Hasumi Interlude

Nelson: Good Morning, Ms. Hanekawa.

Are you free anytime soon? I would like your help with something.

Hasumi: Hello, Sensei.

Yes. There's something I'd like to ask you personally as well.

Is it okay if I consult you for advice at the same time?

Nelson: Of course, I would be honoured to help.

Hasumi: Oh.

Great!

Thank you. I was worried you would say no...

I'm kind of impressed.

Nelson: Nothing to worry about. You are helping me, after all.

Okay, I'll see you soon.

Hasumi nervously tapped the stock of her rifle as she waited for Nelson Sensei to arrive. She had asked for the Teacher to meet her in Trinity both for her own sake, and so she could show her around her home district. While that may have been a good idea on paper, it wasn't working out quite as well as she thought. Truth be told the crowds were making her a bit nervous.

"-kawa."

On second thought, she wondered if it was too late to back out? Maybe if she made an excuse now, it wouldn't feel too unnatural. After all, the Justice Task Force often called at unpredictable hours. She was sure Sensei would understand.

"-ear me?"

Actually, if she did that, Nelson might offer to join in. From what Suzumi had told her, Nelson was aggressive in her actions against criminals every time the Teacher had called for her help. That wouldn't do. What excuse could she come up with that would let her off the hook?

A flash of blonde hair and a waving hand filled her field of view and snapped her back to her surroundings. Standing in front of her, leaning over slightly to lock eyes, was Nelson. The Adult smiled, beaming brightly at her as soon as she caught her attention.

"A penny for your thoughts?"

Hasumi stared back for a second, lost for words, before shooting back a step. "Ah, Sensei! Where did you come from?! Sorry about that, I was distracted."

"Is that so?" Nelson asked, humming in curiosity, "I find it hard to believe you would be so distracted. Did something catch your attention?"

"I've never tried walking the streets on a day off before." Hasumi admitted, looking at all the students milling about around them, "I didn't expect there to be so many people out and about."

"You did strike me as the type to have leftover leave." Nelson replied, her eyes following Hasumi's own gaze. "I must admit, Trinity is quite quaint. Much of it reminds me of home."

Hasumi kept her own expression firm at the casual admission. As far as she knew, that was the first time anyone had heard of Nelson talking about her home. And to think that she found Trinity familiar. She considered her words carefully for a second, before asking "Do you miss it, Nelson Sensei?"

It was because Hasumi was watching Nelson for a reaction that she caught it. Several emotions crossed the Adult's face faster than most others could read. Nostalgia, sorrow, anger, and acceptance all were expressed in a second before settling on a wistful smile. Her Teacher was looking further than either of them could see when she replied. "I think I miss what it used to be."

Hasumi wanted to know what Nelson meant by that, what happened that made her feel the way she did about her home. But she chose to be silent. There were things one shouldn't ask about, and it didn't take an expert to know this was one of them. The two of them stood there in silence, watching the crowds pass by for a moment.

"I'm impressed that you were able to spot me with how busy it is." Hasumi finally said with a smile, breaking the peaceful silence, "I was worried you might not find me."

"It was quite easy; you do stand out."

The casual answer delivered with a confident smile sent Hasumi's mind crashing. She looked down at herself, then at the rest of the crowd around them. "D-do I really stick out that much? I don't think I look that out of the ordinary…"

"I find that hard to believe, given our size." Nelson replied, looking at her with a cocked eye. "You and I do stand out quite a bit compared to the rest here."

"… pardon?"

She was still trying to process what her Teacher had said when Nelson glanced at herself, then to her, and then to a pair of students walking by, and then back to herself. "When you look at it, we are substantially larger than the other Trinity Students here."

Hasumi looked down at herself and then at her Teacher. It was true that they were both noticeably bustier than pretty much every student present. But surely that couldn't be what she was talking about?

"I suppose… that's true. I can't deny it…" Hasumi started to say, trying to find the right words.

And in leaving an opening, she let Nelson have the opportunity to misunderstand her silence. The Teacher continued, cutting off any chance for her to clarify with a simple statement. "Actually, this relates to what I needed your help with."

"Y-yes?"

