn't ended up traveling if you guys didn't. You don't have to answer me if you don't feel like it."
"It's fine." She twiddled her thumbs and sighed deeply.
"I was... setting up a party for them at that time. And I may or may not have said some things about me that might have made them feel different towards me. Then after that, I invited them to my party. But after that, few only came." He nodded but kept a raised eyebrow at her.
He understands this fully because they are similar cases in racial discrimination. So he doesn't blame her for being uncomfortable about it.
"Wouldn't it have made more sense to invite them first?"
"In hindsight... I probably should have done that first before dropping a bombshell like that." Elysia chuckled yet Hajime was concerned.
He knows what a bitter chuckle sounds like.
He knows how painful the sound it makes and more painful for her to create.
He knows because he uses it too.
He held on to her hand to remind Ellie that He was still there.
"What happened next, Elysia?"
To Elysia's knowledge, he never called her that. Only Ellie. So to her, he was being genuine with her right now.
She smiled at this gesture and responded back with a firm grip on his hand.
"I told them that I had to do something selfish for a while and then I left."
"Did you accomplish what you had to do?" She looked at him in shock. She expected him to say something critical about her selfish choice but he was concerned at that question.
"I... really don't know to be honest. I was hoping that I could get that answer from them. If I could find them, at least. And even if I did, I am not sure my heart can take what they're gonna be like after leaving them like that." She hung her head low and sighed.
"It is okay to be selfish once in a while, Elysia. It is how it is." He shrugged.
"You wanted to have fun. You wanted to try on clothes that were new to you. You even preferred your clothes that made you look even cuter. You wanted to try painting and appreciated people's taste in culture and foods. Heck, you loved my cooking earlier. You even wanted to play the roulette machine." He recalled every moment that happened earlier.
"You say that you were selfish about what you did to your friends and yet you did all of those things. I am guessing you used to do the same with them?" She nodded.
"Then you were just being human, Elysia." Elysia stared at him for the longest time.
"If your friends are like me, then they would have still appreciated having you around. Cause I honestly did." Hajime placed his hand on his chest to emphasize how he felt.
"And if they're still judging you for it, then that says more about them than you." Elysia gave him a blank stare with a disapproving pout.
"Watch it, they are still my friends." He raised both of his hands.
"Sorry. My bad." He stood up and turned to Ellie. "But if you insist on looking for them, I don't mind helping you." He smiled.
"You don't?"
"Like I told you earlier Ellie, I am not going to leave you behind especially when you are just starting out in the city. What kind of best friend would I be if I let you suffer alone? Besides, considering what you have been through, you at least deserve it and probably more."
As he walked towards the car to start helping Elysia, He felt a tackle on his back then a warm embrace.
"Are you doing okay back there?" He felt a warm wet sensation on his back.
"Yeah. I am doing okay. Hajime. Thanks for everything." He nodded and both headed to his car.
"Come on." He took out her megaphone, causing Elysia to get confused at his action.
"Where are you going?" He raised an eyebrow at her.
"To the bazaar so I can announce to the people in Soukai how beautiful you are." He replied with a little red on his cheeks.
"You remembered that?"
"I mean... I lost the bet, didn't i?" He turned around, hoping that Elysia didn't see his small soft smile.
Unfortunately for him, She did.
"Okay. Make sure you tell them how pristine and flawless I look, especially in these clothes. You can also add how my ass looks great in these jeans."
"Don't push it, Elysia. Don't push it." Ellie laughed as he responded to her quickly with a flat tone.
A hooded masked man watched Hajime announcing the people in Homu Mall Bazaar Elysia from a distance with his black and green umbrella opened.
"So our two operatives have gone out of commission because of what Captain of the Hyperion did?"
"Affirmative, sir."
"Hmmmm... The captain is sharp, I give him that."
"Should we try again sir?"
"Yes. Please reacquire the signet bearer of Ego and we'll send her to Sire. I am sure that he will be more than happy to see one of his strongest subordinates alive. We do however need Jackal's expertise on how this is possible."
"If I may sir?"
"What is it?"
"Wouldn't it make more sense to tell sire about her?"
"Our sire is nearly accomplishing the basis for Project Stigma. We should not interrupt his plans to do so."
"Understood. What of the Captain?"
"After we take her away, We will hijack the hyperion's scanning surveillance system so they wouldn't be alerted to the possible Honkai wave alert."
"Then we let the honkai beasts feast on his flesh and bones."
"The Hyperion battleship has been in one of the World Serpent's eyes for years. We kill the captain, we destroy everything in it, especially the valkyries. Then we salvage what is left and hopefully sell it."
"Understood."
"Humanity shall defeat the Honkai."