Searching online for a restaurant to order lunch from was a task which took more time than Lanfen anticipated. She tried to insist that her injuries had recovered to the point of allowing her to cook. But Shinonome was resolute in keeping the Adaptor from performing any tasks other than resting up. It only ended up being a matter of time until Lanfen folded her proverbial cards. KFC wasn't an outlet which any sensible person would order from with a healthy meal in mind. Even so, it was a chance for Shinonome to experience fried food for the first time in her known life. Lanfen's useless taste buds unfortunately prevented herself from an enjoying a flavour that would've justified buying fast food instead of quite literally anything else.
Once lunch was all finished up, Lanfen gathered the empty packaging and disposed of them using a small bin inside their apartment's kitchen. She then held back a pained wince while Lanfen rinsed her bandaged fingers underneath a sink's running waters. Moving her body hardly provoked any pain from her wounds at this point. But Lanfen still needed to restrain herself from making any extensive movements. The sooner her injuries recovered, the sooner she could return to both her training and her Adaptor duties. Months of back-alley brawling during her high-school years was enough to teach Lanfen the limitations of the human body's ability to recover.
A quick swipe turned off the sink's lever. She carefully dried her hands with a nearby towel soon after and hauled herself out of the small kitchen.
Since the Adaptor wasn't keen on getting blood onto her home clothing, Lanfen had chosen to waive off wearing any sort of shirt for the meantime. It admittedly felt rather embarrassing having to rely on thick medical wraps to preserve her modesty. Still, it was preferable compared to washing any stubborn stains off her laundry.
Lo-fi tunes from the living room's holo-player kept the apartment from being completely silent. The room's built-in heater also maintained the perfect temperature for Lanfen's exposed skin. As gentle, acoustic beats bounced through the air, the Adaptor stepped through the kitchen doorway and spotted Shinonome sitting down with her legs nestled underneath the kotatsu table. Placed on top of its low surface was the metal suitcase which held all of Shinonome's legal documents, in addition to the capsules of specialized medicine that Professor Elfnein had provided. A couple inputs into the case's holographic keypad caused it to automatically flip open and display its strapped-down contents for Shinonome's perusal.
"Professor's orders, I take it?" Lanfen said, settling herself down beside the silver-haired woman.
"Undoubtedly so," Shinonome softly replied, holding up a small data-pad which was kept between the fabricated papers and rows of medicine capsules. She then browsed through the device's digital files and projected a detailed listing of recommended dosages. "Professor Elfnein had advised me to take these every day. It can be quite the hindrance, but I'm grateful for the Professor's efforts in watching over my health."
'Uncontrolled cell-aging'. Lanfen remembered the reports describing Shinonome's medical condition as such. While Shinonome occupied herself with the Professor's advisory notes, Lanfen looked towards the opened suitcase and counted the numerous capsules that took up nearly half of its physical storage capacity. Most of them were identical to one another. But the Adaptor could make out at least four different types of prescribed pills. Since S.O.N.G. only held surface-level information when it came to the Illuminati's human experiments, there was little they could actually do for the moment outside of designing basic medication. It was honestly easy for Lanfen to forget how Shinonome even carried such a condition when a basic glance informed nothing about it.
Light popping went off one-by-one as Shinonome took her required medicine. Lanfen brought over a glass of water to ease the process. The entire affair required only minutes, and once Shinonome was finished, Lanfen helped out with placing all of the removed capsules back into their previous positions. The gentle closure of a suitcase prompted its locks to switch back on before Shinonome placed it beside the table with a quick huff.
"And that's it for today," Shinonome stated with a hand on her pale-white cheek. A brief pause soon followed while Shinonome tightened her lips. "I wonder... do the people of S.O.N.G. think differently of me... because of this?" she pensively inquired, gazing at the Adaptor next to her. Lanfen only managed to respond with a confused raise of a brow until Shinonome elaborated on her question. "It... must not have been easy acquiring all of this special medication, I mean. Especially on such short notice."