"Would you be able to suggest where I could purchase some personal attire?" Nelson asked with a smile, tone casual, "Given you and I are both of similar size, I was hoping that any store you frequent would work for myself."

Personal attire? Could the Adult mean… Hasumi thought about it for a second before bursting into a bright blush, her voice failing her. Nelson, for her part, seemed to immediately sense something wrong.

"Have I said something improper?" Nelson asked, her smile dropping into a frown.

Hasumi shook her head, working the embarrassment out of her system. "No, it's fine. I'm not used to having such an adult conversation. I was just surprised by how forward you are."

"I see." Nelson said calmly, visibly mulling over what Hasumi had just told her. "I apologize, I did not intend to shock you."

"It's fine, Sensei. You don't have to feel bad."

"Still, I sympathize." Nelson insisted, frown still present as she looked Hasumi over. "I may not have much experience on the matter, but it is quite troublesome when one gets to our size. I understand why you may not wish to talk about it."

"It really is. Very few stores carry things that fit me, so I always have to order them."

"Well, that would prove to be a problem," Nelson said, rubbing her chin in thought, "it was quite difficult convincing Yuuka to give me access to the funds in the first place. Explaining custom orders would be quite problematic."

Hasumi winced. The brief time she spent with the Seminar treasurer let her know all she needed to know about how that conversation would go. "Well, if you're lucky, some of the specialty stores in Trinity might carry something."

"Would that not be as expensive as getting something ordered?"

"Yes… but at least you can feel the material and try it on to make sure it fits. It's always awkward when you order something and find out it doesn't fit or the material's uncomfortable when it arrives."

"That is an excellent point." Nelson said, clearly deep in thought. The Adult was silent for a second before she looked back over to her. "And what you have on now, is it custom ordered or from a store?"

Whatever thoughts Hasumi had a moment ago immediately flew off the tracks. She blinked owlishly at the Teacher looking at her with expectant eyes, desperately trying to recall what she even put on this morning. "I… don't remember?"

"Hm…" Nelson muttered in thought. Hasumi didn't have time to recover before the Adult struck another blow at her psyche. "Would you mind if I take a look at the tag then? It would give me a place to start, and I would hate to force you to use your day off to escort me about."

"Right here?" Hasumi squeaked out, voice taking up a few pitches in tone.

"Well, I would not impose so much as to ask you to show me here on the street."

Right, that made sense. Still, she couldn't help but blush at the thought of what she was about to show Nelson. Still… if it would help her…

"If it really will help you, then you have my permission to look." Hasumi finally answered, before nervously adding "B-but let's go somewhere that no one can see us!" Fortunately, she could see the perfect spot. An out of the way delivery alley next to a bakery. She grabbed Nelson by the hand and started marching the two of them towards it.

"Once again, I must thank you for your help, Ms. Hanekawa," Nelson said as the two of them made it into the alley. Hasumi's hands were at the hems of her shirt when the Teacher said something that forced her thoughts to halt.

"I suppose I should get used to this like I did with the doors."

Hasumi turned to Nelson, hands still gripping the hems of her top as she locked eyes with the Adult. "What?"

"It took me quite some time to get used to ducking under the doors? Because of how tall I am?" Nelson responded with a questioning look, "I imagine you have to deal with that along with how large your wings are on top of your height."

Uh oh. Hasumi felt the blush return as she looked back on the conversation. Against her better judgment, she asked. "This entire time, you were referring to… my height?"

"Yes? You and I are quite literally at least a quarter taller than everyone else."

"Of course. That's right." She could feel her entire face warm at the answer as Nelson stared at her, gaze scrutinizing. She could almost hear the gears click behind the blue-grey eyes.

After a few seconds, Nelson continued, her voice slow and filled with trepidation. "Ms. Hanekawa, what did you think I was discussing?"

"N-nothing." Hasumi answered, the embarrassment now thoroughly over the roof. There was only one option left for her. "I just remembered something important I have to do, Sensei! I need to go right now! I'll see you later!"

With that, Hasumi turned around and dashed out of the alley from the other side, leaving her pride and shame behind even as she heard Nelson cry out, "Ms. Hanekawa, wait! I still need to know where to shop for clothes that fit!"

She ignored it, unwilling to potentially embarrass herself any more than she already had.

