"Dinner is ready, everybody!"
Kaburagi's ecstatic announcement echoed throughout the household's merry halls barely five minutes after the arrival of Jiang, Ayano, and the senior Symphogear-Wielder whom Aiko had heard about. Upon perceiving the house owner's declaration, Godai took the opportunity to lead Aiko and Jiang out of the living room, and over to a pair of doors that led to the house's dining area. Once both Ayano and Yukine returned from the house's upper floors, Godai slid open the double-doors, and revealed the room behind it with her trademark smirk plastered across her face.
In that moment, Aiko called upon her extensive research into the cultures around the world and identified the dishes before them in the span of a rising heartbeat. Tonkatsu, alternatively known as deep-fried pork cutlet, was the first thing which caught Aiko's widening gaze as an immense platter of the dish sat in the middle of a readied, long table beneath the soft glow of candlelight. A large pan of pizza sat next to the tonkatsu, its cheesy aroma instantly tickling Aiko's nose the moment the room's doors were pushed aside. Of course, dessert was also present in the form of mochi - pounded rice cake - and several pre-sliced servings of lavish Christmas cake. For drinks, Kaburagi had prepared three bottles of chanmery, a carbonated beverage meant to invoke the prestige of champagne.
"I'd suggest you hold nothing back if ya wanna have the best Christmas dinner there is!" Godai exclaimed, ushering the gathered group into the two sides of the room's long table while her fiancé opened up one of the bottles with a loud pop. "There is only one rule for tonight, and it's to eat till you're knocking on heaven's door!"
The festivities truly began once everyone was sitting comfortably in their respective seats. With Aiko sitting in-between a calm Jiang on her left, and an absolutely shaken Ayano on her right, Aiko waited until everyone else had taken their servings before she too began filling up her plate with the mouth-watering meals on the table. Her stomach chastised her for being sluggish by letting out a complaining rumble, but Aiko intended to prioritize everyone else's needs before her own. The patience she endured only made Aiko's first spoonful of fried meat all the more delicious to her taste buds.
"Like she said, don't hold yourself back, Shinonome," Jiang spoke up next to Aiko, delicately digging into a slice of pizza with a knife and fork unlike Godai further down the table. Kaburagi was thankfully quick to cease any pointless arguments between Ayano and Godai about whether or not utensils were even suitable for pizza. "Besides, we have to make sure your first Christmas is a memorable one, don't we?"
Swallowing a mouthful of both pork and pizza in one go, Aiko dabbed her mouth with a provided napkin before nodding at the Adaptor's words. Even though the expression Jiang wore while she ate didn't match Ayano's own brimming excitement nor Godai's party-like demeanor, the aura Jiang radiated bore none of the intensity she had been shielding herself with over the past two weeks. Her guard was undoubtedly still raised to a degree, and yet, Aiko could sense the smallest of openings being left open around the brown woman. Aiko would've spent another minute observing Jiang, but when the Adaptor glanced back at her with a raised brow, Aiko hastily swung her attention back to her dinner-plate and pretended like nothing was going on.
No comment came out of Jiang aside from a small exhale of what seemed like amusement.
"I missed your cooking so much!" Ayano cried from her seat, earning exasperated sighs from the two present Symphogear-Wielders at the table. "Gosh, why can't any of S.O.N.G.'s cafeteria food taste this good?!"
"You better leave some of the Christmas desserts for everyone else, Komi'," Godai reminded her with a wag of a cheese-covered finger, only to receive the childish stick of the tongue from her dramatic friend.
"A dining table is a battle royale, Yuki," Ayano sagely stated, crossing her utensils as though she were crossing blades, "and those who don't fight won't survive."
"Komichi," Yukine dryly spoke up while she sat across the table from both Jiang and Aiko, "will I ever have a meal with you without needin' to hear the weirdest damn things you could ever say?"
Kaburagi was the one to enthusiastically answer her as the house owner pushed a pair of glasses up the bridge of her nose with an index finger. "Not for another five years, probably!"
If verbal sparring around the table was a staple of a Christmas celebration, then Aiko easily found it to be a convenient source of entertainment in the middle of a delicious meal. Neither her nor Jiang evidently wanted to contribute to the ongoing chatter, so the both of them merely focused on scarfing down Kaburagi's cooking while watching the smooth back-and-forth between the four other women with interest. After shoveling her fifth spoonful of fried meat into her mouth, Aiko looked to Jiang again, and noticed a bit of mochi sticking itself to the woman's scarred cheek apparently without her notice. Aiko intended on tapping the oblivious Jiang on the shoulder at first.