Lanfen had only heard whispers of the proverbial hoops which the Professor needed to jump through in order to get everything prepared. But such obstacles mattered little to the Adaptor if it meant helping someone out. "... I'm sure you're welcome in S.O.N.G. just like everybody else, Shinonome," Lanfen calmly assured her, slipping her sore legs into the warm kotatsu table. She couldn't help but remember feeling a similar sentiment when Lanfen acquired her first batch of testosterone-blockers and estrogen. "No one is lesser just because they need accommodation," she added, earning her a tilt of the head from Shinonome, "it's just how things are for us, right?"
The woman's words of encouragement weren't the most rousing of speeches. Even so, they appeared to have applied their intended effect anyway as a small smile drew itself across Shinonome. "I suppose you're right," she muttered, twirling a strand of her silver hair around one finger. "Hopefully, the Professor will be able to find a way to-" A low grumble suddenly erupted from Shinonome's abdomen, prompting her to turn a shade of red while Lanfen concealed a soundless chuckle behind one palm. "It appears that I am still a bit p-peckish," she sheepishly admitted, placing a pair of hands over her stomach in a poor attempt to muffle its demands.
Considering Shinonome's somewhat malnourished state, her need to consistently devour more than two servings of rice per meal was hardly a mystery. "I'll go and check the fridge," Lanfen said, pulling herself out from the kotatsu. Shinonome could only give her an embarrassed but appreciative nod when the Adaptor proceeded to head back into the apartment's kitchen.
Flicking its ceiling lights back on, Lanfen opened up the refrigerator to examine multiple rows of raw ingredients, canned drinks, and sealed goods. Shinonome had eaten up everything she could during last night's dinner, so there were little-to-no leftovers for them to conveniently deal with today.
Subsequently, her purple eyes noticed a familiar box that Lanfen had completely forgotten about up until now. A distinct, decorated package which currently sat in the coldest compartments of her fridge all by itself.
It was the cake that the other Wielders had gifted Lanfen on the day she officially joined the Adaptor Corps.
Lanfen glued her pupils to the black-and-white ribbon which tied up the box. The amicable farewells the other Adaptors gave her before their sudden separation were difficult to truly forget. Pulling the package out from the fridge's lower sections, Lanfen closed up the refrigerator door and returned to the living room to settle an ice-cold box down on the dining table. The gentle thud it emitted when the packaging touched hard wood prompted Shinonome to get out from the kotatsu so she could investigate the colourful object that Lanfen had unveiled. Just like the Adaptor expected of her, curiosity flashed within Shinonome's eyes like stars amidst an entrancing, golden sky.
"Since we've already had lunch, dessert sounded like an obvious choice," Lanfen remarked, fetching a couple plates and utensils from the living room's counter. As she placed the dining ware down on the table, fascination continued to bloom all over Shinonome's expression, hiding none of the silent excitement the silver-haired woman radiated. With one swift tug, Lanfen subsequently undid the box's monochrome ribbon and revealed its contents for both of them to witness.
To describe the cake as 'beautiful' would be an understatement. And yet, it was the only descriptor Lanfen could conjure on the spot. Sitting atop the table before them was an Oreo cheesecake large enough to fill the bellies of a whole squadron. Black cookies were neatly organized around the circular dessert's snowy rims, all while the dark treats sat on cloud-like pillows of thick, creamy frosting. In the cake's center, the sentence, 'Welcome to S.O.N.G.!' was written across its fluffy surface in bright crimson. Subconsciously gulping at the advent of a culinary artwork, Lanfen held up the plastic knife which was taped to the box's side and hovered its dull blade over the monochrome cheesecake.
"I take it that this will be enough?" Lanfen mused, slicing out a large chunk of black-and-white for Shinonome. The silver-haired woman only responded with an eager but silent nod as Lanfen placed the thick slice onto a plate and slid it over to Shinonome's side of the table. "... The other Wielders prepared this for me when I first joined up," she quietly explained, cutting out a smaller portion for her own respective plate, "but let's just say that I've been too busy to actually eat it till now."