Chinatsu Interlude

Chinatsu: It's Chinatsu. Sorry I had to leave first last time.

I want to know if you have time for an examination soon.

There's a few things I wanted to test.

-Chinatsu

Nelson: Hello, Miss Hinomiya.

I am free tomorrow. I will be passing by sometime in the afternoon.

Chinatsu sighed as she shoved open a door with her hip, the boxes of paperwork balanced precariously in her hands as she shimmied out of the room. She had plans for the day but no, she had to show up to a room full of incomplete, incorrectly completed, or just straight up missing paperwork.

"Is this ever going to end?" She grumbled to herself as she carefully made her way down the stairs. "Sensei will be here soon but all of this work is piled up, and the others aren't doing anything to help."

With a final burst of effort, she made it to the landing of the stairs. She still had a fair way to go before she reached the office, but she was already feeling tired. It made sense, given how much paperwork there but she was a support. This type of heavy physical work was not what she specialized in. If only Iori was around to help her lug it around.

She took a step forward and, as she shifted the entirety of her weight to her foot, the sole of her shoes slipped. She tried to balance herself but, in doing so, threw the boxes of paperwork forward. Newton demanded his toll be paid and inertia came to collect. She felt herself tipping over as the papers pulled her forward and down.

"Ach!" She heard a familiar voice call out from behind her as she fell. Heavy footsteps thundered behind her and, before she could fully tip over, she felt somebody pull her into their chest. A strong arm wrapped around her waist to keep her from falling any further forward, while another arm in a long cream-sleeved jacket shot forward to stabilize the boxes in her hand.

She was pretty sure she knew who this was. If not for the weight behind her head, then the cool skin of the hand on her waist and around her own hand.

"Are you in need of help, Ms. Hinomiya?" Nelson asked from above, the familiar voice tinged with amusement and mirth. She could feel the vibration of every word through the close contact. Before Chinatsu could even respond, the Adult took the lead like they were in a bizarre waltz. She was pulled back onto her own two feet with precise steps and shifting of weight, and the boxes carefully repositioned back into her two hands.

Chinatsu chose not to turn around as soon as Nelson let her go and stepped back from her; letting the embarrassment work out of her system. After a few seconds she composed herself and turned around to face the Teacher. "Thank you, Sensei," She began, "but what are you doing he-"

The question she had dropped as she took in what she saw. She had seen Nelson a few times since the operation to take back the Schale Club Room. Never long enough to do more than exchange a few passing greetings, but enough to build an image of the Adult in her mind. Nelson was formal and polite, but always willing to listen and help. Perhaps a bit too direct but never with ill intent to hurt. But most importantly, she was primly dressed. Nelson always looked like she just walked off a dress uniform parade, ready to take charge of a situation.

So, it took Chinatsu a few seconds to match that image of the military officer Nelson to the casually dressed Adult in front of her. Gone was the grey and white uniform she was so familiar with. In their place was a red turtleneck sweater paired with casual black slacks, with a bright cream trench coat. She looked down. Even the familiar metal high-heeled boots were gone, replaced with brown suede Chelsea boots. But that familiar black headband was still there, as was the smile.

"Feeling better?"

Chinatsu came to an epiphany. There was something fundamentally wrong with seeing your Teacher in a casual setting. She shrugged it off before she answered. "Yes, thanks for the help. But I didn't expect you to be here until later?"

Nelson shrugged. The usual sharpness of her motions was completely lost in the loose clothes she now wore. "I was advised that the store might not have anything available in my size, which would require custom fittings and measurements. But I was fortunate enough to arrive just after a stock was dropped off so it was merely a matter of trying out their selection, picking a few choice articles, and paying. Given how quickly I finished shopping, I elected to arrive here early as well."

The answer made sense. It also meant that she was possibly the first one close to the Teacher to have seen them in casual dress. Still, she looked down at the boxes of papers in her hands and sighed. "Well, it looks like you arrived early for nothing. I need to finish with this paperwork first."

Nelson hummed, hand tapping her chin in thought. Chinatsu could see the Teacher's eyes light up with an idea. "Well, then allow me to help!" She said before motioning to grab one of the boxes.