But with Jiang's attention being focused solely on her meal, Aiko instead placed down her utensils, reached for the stuck piece of rice cake with one hand, and plucked it off the woman's scarred cheek without a word. Jiang visibly flinched at the sudden gesture. When she glanced back at the silver-haired woman with a pair of widened, purple eyes, Jiang could only wordlessly watch as Aiko stuck the retrieved piece of mochi between her lips. "This is... quite delicious," Aiko commented, her golden eyes flickering in astonishment at her first ever bite of Japanese rice cake, "don't you think so, too-?"
Aiko looked back at the Adaptor and finally noticed the bewildered expression Jiang wore alongside the shades of growing pink on her face.
Jiang's sudden silence received only an oblivious tilt of the head from Aiko. "Did I-" She worriedly pressed the tips of her fingers against one another. "-Do something wrong...?"
Immediately, Jiang defused Aiko's worries with a shake of her head before scratching a scarred cheek with one finger. "N-No. It's fine." Jiang picked up a spoonful of mochi with a clearly-trembling hand and stayed completely still for a second before slowly aiming the utensil at Aiko's direction. "... Want another bite?" she asked with clear control over herself this time. "I'm not that great with sticky food, so-" Her sentence was then left half-completed as Aiko gladly took a bite of Jiang's spoon and devoured the offered dessert in one go.
Pulling herself back into her seat with one hand cupping on to a pale-white cheek, Aiko savoured the taste of mochi before gulping it all down. The satisfied noise Aiko let out was a sound which Jiang responded with an amused exhale of her own. Mochi was surely going onto the growing list of Aiko's favourite Japanese food.
The sense that someone was looking at Aiko subsequently made itself known within the silver-haired woman's mind. After narrowing her attention on the person who she presumed to be the source, Aiko looked across the table, and noticed a senior Symphogear-Wielder staring at both her and Jiang with an expression which could only be read as 'vexed'. Not that Aiko was able to figure out the reason behind it, unfortunately. "You are Yukine Chris, correct?" Aiko politely asked her since the two had yet to make each other's acquaintance. "S.O.N.G. tells me that you're quite capable when it comes to saving lives."
"They're probably exaggerating, but they're not too far off the mark," Yukine replied, tapping her plate with the greasy prongs of a metal fork. "So, you're Shinonome Aiko, huh?" She gave a side-glance at Godai and Ayano down the table. "Those two have mentioned ya a couple times. Said they were taking care of ya after they found ya somewhere out in a forest." Yukine shrugged and slowly went back to her meal. "I don't fully know what's going on, but have ya gotten any luck with those memories of yours?"
While Jiang noticeably furrowed her brows at the sudden mention of Aiko's unique circumstances, the silver-haired woman herself calmly rested her hands on the edges of her seat, responding, "Nothing yet, unfortunately." The absence of any regret or sadness within her answer was a strange feeling, but Aiko continued on without pause. "Honestly, as serious as it may be, it's not something I'm particularly worried about," Aiko stated, leaving out the fact that a part of her apparently bore little issue with leaving whoever she was before completely behind her.
Halting her own meal momentarily, Jiang's attempts at hiding the concern within her own voice was both fruitless and appreciated. "Are you really alright with it, Shinonome?"
"'Alright' would admittedly be an inaccurate way of putting it." Aiko shook her head and hid a giggle behind the palm of one hand. "... But right now, with the things I possess and the people who surround me..." She thought back on the time that had already passed since S.O.N.G. first found her within a forest's snowy glade. Aiko couldn't believe how it's been only half a month since her rescue. The time since then just felt longer than it actually was. "... I can say that I feel little regret about being where I am, who I am, Jiang."
As verbal exchanges on their side of the table abruptly dimmed down from Aiko's near-melancholic words, the silver-haired woman kept her hands on the edges of her seat, and silently wondered if her response was too unusual of an answer for the two Symphogear-Wielders. It wouldn't be the first time Aiko had said something perplexing to everyone else, and it wouldn't be the last time she made such a mistake. It was just how her mind decided to convey the multitude of feelings within her mind. But right as Aiko moved to break the silence, she felt something brush against the back of her hand, and slowly peeked aside to see Jiang's warm palm gently placing itself over her still left hand. The hesitation within the Adaptor's fingers was clear.
