Part 9: Dahlia
Ooarai City, Ibaraki
One hour later
"Wow. So that's what our home looks like." Dahlia said as the Ooarai carrier came into view. At her side, Chloe hummed in agreement.
It had been a long four months since a select number of Dahlia's companions departed their home ship and headed for Kuromorimine. Depending on how much the school and Mistress Nishizumi liked their progress, it would likely be a multi-year long rebuild.
Dahlia found herself hoping that Erika would come through with her word.
As the carpenter steered her vehicle onto the snowy carrier, she and her apprentice companion found it rather different from the one they had left. People were out and about, enjoying the ongoing snowfall. The skyline was noticeably missing a certain bright yellow structure, and Dahlia began driving towards where it had once been.
"Huh." She said, coming to a stop across the street. "So, that's the Nishizumi Memorial Dormitories…"
"I'm sorry…" Maho said from behind her, blinking in disbelief. "The what?"
"Oh, yeah. The school decided to name the new dorms after Miho." Chloe explained. "As thanks for her kinda saving the place and all."
"Well, it was my idea." Dahlia said.
"Was it really?" The Apprentice challenged.
"Yes… Mostly."
The four occupants of the pickup truck took in the sight of the building for a time. It appeared nearly identical to the other dormitory buildings scattered around the campus, but it was more modernized. Rooms were larger, had more accommodations, and could comfortably house more than one student. The building had its own pool and bathhouse, and there was even a small gymnasium.
"The name makes it sound as if she was dead or something." Maho remarked after a time.
"Maybe a little." Dahlia replied. "But eventually, that'll be true. Thanks to her, this school, including that building, will be here long after all of us are gone."
"That's… kinda cryptic, Dahlia." Erika said.
"Ehh…" Was the Carpenter's only response.
"Miho doesn't know about it, by the way." Chloe said as her partner drove away. "The Council wants it to be a surprise. They're going to reveal the name after the building opens next month."
"Knowing how modest and easily flustered my sister is, the reveal may quite literally kill her."
"See? It's called 'being prepared'." Dahlia jeered.
"Ahh." Erika waved them off. "Akiyama-san will keep that from happening."
Dahlia's mind began to wander as she drove along the freshly plowed streets. Back to that fateful day six months ago. Even further, to that seemingly innocent match at the beginning of the year. So much had happened since then. So much had changed. So many new faces in the Blue Collar Club. The surprising number of survivors from the attack had been plentiful in volunteers, many of which ended up joining the club outright. Them, coupled with St. Gloriana's Sisterhood of Trade Crafts had made the ongoing projects a breeze after the cleanup.
Dahlia's train of thought continued as she stopped at a red light.
While many friends had been lost in the war, many more had made it, and come back from the conflict stronger than ever. Kay and Darjeeling, Erika and Maho, even some newer pairings like Saemonza and Erwin, and Kawanishi and Sasaki. Even if some weren't as intimate as others, they were still even closer than before.
As the light switched to green, Dahlia was hit by a sudden pang of loneliness, and at that moment, she didn't really know why. All of her friends had such close relationships with each other, and she had no one. Freya was single, but very adamant about liking boys. Chloe had a boyfriend, but their relationship was a bit rocky. 'On and off' as she had described it. Then again, the journeyman saw Chloe as like a little sister, or sometimes her own child. The crew had even taken to calling her 'Dahl-Junior'. The apprentice was out of the question.
Kay obviously had Darjeeling. Naomi had Assam hook, line and sinker. Alisa had Takashi, or so she claimed. For her three friends, there was an ongoing bet as to whether or not he even existed. While she was happy for all of them, who did Dahlia have?
Instead of an answer, the carpenter found the entrance to the parade field. Outside the entry door, she recognized a few vehicles that belonged to different team members. Reizei's Outback, Koyama's Lancer, Nakajima's RX-7, Hoshino's Trueno, and Midoriko's Civic. Dahlia parked her truck, a Tundra, next to Koyama, and her three passengers climbed out. Being stuck in the same position for nearly two hours behind the taller driver, Maho stood up and stretched, bending herself every which way. Dahlia stayed in her seat for a time, her thoughts still lingering. She had been so focused on work, and her position of leadership, that she had forgotten about everything else.
"Comin', Dahl?" Chloe asked.
Dahlia hesitantly nodded. "Yeah. Yeah… just a sec." The carpenter turned off the truck's engine and stepped out. The snow creaked under her boots as she followed her friends. Maho took the lead at the door, and Dahlia shook the thoughts out of her head as she stepped in.
"Onee-chan!" She heard Miho's cheerful voice ring out. "You made it!"
In an instant, they were back again. Family. Or more specifically, siblings. While Dahlia wasn't an only child, she often felt like one. The youngest of three, her brother died in a car accident back home, and her sister had dropped off the grid shortly after moving to Hiroshima. They were also substantially older than her, being six and ten years apart respectively.
Living full-time aboard the Ooarai carrier, Dahlia also saw her mother less often than she'd like. They had been able to keep in touch through Zoom calls and texting, but it was never the same as in person interaction.
The negative thoughts were brushed away again by Nakajima approaching the carpenter, hugging her tightly and pushing a drink into her hands.
"Dahlia! So glad you made it!" Reira said happily. The inebriated Motorhead pulled her friend further into the garage. "How was the drive?"
"Snow-covered highways on the week of two major holidays." Dahlia said. "Need I say more?" She looked down at the can Nakajima had given her. "What's this?"
"Pumpkin spiced apple cider. Ogin brought it." There was a slight sway in her voice and posture. "She insists that it's non-alcoholic, but…" Reira blinked a few times, focusing on her own drink. "I think she may be… embellishing the truth."
Dahlia chuckled, cracking open the can. "After the lovely time I've had at Kuromorimine, I could use something other than beer."