"No! I can handle carrying these documents just fine." Chinatsu cried out as she tried to step back. The two of them froze as she started to teeter dangerously before she forced herself to balance out, lest she embarrass herself again.

"Are you sure?" Nelson asked, the smile gone and a concerned look on her face. "I could carry half of it if it would help."

The two of them stared at each other for a brief moment, before Chinatsu sighed. "I shouldn't be asking a teacher to do this for me…" She mumbled to herself before leaning forward, "Fine. Since you're offering, it would be rude to turn you down."

"It would be my pleasure."

Chinatsu watched as the Adult leaned over and grabbed one of the boxes, easily slinging it under her arm. It was a good reminder that, for all Nelson claimed that the students were tougher than her, she definitely had them equal or outmatched in strength. Although, a part of her noticed, she was actually just a tiny bit shorter without the high-heeled boots. "Thanks again, Sensei. You've made my life so much easier."

With the box secured, Nelson turned to her with a smile. "Well, lead the way Ms. Hinomiya."

"Right this way." Chinatsu answered as she continued down the stairs. She could hear Nelson's footsteps behind her, their steps echoing in time throughout the empty stairwell.

"I must admit, traveling down the stairs with these documents seems a bit hazardous."

"I don't think it would have been that dangerous." She hadn't even finished saying that before she remembered what happened just minutes ago. She felt Nelson's stare pinned onto the back of her head and could imagine her expression. "Well, maybe a little…"

Chinatsu's thoughts wandered as they walked, occasionally catching glimpses of the Teacher behind her through reflections in the mirror or as they turned corners. After a moment, she giggled. "Now that I think about it, you're the first person to say something like that to me. Thank you."

"Is it really so strange to be worried about my Students?"

"No, but I'm sure you've noticed that the students of Gehenna have unique personalities, to say the least." Chinatsu answered with a sigh. "Many of them would never bother with this kind of menial work. They always try to avoid it and it often falls to me to get it done. So, I have a lot of practice in dealing with these kinds of things. That's all."

"Have you tried asking for more help?"

"I have, but nobody ever steps up. I don't particularly enjoy doing this, but if no one does it, then it'll just keep piling up. Someone has to do it. So, it's up to a boring girl like me to do it." Chinatsu didn't know why she was venting to Nelson like this. Maybe it was something she just wanted to get it out to someone that wouldn't judge her. Maybe it was how different the Adult was right now from her normal self. Or maybe she just wanted to fill the walk with something so she didn't have to think about the person she was walking alone with now.

The footsteps behind her stopped. Chinatsu turned to see what had held up Nelson, only to be fixed in place by the empathetic gaze on her Teacher's face. "Ms. Hinomiya, you are going above and beyond what has been asked of you to help others. I find it quite the honourable thing to do. You should be proud of that kindness."

Chinatsu blinked, still staring at the Adult looking at her from above. The midday sun streamed in through the windows of the stairway, backdropping the Adult against the blue sky. The light caught the clothes and Nelson seemed to glow the colours of a sunset sea in the sunlight.

Chinatsu felt her cheeks warm with embarrassment again. "W-we," She started stammering, "We should hurry before I take more of your time!" With that, she sped off down the stairs. She heard the heavy footsteps resume after a moment, even keeled even as she forced her way down to the office.

It was a little while later when the two of them arrived at the office. Try as she might, she couldn't convince Nelson to leave her to file the paperwork. Afterall, it's not like the Adult had anywhere else to be on her day off. So that led to the two of them stuck in this dingy office, putting away documents. Chinatsu snuck a glance at the Teacher, watching her expertly file away documents with a well-practiced hand.

"I thought you hadn't done this before." She said, watching the near machinelike accuracy of the Adult.

Nelson stopped, document in hand, and tilted her head slightly as she pondered the question. After a few silent moments, she turned her attention back to putting away papers as she spoke. "Well, I may be new to this but your system matches the ones used in my crews' memories."

And there it was. That casual admittance and reminder. For all that Nelson was an Adult, was a Teacher, she was not human. Yuuka had made it clear in her few discussions with the Millennium girl that she didn't entirely believe Nelson's claims. There had to be some more rational reason for Nelson's abilities. Chinatsu wasn't quite so sure. Afterall, there were many inexplicable things in Kivotos. What was one particularly strange Adult on top of it? It was simpler to just accept that the President would never summon a Haloless human that wasn't at least bullet-resistant.

