Hanoashi reluctantly climbed out of the RO seat, stretching just as soon as she sat foot on the ground.
"Is your tank in need of a repair?" a girl asked softly.
"No, I just need to speak to Kay for a brief second is all," Asami noted.
The girl shifted nervously, before bowing. "I'm so sorry...Rena had me sabotage your tank by force and..."
"Woah...slow down, by force?" Hanoashi gasped. That was fast...
"I...uh...got the scholarship for the mechanic club, but someone slipped tobacco in my locker. Rena showed it to me privately and threatened to tell Kay if I didn't do exactly what she said. I only figured out that she was having me placed that scope brace in your tank two days ago..."
"Scope brace?" Hanoashi tipped her head in confusion.
"It's a small metal part that helps keep the sights in line," the girl noted.
"Alright...here's the thing, you can either come with me and explain this to Kay, and in return I can advocate on investigating who put the supposed tobacco in your locker, or if you refuse I can tell Kay that someone has been sabotaging our tank and they'll trace it back to you anyways." Asami noted, her tone serious and offering no argument.
"I'll come with you...urg I should have just gone and reported the tobacco incident myself, but it's just with Rena in the top running for next year's deputy commander-ship I was afraid and..." the girl trailed off. "I'm sorry."
"You think Rena might try pressing this on Yukari?" Hanoashi asked.
"Yukari?" the girl asked.
"Maybe...but from what you said she doesn't seem the type to just sabotage a tank like that," Asami shrugged.
"You know the spy?"
"I dated her brother for a bit," Hanoashi shrugged. "Good guy, not very good at seeing past obviously false allegations and that's all I'm going to say on the matter," she added tensely.
"Asami, what's going on?" Kay asked. "Don't tell me young Blaze is giving you trouble already," she added with a slight tease.
"I'm not that bad," Hanoashi pouted playfully.
"Actually, it was me who was causing trouble...I'm sorry," the girl bowed.
"Wait a second...Sara?" Hanoashi recognized with a gasp, surprised to see another one of her kindergarten friends at Sanders.
"Hanoashi?" the girl's eyes widened. "What are you doing in Sensado?"
"I'm surprised that you went into the mechanic career," Hanoashi noted.
"You two know each other?" Kay asked, before shaking her head. "So um, what seems to be the issue?"
"Well..." Asami began her explanation. "So to recap Hanoashi discovered something wrong with our sights and Sara here admitted to being forced by Rena to sabotage our tank under duress," she added.
"Next time someone threatens you like that, go to the authorities right away, okay Sara," Kay sighed.
"Yes ma'am," Sara bowed.
"Good, now about this Rena character..." Kay growled, her blue eyes glowing in anger.
"Uh oh..." Polly whispered to Hanoashi.
"Something wrong?" Hanoashi whispered back.
"I'll tell you later," Polly promised.
"Hanoashi...few will recognize you, so I want you to go on a little mission for me, alright?" Kay asked.
"Whatever you need commander," Hanoashi promised.
Later that evening, the Irish girl found herself entering the hanger, pretending to put on a bit of an unsure face. There was surprisingly less activity than normal, which set off alarm bells in her head, but she decided to continue with her mission. Even Nishmari had at least ten mechanics operating during after-hours...only these three...yeah no that's way...way too few!
"Well well now, and who might you be?" one of the mechanics circled around her.
"My name is Hanoashi Katoni...I'm the new RO for the Bryon team. I...uh...forgot my school notes in the tank, may I go fetch them?"
"Hm...I don't know...Rena might not appreciate you roaming around these parts," the mechanic noted.
"She's fine," a girl noted.
"Rena?" the mechanic gasped.
"Go ahead, get your notes, but touch nothing," Rena allowed. "But uh...you also have to promise me that you won't vote for Asami in the upcoming election in return," she added silkily, her tone having a small edge to it.
Hanaoshi inwardly let out a small laugh as she knew what was going on now. "Sorry, but I'll go get my notes tomorrow then, I have things memorized enough anyways," she began to walk off, putting on a disgusted expression.
"Sorry, but your not going anywhere now," Rena growled, producing a pair of handcuffs.
Hanoashi widened her eyes in mock fright, but she wasn't really afraid of the handcuffs anymore. Has I never been arrested, I might have been frightened to death by this, but... She took a step back, playing her part. "No...no need to be hasty, surely we can talk about this..." she began, making sure to sound scared.
"Oh no...you've offended me enough already little girl, and now it's time to pay the piper," Rena smirked, before rushing her.