And yet, Jiang made no move to abort the gesture while she proceeded to hold on to Aiko in an obvious attempt at comfort.
It matched the conclusion Aiko herself had come to a day ago: Jiang's hand was capable of more than just holding on to a sword of revenge.
"We all eventually find a home for ourselves," Yukine suddenly stated from across the dining table, wearing a smile that lasted for only a second. Whatever feelings she hid still showed itself through the wistful gaze the senior Wielder proceeded to direct at the bantering trio further down the table. "In the end, it's up to you where ya wanna get comfortable, right?"
Nodding sharply at Yukine's wise words, Aiko stared graciously at the hot, delicious food she had the luxury of even eating before focusing once more on the warmth Jiang's comforting palm simply provided her. "You surely have a point there, Yukine," Aiko said, finding the crimson Wielder to be far wiser than what S.O.N.G. files and reports initially made her out to be. "Jiang certainly possesses reliable seniors she can count on, doesn't she?"
Although Aiko's compliment was merely a polite phrase that was typical of herself, its simple utterance instantly made Yukine loose the grip she had on her utensils, causing them to clumsily clatter onto her plate.
The sharp noise inevitably attracted the attention of Godai and Ayano on the other side of the table, and as the duo started prodding the flustered Wielder with teasing questions and remarks, Aiko and Jiang watched on in amusement at each other's sides. Being the target of both Godai and Ayano was a fate even an Adaptor evidently treated with dread. The way the Yukine soon lost control over her speech in the face of Ayano's verbal barrages only proved that. But while the sights before them surely made for a memorable Christmas dinner, what truly caught Aiko's attention was the light, unrestrained laughter she could hear streaming out of Jiang's lips. It was the first honest laugh Aiko had ever heard from her.
And it was a pleasant sound she wouldn't be forgetting so soon.
The whole evening flew by before Lanfen even noticed it. It was just how time worked if you were too occupied living in the present. With only 5 minutes remaining till 11 PM, Lanfen rested up in the back of the team's parked van, waiting for both Godai and Shinonome to finish saying their goodbyes while Ayano sat in the vehicle's forward passenger seat. As the Adaptor continued to stare absent-mindedly at the deactivated terminal in front of her, Ayano freely tapped away on her smartphone, preventing a second of silence from settling inside the vehicle's darkened interior by playing a few recordings of the other Wielders celebrating the winter holiday. Meanwhile, Lanfen's mind could only focus on one particular moment from earlier.
Her literal attempt at reaching out for Shinonome's hand.
If Lanfen was being honest with herself, her body had moved in that moment before a single thought could even be finalized within her mind. Shinonome's statement to Yukine possessed no hint of untruth, but a part of Lanfen still could not help but worry when the topic of Shinonome's memories came up during dinner. Not that Lanfen held anything against Yukine for it, of course. That part of Shinonome always felt like a proverbial elephant in the room. In the end, Lanfen' chosen course of action was to mimic the same comforting gesture Ayano had done for her several days ago. Whether or not it actually helped with anything was completely up in the air.
Several of the van's doors opened and Lanfen snapped herself out of her thoughts to see Shinonome stepping into the comforts of the van's backseats with a black-and-white scarf around her neck. At the front, Godai hauled herself into the driver's seat, two cans of coffee in one hand while the two promptly closed the vehicle's doors back up. Godai was definitely going to need help staying up if she intended on handling the wheel for the entire way back to Yamaku City.
"Alright, time to hit the road," Godai said, inserting the van's key into its ignition. "Here's to hopin' that our next visit here won't be too far off."
"I concur," Shinonome added as she sat down on the terminal's designated chair and activated several of the control panel's switches. "A brief respite from the sights of a city certainly eases the mind, wouldn't you say?"
Hearing a loud exclamation of agreement from Ayano at the front, Lanfen's purple eyes narrowed on the scarf she had lent to Shinonome for today, and felt her chest slightly tighten beneath her black jacket. 'We all eventually find a home for ourselves,' were the words Yukine gave her. Lanfen could only wonder if there was a place Shinonome desired to be other than the company of Team-04. But it was a thought Lanfen had no desire to voice. After the last of the terminal's monitors before her switched themselves on, Lanfen heard the van's engine rumbling to life, announcing the group's departure from Godai's hometown and the end of their mundane road trip.