"Oh yeah. How-how is that project going?" Nakajima ushered her friend towards one of the wood stoves, where Leopon had gathered with the Donzoko crew. "Come sit with us. Tell… tell-tell us about it."
"Hey, Dahlia!" Hoshino said. Tsuchiya glanced at the pair, snickering at the sight of her stumbling commander.
"You're such a lightweight, Nack."
"Am -*belch* am not!"
"I keep tellin' you guys." Rum insisted. "The stuff we brought has hardly any alcohol in it."
Ogin glanced at her.
"None? Or hardly any? You assured me you only brought the kiddie stuff."
Cyclone looked up at her captain sheepishly, realizing what she had said, and Tornado snatched the half-full beer bottle out of her hands.
"Six percent?" Ogin asked accusingly. Rum shrugged.
"I just grabbed stuff. You were in a real hurry to get here, Cap'n, so I-OW!"
She was cut off by a hard slap on the head.
"You barnacle-brained idiot! I told you non-alcoholic only! There are minnows at this here gathering!" She gestured towards Rabbit team, who remained oblivious to the conversation.
"It ain't my fault, Cap'n!" Rum whined. "Blame Cutlass! She's the one who does all the organizin'!"
"Regular and non-alcoholic beverages are in separate collections, both behind the bar and in the coolers." Cutlass said nonchalantly. Ogin glared at her curly-haired subordinate.
"Just don't let any of the urchins touch the real stuff. Can ya handle that, Rum?" She demanded with another sharp knock on the shorter girl's forehead.
"Aow… Aye, Cap'n." Cyclone rubbed her head and swiped her drink back, while Ogin turned her attention to the new arrival. "Dahlia-san. Welcome back to Ooarai."
"Thanks." The carpenter shook the pirate's hand. "Good to be home. As good a welcoming party as any other." She gestured towards Reira, who had, with Suzuki's equally inebriated help, brought over an empty munitions crate for Dahlia to sit on, repeatedly tripping over each other in the process. After a few fits of drunken giggles, they completed their task and moved back to their own seats. Hoshino quietly shook her head at them, sipping from an Asahi Dry.
"Ha! I hear ya there, my friend. How goes Black Forest?" The Captain raised her pipe to her lips. "Murakami tells me that your lot practically lives there now."
"If that's not the truth, it's pretty damn close." Dahlia shook her head as she sat down. "Ten to twelve hour days. A full-fledged night shift. We've been put up in a hotel in Tokyo by the school, because of the distance. The few times that Zuikaku ventured down there were nice, but we've been mostly in the city for the last four months." The carpenter eyed Nakajima. "Nack, I see the RX-7 is up and running again."
The Leopon commander nodded eagerly. "Yep! Finally found that damn… oil leak. You know how hard it is… you know… how hard it is to find parts for that car?"
"You've told us. Several times." Hoshino grumbled as Dahlia took a sip of her drink, smiling at her inebriated friend.
"The RX-7 is one of the rarest *hic* cars in the country! Mine is a '93! I rebuilt it from almost nothing!"
The carpenter eyed the other classmates in the garage as Nakajima ranted. She found herself observing Saemonza and Oryou standing together next to the Panzer. They appeared to be in high spirits, and Saemonza wasn't wearing her eye patch for once.
"Hey. Oryou and Saemonza seem to be getting along again."
"Oh, that was pretty heavy." Tsuchiya replied. "They had quite the little spat a few hours ago. Turns out Saemonza's eye is fake." Dahlia stared at the Leopon Driver for a moment. "She did it in secret to save her position on the team, and to save her own life."
"The two of them aren't so different after all." Flint added.
"Huh. Good for them." Dahlia said genuinely.
"Yeah." Reira suddenly wrapped her arm around her friend's shoulders. "The team is one big happy family again… except for Utsugi. And Taeko… Man, I'm gonna miss their voices on the radio. Especially Kondou. She had a *hic* beautiful voice. If ya know what I mean. Haha!"
"We do." Kieko grumbled in annoyance. "Please read the room, Nack."
"I hear Aya feels really terrible about Yuuki." Muuton said. "She thinks she caused it." Nakajima's face fell.
"Aw, that's… that's awful. Why… why-why does she blame… herself?"
"She's Sawa's second in command, and was Yuuki's team leader at the prison." Hoshino explained.
"She was there when Yuuki died." Dahlia concluded. "She and Saki tried to save her." She eyed the tank commander. "How do you not know this?"
"I know what happened, I just didn't know the *hic* details." Nakajima pointed at the gathering of underclassmen a few times as she stood up. "Yaknow, I think that's… just awful that she feels so bad. Somebody… some-somebody should do something about that…"
"Nack, where are you going?" Hoshino asked with an irritated tone. By the time the question made it out of her mouth, Nakajima was already halfway across the garage.
A/N: Belated thanks for the reviews. I only just saw them, and can't reply directly because of the 'Guest' thing. So I will here
Poor Helmet-chan indeed. She can never seem to catch a break
Drats: Most people go with Kay needing to go to horny jail, and Darjeeling trying to deal with her. I find the idea of Darj being a calm and reserved young lady, while hiding her nympho tendencies to be more interesting~
CrimsonLine: There may be more to come (hehe), I'm not 100 percent yet
PilotPi: I honestly love that idea. Almost like Black Ops meets GuP. Saunders and Pravda having a dick measuring contest, with a bunch of the other schools caught in the middle. Proxy conflicts, undercover ops, the fleet and the nation on the verge of destruction. Nice idea. That just may be an idea for the future. Also, thanks for the praise for the series. I never really expected it to get much attention, and it's really cool to hear from people who enjoy it
As always, any and all feedback is welcome. Thanks everybody for reading, and see you next time!