They eventually sat down on opposing lengths of the rectangular furniture with their dessert before them. About half of Shinonome's serving had been taken into her mouth by the time Lanfen could even lift her own fork. "This is..." Shinonome's golden eyes widened with transparent amazement. "I-I didn't think there could be creations in this world that can hold such a taste. Your comrades certainly have my praise, Jiang." Scooping up another mouthful of cheesecake, Shinonome remained oblivious to the bits of frosting that now stained the corners of her mouth.
The silver-haired woman dug into her frozen treat with the exact gusto she had displayed during dinner and lunch. Even if the cake provoked nothing from Lanfen's own taste buds, Shinonome's enjoyment by itself made taking out dessert worth it in her eyes. On the other hand, relaying Shinonome's praise towards Akatsuki and Tsukuyomi felt like an idea which was easier said than done due to the proverbial arm's length that Lanfen kept the other Wielders at.
Each time their utensils shoveled away at their cake slices, acoustic beats from the room's holo-player would intermingle with the light clinking of tableware against ceramic. Lanfen's wrist device currently rested next to her smartphone and relic pendant on the room's counter, its complete and utter silence having remained such ever since the injured Adaptor woke up in her apartment. The slight trembling Lanfen could sense within her sword-hand revealed how a part of her was essentially waiting for it to go off any moment now. But she knew that Commander Genjuuro was the kind of man to think twice about deploying Lanfen in her current physical state.
Giving her wounds time to heal up was a task which Lanfen tried to fully commit herself to, at least. With the downtime they had right now, the greenhorn Adaptor chose to spend the past few hours or so going through records of the other Symphogear-Wielders just like Shinonome. Lanfen insisted to herself that understanding where each of them came from would keep her from stepping on anyone's toes if she ever needed to converse with them again for one reason or another. Needless to say, the information their database retained on S.O.N.G.'s past and present Wielders was as detailed and somber as the woman anticipated.
The Kazanaris, Yukine, Tachibana, Akatsuki, Tsukuyomi, in addition to this 'Kohinata Miku', 'Serena', and the fiery half of Zwei Wing herself, Amou Kanade. Absolutely none of the Symphogear-Wielders were known to have fully led a simple life. Such was the conclusion which Lanfen came to after perusing the past records of her fellow Wielders. And while reading about their circumstances wasn't easy on the stomach, what Lanfen witnessed in the database admittedly made her admire how they were able to smile the way they did on the day she met them. They truly were on a completely different level compared to an ex-civilian who only recently attained her pendant because of a mysterious saviour in dark-blue.
Several knocks came from the front door the moment Lanfen settled a cream-covered fork on top of an emptied plate. Lanfen stopped Shinonome before she could motion to get off her chair. "I'll go get it." After cleaning her mouth with a tissue, Lanfen drew her Adaptor jacket over her bare shoulders and made her way through the apartment's hallway entrance. A few swipes from her bandaged fingers undid the door's locks, opening it up for Lanfen to see both Ayano and Godai standing at her doorstep. Despite the civilian outfits they were visibly wearing, Lanfen's frame subconsciously stood to attention, her sword-hand slightly twitching at her side. "Is there a mission for me?"
"Ease up, Jiang," Godai told her with an easy-going smirk. Just like she often did during their days in Lydian, the pony-tailed woman brought up an arm from her side and playfully bumped a closed fist against Lanfen's tense, jacket-covered shoulder. "Did you forget what you look like right now? The med-teams are going to give us an earful if those injuries of yours reopen, ya know?"
Godai's casual chiding made Lanfen's nerves ease up as Ayano clasped her hands together with an ear-to-ear smile. "We just got back from our business in Mitakihara, and since we've been told by command to remain on standby until you get better, we're pretty much free to do whatever we want for the rest of the day!" she exclaimed, dramatically throwing both arms upwards at the mention of what was essentially a day-off.