Slowly, the vehicle made its way through the town's snow-laden streets. Not a single person could be seen wandering around outside at this point of time and the members of Team-04 were evidently settling down after the evening festivities. Godai operated the wheel, sipping a can of coffee in one hand. Ayano was on her phone, presumably texting the other Wielders about their own preparations for Christmas. On the terminal's designated chair, Shinonome's hands typed away on the van's control panel, bringing up digital text and images from the manual Ayano had provided. At some point, Lanfen felt her smartphone vibrate within her jacket, prompting her to pull it out and notice a text message from Ayano of all things.
"Did you enjoy yourself tonight?" the message read, accompanied by an emoticon indicating sly curiosity.
Lanfen leaned against the vehicle's reinforced walls and lightly exhaled before thumbing a response. "I did." She sent the message and then typed out a second one. "It's not every day I get to travel this far north. Let alone to a place this secluded. It's nice." Whatever Lanfen felt about coming all the way here still couldn't prevent her from shivering beneath her jacket every few minutes. A little over half a decade of staying in Japan just was not enough to get used to the cold for her.
"I'm happy to hear that!" Ayano's reply came with a smiling emoticon and a sticker of a red Valkyranger flashing a thumbs-up. "Making sure that you're able to smile again one day is our job as your seniors! After all, frowns are illegal whenever I'm around, so those bad feelings inside your head better be ready for us to never back down! Ever!" Emoticons meant to convey bold ferocity accompanied the arriving message. Lanfen could only playfully scoff at the eccentric text, even if she did honestly appreciate Ayano's efforts.
"Affirmative," was Lanfen's only reply as she placed her smartphone back inside her pocket and stared at the numerous, glowing monitors on the other side of the van.
Watching the countless paragraphs of text fly across the digital screens, Shinonome's fingers tapped away on the keys at a pace which rivaled their two teammates, letting the silver-haired woman go through huge swaths of the three digit-page manual faster than Lanfen could even comprehend. Shinonome barely moved in her seat while she did so. But even if the manual's contents didn't appear to faze her, Lanfen herself couldn't help but lean forward in her seat before she tried getting Shinonome's attention through a delicate tap on the shoulder. It took a second try for Shinonome to actually notice the Adaptor's wordless gesture.
"Was there something you needed?" Shinonome paused the manual with a tap of a button and reoriented her chair around.
Opening her mouth slightly to speak, Lanfen felt her words place themselves on her tongue, only for them to suddenly leave her at the last possible moment. The ensuing silence understandably made Shinonome curiously tilt her head. In truth, Lanfen desired to ask if joining them on their missions was what Shinonome really desired. No matter how noble their duties appeared to an outsider, they were undeniably putting their lives on the line, with or without a Symphogear. So, Lanfen wondered if Shinonome was truly prepared for what could be expected of her. But the longer the Adaptor actually ruminated on this train of thought, the tighter her grasp became around the hazy memory of Shinonome attempting to save Lanfen from the S.W.O.R.D.'s near-unbreakable grip.
Lanfen's sword-hand still trembled at even the faintest reminders of that moment.
And yet, that very memory itself was the answer to Lanfen's unspoken question. Shinonome did not possess the bravest of souls. But she was willing to do whatever she could to assist with this world's protection, no matter how small her contributions may actually end up being in the long run. Lanfen carried no right to judge Shinonome's resolve when she herself did not have anything similar shining within her. All Lanfen actually had was the proverbial fire of lingering, dormant revenge.
"Jiang?" Shinonome's voice pulled Lanfen out of her wavering thoughts like the safety line of a diver's heavy suit.
Fixating her gaze again on Shinonome's half-concealed face, Lanfen witnessed her golden eyes looking back at the Adaptor with growing concern, causing her to scramble for something to conclude her silence. The only words that could come to mind were of Ayano's from earlier on in the day. "I..." Lanfen scratched her scarred cheek and tightly pursed her lips. "I have a request, Shinonome. Not just to you," she raised her voice so the two at the front could also hear her, "but to Ayano and Godai as well."
"This isn't about a pay-raise, is it?" Godai sarcastically responded, still navigating their vehicle out of the town's snowy streets.
On the passenger seat beside Godai, Ayano stayed quiet with a cat-like grin on her face, making it obvious that she already knew what Lanfen was about to say.
If it wasn't for everything that had happened today, Lanfen's so-called request would've been something to ask at another time. After steeling her nerves and drawing in a practiced breath, Lanfen noticed the wondering look Shinonome was giving her, and carefully asked them all, "Would it be alright if we dropped the surnames from now on?" She saw Ayano giving a subdued clap of her hands at the front. "It... would be easier if we just went with our first names, wouldn't it? It's what Tachibana and the others are doing, s-so..." No other convenient reasons could find themselves forming on the tip of Lanfen's tongue, leaving it to instead awkwardly tie itself up.