Hanoashi pawed at Rena a bit, trying to give her a challenge without actually hurting her or making her too mad. Before she knew it she was cuffed behind her back, with Rena having a rather strong grip on her arm. Just like in the prison... Hanoashi groaned inwardly, though she forced herself to make an embarrassed face, one filled with fright and discomfort, but really it was just for the show.
"So what do we do with her now?" the mechanic asked.
"We lock her in the closet until we can get her to confess that it was Asami, not us, who placed her into bondage," Rena laughed, before leading her into a closet and locking the door.
Blinking in the darkness, Hanoashi moved her wrist slightly, making it seem as though she was struggling while making some noise. As she did so Kay got on the small mic they have.
"Think we've got enough Blaze," the blond whispered. "We're going to get you now."
"Much thanks," Hanoashi muttered, glad to have played her part. She could hear girls rushing in, and before she knew it the door opened a stunned Rena waiting with an officer beside her.
"A sting operation!?" Rena growled as the second officer released Hanoashi's handcuffed wrist, helping the Irish girl up. "Thanks," she whispered, rubbing her wrist a bit, before giving the now handcuffed Rena a good glare down before joining Kay and her team.
"Ma'am, miss Katoni is the former team commander of the Nishmari middle school's co-ed league, of course she'd be willing to risk herself to put an end to your little blackmail scheme," the officer laughed as he hauled Rena out the door. "Now, you have the right to remain silent, anything you say can and will..."
"And you Sara, you had Tobacco in your locker, I saw it!" Rena growled as the officers guided Rena past them.
"Sorry, I already told the authorities about that incident, and the fact that you tried to blackmail me because of it," Sara noted. "Now all we need to do is find out who planted it," she added.
"You fucking idiot, I'm the one who planted..." Suddenly Rena's eyes widened in realization at what she had just done. "I didn't admit that, I didn't admit that!" she shouted.
"Too late moron, we already read you your Himari rights," the officer hissed, before he dragged her out of the hanger.
"Sorry you had to go into handcuffs, I'd bet that was embarrassing," Amari apologized, before hugging her.
"Meh, I knew that I had good backup. Now if she was carrying a crowbar then I'd actively have fought," Hanoashi shrugged, before wrapping her hands around her commander in return. "But thanks for being worried about me," she added, before lowering her hands.
"No problem," Asami smiled as she stepped back.
"You weren't scared at all?" Polly asked, gazing at her in disbelief.
"There's a good reason why I wasn't, Riz," Hanoashi shrugged. "Not that they knew that, my scared girl act really fooled them. And they're not going to be here anytime soon thanks to them committing false imprisonment," she added.
"So...I'll be able to hit the targets properly now?" Saetome asked.
"Should be," Hanoashi shrugged. "Unless Rena has some sort of support we don't know of..."
"She shouldn't, those girls and I were the only mechanics who were involved in this abomination," Sara admitted. "At least as far as I know that is..."
"So I'll be seeing you around the hangers from now on, Sara?" Hanoashi asked.
To her surprise Sara shook her head. "No, Sander's isn't putting the Tobacco incident on my record, but we've agreed on a soft exchange expulsion for me, and to be frank as good as it is to see you again, I'd rather restart high school at a more quiet academy."
So we've both had to transfer schools then, Hanoashi realized. "I can understand that...I mean if I was forced into committing sabotage it'd be uncomfortable for me to stay around, even if everyone was forgiving and such."
"Yep, well I'd better get back to my dorm, I'm supposed to head out at first light," Sara turned, but paused and bowed. "Thank you so much...and I'm truly sorry Kay, Asami, Saetome, Hanoashi, Polly, and Yuna," she added.
"It's quite alright, you helped us in the end to put away someone who was commuting several crimes," Kay laughed. "That's more then enough to make up for it in my opinion!"
With that Sara bowed and left the girls to their own devices.
Student monitors along with mechanics soon came in, clearly looking over the tanks to ensure that nothing was out of place.
"You sure you'll be alright Blaze?" Asami asked. "Being handcuffed and locked in a closest like that..."
"I'm fine, thank you," Hanoashi smiled gently. Because I've already done that before...except I was locked in a prison cell instead of a closet...she added silently, sharing a brief look with Kay who nodded.
"So how long do you think she'll get?" Yuna asked.