But there was one thing that Chinatsu had been meaning to ask. "Nelson-Sensei," Chinatsu called out, the curiosity bleeding into her tone. The Teacher paused and turned to look at her. "Isn't it weird? To remember things that aren't your own? Aren't you worried you'll start mixing up which memories are which?"

Nelson seemed to take that into serious consideration before she shook her head. "No, I doubt it will ever happen. There is a very distinct tonality and texture within the memories of my crew compared to my own."

"Really?"

"Really. When I recall something of my own like, for instance, catching you," Chinatsu squeaked in embarrassment even as Nelson grinned at her, "I simply remember it. I remember the feeling of action, the texture of your clothing, and the sound of panicked breathing. But when I recall the memories of my crew, it is presented to me like a film, or a play. I can see it happening, but I do not see myself in it. I know it is something told to me rather than something I experienced."

"So, it's like remembering a dream?"

"I suppose so. I have never been successful at remembering any dream since I arrived, so I would not be able to compare it."

It was Chinatsu's turn to look at Nelson with concern. "You've never remembered a dream before? Not even a tiny bit?"

"Not once. They slip from my mind as quickly as I awaken."

"That seems a bit sad." Chinatsu said as she turned back to continue filing her stack of documents. "I'd think it would be interesting to hear what you dream about."

Because she was filing the paperwork, Chinatsu wasn't looking at Nelson. She didn't catch how, for just a second, the Adult froze in the middle of sliding a file back. Then the moment passed and Nelson kept on filing as she spoke. "I doubt they would be anything interesting."

Historic Interlude

Her guns thundered in defiance at the approaching destroyers, six bursts of fury illuminating the night sea. She hit nothing. She didn't expect to. An unlucky shot earlier in the fight saw a 15-inch shell barrage rip through her primary fire director, and the right side of her face. With it went her ability to directly control her main guns, leaving each of her turrets to engage at will. It wasn't ideal, but it worked fine against the slower larger enemy ships during the day.

But now? At night and against fast moving destroyers? Even if she only needed one hit, she would never get it. But the concussion of the shells passing overhead would force them to break from their attack run, aborting their torpedo runs early and buying her precious moments.

But with her battery weakened, it was not enough. Despite her efforts, her reduced main battery was not enough to force away all the destroyers. Some of them pressed on still in the face of the heavy fire, weaving through where her turrets were pointing. She knew why. They were looking to exploit where damage from the daytime phase of battle had wrecked most of her secondary battery and the entirety of her dual-purpose battery. With her escorting fleet destroyed, scattered, or otherwise unable to assist; now was the best time to sink her.

She should be terrified. She should focus on trying to escape. But this was it. This was the fight that she had spent her entire life as a hull dreaming of. The crowning glory of a wasted history. She could no sooner run from this than the night could run from the rising of the sun. She would not fault them for whatever came next. She hoped they would give her the same courtesy. It was War and sometimes, people would die.

Three destroyers had pushed through to risk their torpedo runs. The lead destroyer already had their torpedoes in their water, so she chose to ignore them for now. Instead, she focused on throwing herself to the side; ignoring how the move wrenched at her damaged screws and rudders, jostled shattered frames, and loosened weakened secondary armour. Pain tore through her nerves, but it meant nothing to her. It was do or die now.

As the torpedoes from the first destroyer missed her, streaking towards where she was, the scant few secondary batteries she had left opened fire on the destroyer second in their formation. They hadn't been able to drop their lethal payload with the first destroyer in the way. They could not be allowed the opportunity to do so. Her guns roared their wrath and she watched with grim pleasure as the destroyer evaded the first barrage, only to be caught by the second. Capped high-explosive shells tore into the destroyer and detonated, knocking them dead in the water. She wasn't sure if they were sunk or simply disabled. She didn't care to check. In this close of a fight, the two were the same.