To nobody's surprise except possibly Ayano herself, the brunette's lack of an indoor voice had caught the attention of the other tenant inside Lanfen's apartment. Hearing the sound of bare footfalls behind her, Lanfen glanced over one shoulder and noticed Shinonome curiously walking up to the gathered trio. Faint bits of cake frosting stained the corners of her mouth while Shinonome placed herself at Lanfen's side to greet their fellow teammates with a pleasant smile. "Ayano. Godai," she said, hands folded in front of her, "it's a pleasure to see you both again."
Godai returned the pleasantries with a casual, two-fingered salute. Ayano instead looked at both Lanfen and Shinonome with a cat-like grin that sent shivers up the Adaptor's spine for some reason. It didn't take long afterwards for Ayano to reveal exactly why they were on their doorstep. "Hi, hi! Sorry if we were interrupting anything, but since we have some time-off right now, I just thought it'd be the perfect opportunity to blow off some steam!" She flashed a peace-sign with both hands and winked. "And what better way to do that than with a shopping trip?"
A shopping trip. Their apartment's refrigerator was fully stocked up on ingredients, so there wasn't anything Lanfen desired to purchase right now outside of whatever Shinonome personally needed. The Adaptor herself wasn't particularly excited by the notion of being in a crowded area, either. But when she glanced over to her silver companion for an opinion, Shinonome's shimmering, golden eyes became the only answer Lanfen required to understand the woman's feelings on the matter at hand.
"I must admit," Shinonome muttered, pressing the tips of her fingers against one another, "I've been... rather curious about getting to explore what's outside this apartment."
"Then that settles it, doesn't it?" Ayano chirped, a feline-esque grin still plastered across her face. "A maiden deserves to enjoy herself to the fullest, after all!"
Looking over to Godai for her own contribution to the conversation, the cheeky smirk which the tall woman flashed immediately informed Lanfen that nobody was going to be escaping from their fate. Any argument the Adaptor could voice right now would only end up useless in turning the tide in her favour. With a full understanding of her current situation, Lanfen slowly placed a bandaged palm on her hip and clicked her tongue in exasperation. Admitting defeat was possibly going to be a regular occurrence for the day. And it seemed that there was little she could do but arrive at the final stage of grief: Acceptance.
"We'll be downstairs in a few minutes."
Symphogear Team-04. Today marked the first occasion in which all four of its members were gathered up in their designated operations vehicle. And it was for the sake of a trip to a shopping mall of all possible locations. Due to the terminal that took up an entire side of the van's rear - as well as the lack of any windows for its passenger seats - Shinonome spent the entire trip peering in-between Ayano and Godai so she could observe the busy, snow-covered roads ahead of them. Lanfen herself simply rested up in the back while the vehicle bypassed Yamaku City's endless traffic jams. Now dressed in proper winter clothing, the Adaptor embraced the comforts of her monochrome scarf, giving the injuries beneath her jacket the time they required to fully heal up.
Half an hour had passed. Maybe even a quarter and a half. However long it took to reach wherever her two seniors intended to bring them, not a single second had gone by without some sort of playful exchange between Shinonome and their two teammates in the front seats. It reminded Lanfen of how Ayano regularly chatted the ears off her underclassmen back in Lydian Academy. By the time Lanfen managed to fully raise her heavy eyelids, the van's engine had already gone quiet. Its backdoors were also opened up to let the afternoon light shine right into the vehicle's backseats. As Godai dusted her gloved hands outside the van's back, Shinonome climbed into the inert automobile and carefully nudged a hazy Lanfen in the shoulder.
"We're here, Jiang," she softly said, welcoming the Adaptor back to the material realm with a smile.
Rubbing one eye with the back of a bandaged hand, Lanfen returned the greeting with an awkward nod before climbing out of the van with Shinonome in tow. The black-and-white scarf around her neck shielded Lanfen from the harsh December winds. But the icy bite of winter never failed to make her shiver ever so slightly. While Godai motioned to secure the van's locks, Lanfen scanned the large car park they were in and immediately recognized their destination: Mitakihara. Despite the Distortion incursion which had just transpired here, the bustling streets and crowded walkways made the metropolis appear as if a tear in reality hadn't ripped through its skyline merely hours ago. The falling snow and Christmas decor that adorned their flashing surroundings especially helped to establish the backdrop of a winter wonderland.