"Hmm..." Hanoashi placed her finger on her chin in thought. "Extortion has at least a year in imprisonment, where as false imprisonment can easily get five years, so you're looking at anywhere from two to six years then and there. Then there's heavy weight sabotage of a tank, which carries anywhere from five to ten years imprisonment."
"So easily a decade?" Kay gasped. "Man, I wanted those involved to pay, but that much..."
"It's necessary Kay," Hanoashi shrugged. "If we begin letting people who commit that caliber of crime off the hook, criminals would begin terrorizing Japan before you can say Maus. And considering the fact that we don't let out citizens procure arms easily as some nations do, you can imagine the carnage that'd cause."
"That's true, but..." Kay paused.
"Prison isn't necessarily all that bad," Hanoashi noted. "Mostly it's just embarrassing for the first few days, and then boring afterward, but it's really more like life on the outside than people think, just with heavy restrictions."
"If you say so," Kay shrugged.
"And you know this because..." Polly pressed.
"Just know that I know and take it as is," Hanoashi shuddered tensely.
"Well, anyways, I'm just hoping that things will return to normal now," Asami smiled. "Come on, let's head home, I've got a test in the morning and I sorely need a good rest for it."
As Hanoashi headed off for her apartment, something in the back of her mind began to stir. According to them...this began last year, but Sara is a first year like myself...so if that's true then...is it possible that we're not done with this mess?
She shook her head. I doubt it...I mean...
"Hanoashi, Grandpa Waye said that I could...woah...don't tell me you got arrested again!" An all to familiar voice went from jubilant to horrified.
"Hey Rikona," Hanoashi walked over the few remaining steps and hugged her. It was a bit awkward given that Hanoashi a fair bit shorter than Rikona, but it was warm. "No, nothing like that," she reassured her.
"You do know that handcuffs are contraband here at these school academies, right?" Rikona relaxed as she returned the hug.
"I know cuz, and I know that you hate it," Hanoashi chuckled. I could probably tolerate the occasional bondage session now that I've been in handcuffs, but how the Maus she could actually enjoy it is way beyond me...
"So what happened," Rikona broke off the hug but held her shoulders, gazing at her worriedly.
"Ahh...well there was some sabotage on the Sensado team and..."
"Sabotage?" Rikona gasped, her light green eyes growing more worried than before.
"We got it taken care of. Some idiot was forcing some poor girl to install improper sight braces and..."
"That could have caused your gunner to hit an idiot who tarries too long out of her tank hatch while under fire," Rikona noted sternly as she crossed her arms, her expression turning hard. "And we both know how the girl's academy has no punishments for girls remaining out of the tank while under fire!"
"Don't worry, the ones involved were arrested," Hanoashi soothed.
This only managed to make Rikona angry. "And they thought that you were involved in it?! How dare they! Isn't one false arrest enough?" she hissed.
"Rikona calm down, it was the saboteurs who handcuffed me and..."
"And now my precious cousin is being handcuffed by criminals! Waye was right to have me investigate Sanders..." Rikona hissed.
"Cousin, stop and calm down, please," Hanoashi begged.
Rikona blinked, and took a deep breath. "Sorry cuz...it;s just that..."
"I know," Hanaoshi soothed. "But really, everything is fine. I am fine, and I'm enjoying my time here, so you needn't worry. I'm guessing that Grandpa Wayne is having you investigate Sanders for some sort of investment?"
"I'll be here for about three days and the weekend," Rikona smiled. "Though...Shelia doesn't know about it, but what she doesn't know can't hurt her," she added with a smirk.
But it could hurt me Rikona...still the opportunity to hang out with my favorite cousin is more than worth the risk... Hanoashi shook off her worries and smiled. "It's great to be able to spend time with you like this, let's head on to my place, I have a spare mattress you can use and I can put on some tea, you'll need it after making yourself upset like that," she teased toward the end.
"Oh please, you're the one who worried me," Rikona huffed, though her demeanor was now more calm.
"We've worried each other more than enough in the past, remember that time you got grounded when I was living with you?" Hanoashi reminded herself.
"Yeah yeah, and then there was that time mother and I had to survive five days in the wilderness," Rikona shrugged. "But there was that time you had to have your dung pulled out of your ass and you insisted on Yukaro being by your side," she reminded. "You know how worried I was when I heard that your boyfriend held your hand while your ass was being sucked with a vacuum?"
Hanoashi blushed. "Yeah, funny how you can go from knowing that you were the one to clearly not in a manner of a few days," she noted. I'm just glad you didn't remind me of the cone snail incident...she added in relief.