Cannon fire shattering against her conning tower and chewing up her superstructure forced her attention back to the first destroyer. Against all operational doctrine, against all sanity, the plucky ship had chosen to engage her in a gun battle after dropping their torpedoes. In ideal circumstances, the best they could hope to accomplish was to annoy her. But these were not ideal circumstances. With gouges in her belt and exposed secondary turret barbettes, a lucky hit could potentially cook off secondary ammo and lead to a sympathetic detonation. Their distance meant that the destroyer was able to outturn and outrun the tracking of her remaining secondary guns.

Had she been a hull, her lack of secondary and tertiary guns would have made this a problem. But she was not a hull. She was flesh and blood melded with steel and oil. She had hands and arms to make her displeasure known. So, she did the one thing she could not do as a hull. She shoulder-charged, letting her already destroyed right arm handle the brunt of the impact and incoming fire. The destroyer was built tough, but not tough enough to shake off the force of a battleship's shoulder ram. She grabbed them by the collar before they could recover their wits with her good left hand. She felt the barrel of a cannon prod her in the stomach as she reared her head back and delivered a swift headbutt.

The sound of bone and steel shattering echoed in the night and she tossed the still destroyer over her shoulder. Dead, unconscious, or concussed didn't matter. A mission kill was a mission kill. Her breath came in gulping gasps now and every moment was pain. Her head swiveled, looking for the last destroyer. She received her answer in the form of torpedoes slamming into her. The first spread caught her in the screws, ripping apart the armour that protected her legs and pulverizing one ankle with it. She was forced onto a knee. The pain was blinding as the rushing water ripped open more damaged bulkheads.

A glint of steel catching the light of the fires caught her attention as she blinked the white out of her sight. She followed it to see the last destroyer attempting to draw the first two back to their battlelines. For a brief second, their two gazes met another and the destroyer froze. She did not. One of her main guns swiveled, ready for her to give the command. She could fire. But should she fire? Wasn't this exactly what she wanted when she came back? To prove herself? To carve her name into history once more? Hadn't she already done it, by forcing this battle? Did she want her story to end with this final unnecessary act?

She knew the answer to all those questions and the turret dropped. The second spread struck heartbeats later, hitting her in the side where one of her main batteries were. The first torpedo smashed into a weakened belt and tore open a hole that exposed her citadel to the ocean. The second and third slammed into her citadel and she felt a crack form. The fourth and fifth shattered the weakened citadel. The final torpedo detonated into the magazine of the main gun.

When the blinding light subsided, it was to find herself already under the waves. So, this was what it was like. To finally sink in the heat of battle well fought. She could feel her strength leaving her, half of her will already having departed. But she clung to that burning desire as she fell deeper and deeper into the Atlantic waters. That need to do more still that had driven her so far. And at that moment, she heard it. A quiet cry for help. Like the first time, it was a call for somebody, anybody, who wanted to change their fate. To prove themselves. She felt an open hand at the edge of her awareness again. And once again, she reached out, and took it.

I jolted awake, gasping for breath as I shot up. Chills ran down my spine even as I could feel sweat on the straps of my nightgown. The fading echoes of what I saw slipped from my mind before I could truly remember it. It was… it was a nightmare. Yes. That's what it must have been. A nightmare. A product of human biology I was now forced to suffer. Just thoughts and fears, stressors of the day catching up and unloading.

"...Sensei?" I heard Arona call out sleepily from where I had laid the Chest next to my pillow, my sudden movement and gasping breaths waking up the little computer girl. "Is everything OK?"

I thought about it, considering in equal measure how to best answer her. After a moment, I decided. "Yes, Arona. Everything is fine."

AN: You would not believe how many brain cells I spent on rewriting that Hasumi scene. It was definitely not insubstantial, I'll tell you what. Still, it was a bit of a fun exercise to see how much I could rewrite while still keeping the core of the event the same.

The clothing described is based on official art produced for a collaboration with Mitsukoshi, a high-end Japanese department store chain. It's quite a nice outfit so I elected to make it canon. That being said, I don't think I'll spend much time detailing her outfits after this. Nelson will be either in uniform, or casual clothing that fits the general vibe set up here.

Anyways, this is the last of the prologue interludes. Next week will be a transitional chapter towards Volume 1, but it does leave the prologue behind.

Edit 17-07: I just noticed how FFN Completely broke my formatting on upload for both interludes. I have since edited the Momotalk portions at the start of each interlude that to be more legible for FFN.