Through a single clap of her hands, Ayano seized the attention of her three teammates. "Let's enjoy ourselves and hold nothing back!" she exclaimed, swinging her arms to gesture towards the large shopping complex they had parked right next to. "Hard work should always be rewarded with hard play! And never forget to believe in justice, and hold a determination to-!"
"Komi', people are going to end up starin' at us again," Godai flatly cut her off, sliding the van's keys into her leather jacket. Beside her, Shinonome stifled a soft giggle while Lanfen quietly sighed in exasperation. All sense of fervour Ayano attempted to ignite subsequently died out with a whimper and a playful pout from the brunette. "Right, let's get movin' already," Godai told them, already stepping in the direction of a tall shopping mall. "We've got better things to do today than freeze our asses off."
A crass but sensible argument, Lanfen mentally remarked as her and Shinonome followed the tall woman's lead. Ayano promptly gave another audible pout before she caught up to the trio on Mitakihara's crowded walkways. With Ayano and Godai now guiding the group, Lanfen placed herself at Shinonome's side while Christmas lights of blue, red, and yellow flashed above the heads of the city's countless pedestrians, manifesting a glistering spectacle which seized the silver-haired woman's fascinated gaze within seconds. The Adaptor pondered to herself if there was any need to hold on to Shinonome just so they wouldn't lose her in the crowd. But the light twitching in Lanfen's sword-hand quickly gave her second thoughts about it.
"Pray tell," Shinonome spoke up, catching the ears of the older pair in front of them, "what is this 'Christmas' that appears to be mentioned everywhere? Despite the current situation, everybody seems to be in remarkably better spirits because of it."
Lanfen had to wonder how Shinonome hadn't yet looked up such a concept on the tablet she provided her. After Ayano and Godai shared a wordless look with one another, the latter left the explanation to her friend as Ayano held up a gloved finger in a matter-of-fact way. The brunette apparently didn't care too much about keeping her eyes forward during their stroll. "You see, 'Christmas' is basically a special holiday that takes place on December 25th," Ayano began, waving her finger around like a teaching stick. "Most people spend it with friends and family to exchange gifts, but despite what some people would insist, the most important part of the day is all about being with the people you care about the most."
Shinonome's eyes shimmered like an ocean of golden glitter, even if half of her face remained concealed beneath a fringe of silver. "That sounds... wonderful," she whispered, placing a mitten-covered hand on a pale-white cheek.
"It does, doesn't it?" Godai chimed in, her attention still kept in front of her while they walked amongst a tide of pedestrians. "Another great part 'bout Christmas is that it's also the perfect time to stuff your face with some damn good food." Emphasizing her comment with a playful chef's kiss, Godai followed up the gesture by wistfully sighing. "We still got a bit of time till it arrives, but I sure as hell can't wait to kick back and relax after all these recent headaches."
As the older duo continued elaborating on the delights of the winter holiday, Lanfen's wandering focus turned towards the shopping complex they were about to approach. The fog that her nap shrouded around her mind was finally beginning to clear. Once the last of its thick clouds had fully dissipated, the powdery gears within Lanfen's mind churned with purpose, allowing a stalled realization to clatter into her brain: The mall which her two seniors had brought them to was the very same building where Lanfen and Kai ran into Ayano. A coincidental reunion that took place on the day in which the Distortions initiated their assault. Being taken here out of all places in Mitakihara couldn't have been pure happenstance.
"Jiang," Godai said, pulling Lanfen out of her thoughts.
Placing a bandaged hand on the monochrome scarf she wore, Lanfen soon realized how she had contributed little to the conversation since their arrival. While Ayano answered any curious inquiries Shinonome had about the large advertising screens that occupied almost every one of the city's visible skyscrapers, the Adaptor habitually cleared her throat and raised her voice for Godai to actually catch a reply. "Something you wanted to ask?"