"You still love him, don't you?" Rikona noted as they entered the door to her apartment.
"Of course...though I'd have to think about getting back with him if he offered. Had he done it in prison it'd have been a no brainier...but now..." Hanoashi let out a small sigh. "Anyways, make yourself at home! I'll put on some tea," she added.
"Your apartment is very bare-bones, you sure that you have enough?" Rikona asked, joining her in the kitchen, placing her Sander's uniform on a hanger and her carry-on luggage underneath it.
"I'm sure cousin," Hanoashi smiled gently as she felt her cousins arms wrap around her waist as soon as she had sit the kettle on the hot plate. "Besides, didn't you use to say that you'd rather start as a poor farmer living in a shack with just a radio and a tv antenna for entertainment?"
"Well yeah, it would be a lot quieter then dealing with all the Matsumino pomp and circumstance, but you lost everything, oh that reminds me, I got you copies of my photos," Rikona smiled. "It's not everything you had but it should have everyone of Yu, Shelia and I...though if you don't want the ones with mom I'll..."
"No, I do want them, Shelia has always been kind to me," Hanoashi smiled. "Someday she and Drake will come around to the fact that those accusations were false, I'm sure," she added gently.
"Alright then, I'll leave them on your dresser," Rikona smiled. "If you can call it that..." Rikona noted, given that Hanoashi's so called dresser was a plastic drawer with five selves, two being large and three fairly small.
"I'll have to get me a picture album later," Hanoashi noted.
"I probably should have got you one," Rikona noted gently.
"No no, it's alright cuz, I have plenty of money for that," Hanoashi reassured.
"But you don't even have a tv," Rikona protested.
"I'll buy one when I move out to the mainland after graduation," Hanoashi reassured her. "Seriously Rikona, I greatly appreciate you wanting to help me out, but I'll be fine financially," she added.
"You sure you are, or is that just the ole Katoni pride keeping you from asking for help," Rikona pressed.
"Both, if I'm being honest," Hanoashi confessed.
"Don't be afraid to ask me if you need anything, Wayne says he'll cover it as long as it's nothing too big," Rikona reassured her before releasing her and going to sit down.
Hanoashi smiled as she took the now ready tea over and sat the coasters down, pouring her guest's first before her own. "So, how is Maginot?" Hanoashi asked as she sat down.
"Fairly good, the medical classes are good, the kids are nice and disciplined," Rikona paused and made a disgusted face. "Although the Sensado team are Miho fanboys," the grumbled, before taking a sip of tea. "It's good Blaze," she added, losing her brief ill temperament.
"Miho's not necessarily a bad person...just far too reckless for Sensado these days," Hanoashi soothed. "Nothing like she was back when she and I went to Nishmari for that year together," she added.
"Didn't you find her caught up in a barb wire fence?" Rikona prompted.
"Well yeah...but anyone can fall into a barb wired fence," Hanoashi noted, a slight edge to her tone. "Even I nearly did a time or two during a strong wind."
"Fair enough," Rikona noted, clearly catching the Irish girl's hint to drop the Anti-Miho rhetoric. "So what exactly happened today?" she added, changing the subject.
"Ah, well basically we found out that someone..." Hanoahsi reiterated the story. "So yeah, they handcuffed me and threw me into the office, thinking that they could convince me to lie and accuse Asami of putting me into bondage. "They had no idea just how long I've been in handcuffs before," she added, winching.
"Ah yes, the infamous ten hour lock-down incident," Rikona balked. "Even as much as I like handcuffing myself I barely even do it more than a half hour."
"I would offer to let you tie me up and all, but they'd be no place we could do it considering I'm technically not supposed to be at your house and between Drake disowning me and the laws against bondage material on ship academies..."
"Drake would have never allowed it anyways," Rikona shrugged. "But are you really okay, you use to almost freak out when I'd offer to let you try my bondage things..."
"Being constantly handcuffed for three and a half weeks has lowered my apprehension on that manner," Hanoashi shrugged, before taking a sip of tea. "Now I doubt I'd let my boyfriend do anything, and my husband is a bit of a different manner, but..."
"I guess so," Rikona noted, before letting out a small yawn. "Sorry," she blushed. "Kinda tired after the flight.
"It's alright, Hanoashi smiled, stifling a yawn of her own. "I'm kind of tuckered out as well, so perhaps we ought to head to bed," she added.