While Godai gave an impressed whistle in response to Lanfen's proposition, Shinonome raised up her hand with another curious tilt of the head. "From what I've been able to learn, addressing a person by their first name around these parts implies a level of closeness between the speaker and the receiver, doesn't it?" The sheer formality of her presented definition pulled an earnest chuckle out of Ayano and the smallest of smiles from Lanfen. Their responses quickly worried her. "W-Were my findings incorrect?"
"Nah, you got it right," Godai reassured her, sipping a can of coffee with a smirk. "Probably a way better explanation than what Komi' was about to give, honestly."
As Ayano shot Godai a playful stick of her tongue along with an overly-dramatic pout, Shinonome placed one hand over her chest in a gesture of visible relief. Her golden eyes then flickered with clear, golden astonishment half-hidden behind a concealing fringe of silver. The way they did so was always fascinating for Lanfen to observe. "In that case, that sounds like a splendid idea, Jiang." Shinonome looked over to the pair at the front. "Is anyone in disagreement?"
"I've got nothin' to complain about," Godai said with a shrug of her shoulders.
Ayano, on the other hand, answered with a dramatic finger snap. "I think it's a genius idea," she exclaimed in an almost sing-song voice. "It would be the perfect way to end the day, the perfect way to celebrate Christmas, and the perfect way to celebrate our time together so far!" Ayano flashed Lanfen a peace-sign with two fingers before giving the Adaptor a cheeky wink.
It took Lanfen four seconds to realize that it was herself who would be taking credit for this idea.
Lanfen should have expected it from someone like Ayano, and yet, she found herself taken aback anyway by her sly teammate. But before Lanfen could even try and point it out, she heard a crackling boom suddenly resound from beyond the vehicle's walls, causing her sword-hand to twitch at her side as Shinonome visibly jumped in her seat. The van subsequently came into a halt and Lanfen expected the worst. She couldn't even stop the hairs on the back of her neck from rising slightly. So, when Lanfen moved towards the front of the van, the Adaptor looked out the windshields for any signs of danger, only to then draw in a sharp breath when she witnessed a different kind of light blossoming across the winter skies.
Fireworks.
Like a garden of flowers sitting amongst the endless backdrop of a starry ocean, countless fireworks rocketed into the night skies before blooming into roaring orbs of a hundred different colours. The mere sight of their fiery petals left Lanfen's mouth slightly agape as Ayano in front of her whipped out a smartphone to hastily record the whole thing. Behind Godai's seat, Shinonome watched with a pair of unblinking eyes, taking in the entire show like she could not believe what she was even witnessing in the moment. The only one who wasn't surprised by the fireworks display at all was the van's own driver.
"Oh yeah." Godai leaned back in her chair, coffee in hand. "I heard there was somethin' like this being planned. Almost forgot 'bout it.".
Each time a firework detonated in the skies with a crackling roar, a part of Lanfen found itself strangely relieved that she could look into the skies like this, expecting nothing more than a celebratory display rather than the unforgettable sight of a tear in reality. With her elbow on the back of Ayano's seat, Lanfen momentarily drew her focus away from the fireworks, letting her instead run a wordless gaze across the three women who had been accompanying her ever since Lanfen's advent as S.O.N.G.'s seventh Adaptor. Godai Yuki, Ayano Komichi, and Shinonome Aiko. They were the kind of people Kai would have loved to meet. And a group of companions Lanfen couldn't appreciate more for simply having.
"It's an amazing sight, isn't it?" Shinonome muttered, eyes flickering in astonishment as the blooming lights reflected in her golden irises.
Lanfen gave a small nod of the head. "It really is."
Her curt words garnered no comment from anyone of her companions, but when Lanfen had uttered them in response to Shinonome's awe-struck words, the Adaptor's eyes were not directed at the blossoming fires in the skies. Instead, Lanfen's gaze fixated itself on the earnest smile Shinonome bore without a hint of restraint. No matter how dazzling the bright fireworks beyond the windshields actually were, it was Shinonome's own beauty that could truly settle the unease within Lanfen's chest. And it was also Shinonome's clear happiness which extinguished the proverbial fires lying dormant behind Lanfen's purple eyes.