The tall woman's back continued facing Lanfen. But it did not prevent Lanfen from picking up a sense of concern within her senior's relaxed syllables. The way Godai scratched the rear of her neck was especially a telltale sign which Lanfen vaguely remembered from the few times they interacted in the academy. "How're you feelin', so far?" Godai casually asked. "It's been a couple hours since those tin cans roughed you up. Damn Cat-2s weren't easy to handle, huh?"
In response to the woman's question, Lanfen slipped one arm underneath her winter jacket to brush its fingertips against several areas of her torso. Waltzing around the place with medical wraps beneath her clothing wasn't exactly comfortable. Even so, Lanfen would prefer to let Shinonome experience her first official outing. "I'm fine," she insisted, stowing a pair of hands inside her jacket's pockets, "the Category-2s weren't easy, no. But it's nothing that a bit of practice should fix. I'll most likely be combat-ready by tomorrow morning."
"Eager to get back to work, huh?" Godai laughed, narrowly avoiding bumping shoulders with a stranger on the crowded walkway. "We've got some of the best medical tech to help bring us back from a fight. And thankfully, they don't leave much scars, too. Otherwise, you and I would probably be covered in them from all the crap we're expected to just do." In spite of her easy-going attitude, Godai's playful comment only ended up reminding Lanfen about how her two school seniors had been enduring the paranormal far longer than herself. All without the aid of a Symphogear, no less.
As Lanfen replied through a nod that Godai obviously couldn't notice, the Adaptor sensed a gentle tug on the sleeve of her jacket.
Glancing back over to Shinonome, Lanfen noticed how the woman had suddenly halted right in the middle of the walkway, prompting Lanfen to immediately follow suit. Godai and Ayano wouldn't have detected the duo's abrupt stop if Lanfen did not subsequently call out to them. It took several seconds of squeezing past the pedestrian tide for the older pair to regroup with them. Before any of the three could actually ask Shinonome what was wrong, the silver-haired woman raised a mitten-covered hand, pointing at one of the massive advertising screens which were built into Mitakihara's towering buildings. When her fellow teammates all glanced in the guided direction, Lanfen tightened her chapped lips and widened her eyes ever so slightly.
Displayed on the building's expansive screen was a promotional video for an upcoming London concert. A concert to be held next year by none other than Kazanari Tsubasa and Kazanari Maria. With the recent advent of the Distortion menace, the advertisement's barrage of flashing, informational visuals vowed to bestow a musical experience that would soothe the distress of anyone who was willing to feast their eyes on the approaching performance. As expected of the women who led the Kazanari Humanitarian Front, the televised recording promised the dedication of any ensuing profits to be forwarded towards repairing the damages inflicted by the worldwide attack, all while assisting the lives of those who were forever changed in its aftermath.
Once the promotional video finally transitioned into a different, unrelated advertisement, Shinonome lowered her arm and tentatively looked towards Lanfen. "They're just like you, aren't they?"
The Adaptor subconsciously hovered a bandaged hand over her beating chest. The red pendant which contained the shard of an ancient relic could be felt resting underneath Lanfen's black-and-white scarf. Even though the team was essentially out on a day-off, Lanfen had ended up bringing it along with her without much thought, the same way one would habitually grab their smartphone before exiting the house. Since Shinonome had previously utilized Lanfen's wrist device to look up her personal records, the silver-haired woman's quick recognition of Lanfen's fellow Wielders should not have surprised her like it did.
"You could say that," Lanfen whispered as the four women stood in the center of a pedestrian-filled walkway. "... They're the ones who are watching over Europe right now. And unlike us, the other teams are made up of two Wielders each. We're more or less the odd ones out because of that." A question then arose in her mind. A question that determined whether or not Shinonome was also aware of the 'duty' which the world council had oh-so-elegantly bestowed upon Lanfen's shoulders. Nothing gave off the impression that she did, and while it was probably for the best, it admittedly felt hypocritical to find any relief in such after claiming how Lanfen didn't have anything to hide from Shinonome.