The cousins both undressed, leaving their undies on before spreading the bed out. Hanoashi was glad that she had taken the time to buy a second mat, mostly for company and in case her first became damaged. Before she climbed in she felt Rikona wrap her arms around her. "Since you no longer have a boyfriend..." she teased.
"Sure cushion," Hanoashi breathed, her heart skipping a few beats, but her lips smiling at the idea at some advanced skinship. She allowed Rikona to slip off her bra, and let out a small shudder as the brunet rubbed her finger over one of her heavily freckled breast areas.
"It always amazes me how the upper half is covered in these freckles yet the bottom half is freckle free," Rikona soothed.
"Th...that's just how it turned out," Hanoashi whispered. "Uh, you're turning me on cuz," she stammered.
"Opps, should I stop?" Rikona asked smugly, not even bothering to stop.
"Feels far too good for me to ask you too," Hanoashi leaned in, undoing Rikona's bra and repeating the manner. Those are quite the honkers...Hanoashi smirked, resisting the urge to jump in and start squeezing them. What are you Hanoashi, a Maus damned hormone driver guy? She chided herself.
"We need to do this with a guy, not each other," Rikona mused, but her light green eyes begged to keep going.
"Heh, Father's joke about us going out if we weren't cousins and one of us was a guy isn't too far off," Hanoashi smirked, before moving her finger off Rikona's nipple, causing the Brunet to let out an epp.
"That felt so good," Rikona mused, going in for Hanoashi.
"No...no...noooeeeppp!" Hanoashi moaned as she tried backing away, before sighing. "Yep...I'd have to teach Yukaro that one, or I would have had he not broken up with me," she sighed, before placing her bra back on, Rikona doing the same.
"He'll come around," Rikona smiled, lying down. "That, or you'll fine someone once you graduate. Going to be kind of hard to do what with you going to a girl's high school though."
"I'm of age according to the self-own guardianship," Hanoashi argued. "As long as they're not above twenty-one, I could date any of the young guys working on the ship."
"You have one in mind?" Rikona squeaked. "You work fast!"
Hanoashi let out a small laugh. "No Mousebrain, I'm just keeping my options...well...open. Yukaro will have his chance to have some semblance of a return to relationship with me, but he won't have forever."
"Ah, that's fair," Rikona noted, before leaning against the wall, giving Hanoashi a certain smile.
I know that smile, Hanoashi returned it, moving over next to her and taking the brunet's hand with a smile, gazing at her hand.
"Strange isn't it?" Rikona laughed. "How small your hand is compared to mine?"
"I see you've gotten more comfortable with your size," Hanoashi laughed.
"Meh, yes, but people tease me for being fat when I'm just big boned," Rikona shrugged.
"Even I do that on occasion, it just comes with the territory of you being six foot two," Hanoashi noted practically.
"You mean one hundred and eighty-eight centimeters," Rikona deadpanned.
"Meh, I'm good with both metric and imperial," Hanoashi shrugged.
"So which is better?" Rikona asked.
"Metric is better for smaller scale measurements, and the conversions are somewhat easier, but both work perfectly well for everyday measurements," Hanoashi shrugged.
"Yeah, shockingly I prefer Imperial, but..." Rikona let out a small shrug. "Anyways, how are you handling being back in the tank?" She asked, gentle concern filling her face.
"I'm enjoying it, being the Radio Operator is a nice change of pace, and the team is more than nice to me," Hanoashi smiled. "Well...aside from that bastard Rena and her little mechanic bitches that is," she added, a note of annoyance filling her tone.
"Can't blame you for hating them," Rikona noted, beginning to gently massage Hanoashi's palm with her thumb.
"They had my friend Sara being forced into sabotaging the tanks, that Rena jerk placed tobacco in her locker to blackmail her." Hanoashi muttered, frowning dispute enjoin Rilona's little thumb action. "And sure, I really didn't mind the handcuffs that much, but I remember how panicky I was when the officer's first put them on my wrist, what if they did that to another girl who wasn't trying to do a sting operation? One who never wore handcuffs before?"
Rikona gently squeezed Hanoashi's hands a bit. "Yeah, that'd be awful," she sympathized.
Hanoashi nodded. "Exactly," she nodded, before stifling a yawn. "Well, we've got a busy day tomorrow," she added, removing her hand from Rikona's and lying down. She smiled as the brunet followed her example and laid next to her, them sharing the blanket and the last thing the Irish girl felt is the hand of her cousin laying on top of hers. Maus it feels so good to be lying together like this again... she smiled happily as she drifted into sleep.