Lanfen felt her tongue tie itself up in the middle of an attempt to utter her next words. Thankfully, Godai quickly went up to the Adaptor's side and carefully clapped her on the shoulder. "Have you been keepin' in touch with them?" The small - almost rueful - shake of the head which Lanfen managed to muster became the only response she could submit. "Well, that's understandable," Godai added, casually shrugging her shoulders. "Right, Komi'?"
"Yep!" Ayano chirped with an ear-to-ear smile. "A lot of things have been keeping us all busy lately, so you don't have to worry too much about what's been going on outside of Japan. But if you're curious, it's perfectly fine! Tachibana, Chris, and all the other gals are faring pretty well." She then presented a playful flex of her thin arms. "They're strong maidens, after all. I'm sure they'd understand if you're too busy to give them a call."
With the duo's combined attempt at softening the atmosphere, Lanfen quietly reassured herself that Shinonome truly knew nothing about the weapon which slumbered within the Sword of Damocles. If she could, Lanfen would thank her two seniors for the intervention, because an instrument that was as dreaded as the S.W.O.R.D. wasn't anything Shinonome had any reason to be aware of. Especially when they were currently on a mundane trip into the city. "Of course," Lanfen said, resting one palm on her hip in a mild show of confidence. Shinonome appeared to have bought the facade. "The... difference in time-zones doesn't exactly help either."
"Anyway!" Ayano exclaimed with a thunderous clap of her hands, earning the oblivious brunette a few stares from the pedestrians who were walking around the gathered group. "Frowns are illegal whenever I'm around. Especially on a day-off! So, to officially begin this afternoon, let's commemorate our first day as Team-04!" In one smooth motion, Ayano's arms cleaved apart the winter air, gesturing towards an array of large booths which were stationed right outside the nearby shopping complex. Their flashy, colourful signs evidently made them out to be a bunch of photography booths that were often used for taking souvenir pictures.
Godai stepped between Shinonome and Lanfen to utter a hush comment before either of them could even give any opinions. "We're probably not leavin' till Komi' gets a photo, so let's just give up trying to resist, yeah?" Something about Godai's dry tone and her obvious, pained smirk suggested that it would be a better idea to run unarmed against a Distortion compared to denying Ayano's electrified proposition.
Stuffing her bandaged hands back into her pockets, Lanfen quietly clicked her tongue. "Sounds about right."
In direct contrast to the Adaptor, Shinonome met Ayano's suggestion with an eager nod. Whatever curiosity she was initially displaying towards their previous conversation had been effortlessly caught by the flashing lights of the photo-booths up ahead. "It certainly sounds like the perfect method to celebrate the occasion, Ayano," Shinonome said, casting the seeds for a proud, cat-like grin to grow on Ayano's expression alongside her ego.
Godai tried giving a warning about not enabling her. But a quick gesture from Lanfen held back her senior's dry wit mid-sentence.
Having settled their next decision, Ayano proceeded to escort all three of her teammates through the crowded walkways before ushering them into one of the large photo-boots with far more physical strength than her physique would imply. If Lanfen had been inside one of these booths before, she possessed no memory of such an occasion while Ayano slipped a couple yens into a nearby coin slot. Several inputs into the machine's holographic interface subsequently readied its camera. And Ayano was quick to dramatically declare how all of them should be smiling to the best of their abilities.
"Show off your best faces, everybody!"
Just this morning, Lanfen had fought tooth-and-nail to turn a pair of Category-2 Distortions into piles of sand beneath her armoured boot. The medical wraps underneath her clothes were physical proof of her bloody duel. And yet, here she was, standing in a flamboyant photo-booth with the three other members of Symphogear Team-04 like an everyday tourist of Mitakihara. If someone ended up revealing to her how Lanfen was actually just dreaming as she slept in her futon, she would've believed them. But the reality of her surroundings was tangible. With Shinonome on her left, and her two seniors on her right, the loud ticking of a camera's timer allowed Lanfen to muster her most significant smile in a while now.
The shutter's distinctive snap felt like an announcement that she truly was in good company.