[Replies]
@cisda83: Definitely. The Virus surely is causing quite a lot of trouble lately. Too bad there are no such viruses that can help us on the long run. :sweatdrop:
@Shinoki: Yes, that is definitely a YuiParu moment you have seen there. Glad this chapter has brought you excitement! :cathappy:
@gek geki: Yukirin will definitely go cray cray if she finds out. Hopefully she doesn't................. or will she? :shocked:
@olive29: Sending many lucks to Rena! :thumbsup
@Yuki88: So many love confusion between the girls... Complications. Lots of them. :doh:
@Minamiyuki: I wonder about those two joining in the army! It does sound like a good idea if they do (and not quite such a good idea for JuriMayu fans, LOL) :nervous
@mayuki_daisuki: Yuki's reaction... probably will result in someone being hurt... and... um... probably half the base destroyed, LOL. :panic:
@mitsuhara_itsuko: I'm sure there's going to be another poll that you can look forward to voting, haha. And here's the update you wanted from the series! :cathappy:
@Terragen: Nah, I don't think any of us want to know how Yuki will react if she knows about this. I bet she'll punish Mayu.... :panic:
@bunny_rabbit: I'll try to insert some SayaYui moments into the fiction! But... looks like the poll has already stated its answer. :nervous I'm going to take a look at the results and see how it plays with the story.
@Llyloo: LOL, JuriMayu here is really cute indeed! And honestly, SasshiYui was the first pairing too with Yuihan when I first started learning about her, LOL. :sweatdrop:
Sorry for the delayed update! Two whole months flew right by with this series, hm? I apologize about it. :bow: School and life really likes to take up my spare time these days. Anyway, this chapter isn't really filled with action but I could tell you all that there's tension in the air. Of course, in regard to relationships. :sweatdrop:
On the other hand, the poll of Yui's pairings will be taken down right now. And this time... I'm going to allow you guys to vote at the time-being of the characters' relationships with Mayu, Yuki, Rena, Jurina, Sae, and Sayaka. The poll will be up in a couple minutes after this chapter has been posted! :)
Hope you all enjoy this, Sanity will be the next one on the list to be updated for the fictions' series and thank you very much for following this story and my others! :deco:
[Chapter 19]
The general had sat within her desk, eyes trained solely on the two girls standing before her. As Atsuko stood right by her side, she would occasionally squint her eyes; almost as if she was examining and analyzing both Akimoto Sayaka and Miyazawa Sae. Up and down, the dark haired girl could be assumed mentally commenting on the women. However, this was definitely not the time to be staring at the werewolf and light vampire as if they were experimental being. Rather they were here for more important matters with Minami.
“I heard that this… ‘Yuzi’ is related to Kashiwagi Yuki here. Is that true?” the shorter girl asked. Leaning forth with both of her hands clasped together to provide a structure support underneath her chin, she listened intently to what the two had to say.
Sae spoke up first with her answers.
“It is true, General Takahashi,” she replied. “Kashiwagi Yuzi is Kashiwagi Yuki’s older brother.”
Not too surprising since they share the same last name. Yet why is it… such a surprise though? Probably because Yuki isn’t exactly like her brother? That she was saner than the man that went out to brutally massacre everyone in his sight? Whatever it may be, Minami is more than willing to find out more about their relationship. Maybe… Just maybe this will help her plot a plan to get rid of such threat that would soon bestow upon them if actions weren’t taken.
Though she knows that she should be focusing on more important ordeals like keeping the human race alive, Yuzi was proven to be an obstacle to their safety goal. Today’s world is based on survival after all. An apocalyptic world where humans that have survived are either hiding out in their safe base or fighting for the Elimination Force in their country. Other than that, the rest are either dead or infected with the viruses through many means.
A small hum was created from the vibration of her trachea. Closing her eyes briefly and keeping them closed, she then said, “Elaborate more on their relationship.”
Uncertainty was seen behind the eyes of the two tall figures. Glancing at each other, there seems to be a silent yet mental communication that they had gotten from each other. They knew for a fact that any sort of information in regard to Yuzi is crucial at this point. With a slight hesitation, Sae and Sayaka began to spill out the story about Yuki with whatever knowledge they had at hand.
“Honestly, we only know Yuki based on what she has told us from the day we found her…”
----------
[FLASHBACK]
The city of Akihabara was in ruins. The day the unknown strand of virus that was not known to be the X, Y, or Z swept through as if they were on a frenzy. Many civilians both innocent and guilty were faced with the same fate. Those that survived… Without experiences, they didn’t even live for more than a month or two at the most. Sometimes they were killed off by others infected with the viruses; from werewolves, vampires or the undead. And sometimes… they were killed by their own beings.
Sae and Sayaka couldn’t help but cringe when they heard a loud gunshot from a great distant away. Sayaka in her wolf form, she perked her ears up and froze in her spot. All muscles stilled, the girl listened intently to the source of sound, determining where it had come from. The wolf’s dark black eyes sadden when she realized the reason for the gunshot.
“It’s… them again…” she winced softly.
The other girl next to her glanced at her direction by her side and exhaled quietly. Reaching over to stroke Sayaka’s head, she muttered, “It’s funny how humans can turn against each other at such a crucial time period…”
It was true. How humans can react on such crisis where their life was always on the line. No matter where they were, danger always followed them. Even if they were to shelter themselves from danger, they knew the type of consequences it would lead to if they continue to stick to one spot. Food and water will run low. The creatures will start sniffing the area out. Other human beings will raid and take over the spot. So many possibilities… Yet none were willing to help each other. Very few would form groups but many stayed isolated from others. Trust were lost, enemies and rivals were gained instead. Such a sad, cruel reality they were faced with. Even the creatures of the werewolves, vampires and even undead were at least a bit more kind-hearted to allow their own society to thrive on their own. (Aside from occasional clashes.)
Ever since the treaty, Sae and Sayaka were forced to protect along with their own species their part of the land. Here in Japan, there was a treaty that three parts of the land were divided into three of the living species that still walked on this world: humans, vampires and werewolves. There were rules and statements that they had to follow and remember goes as listed.
1. Romantic relationships are forbidden between each species
2. Fighting between the species are highly discouraged
3. Wars are to be expected
4. Undeads are to be rid of
- All who has broken the rules or object against the statements will be punished severely by the higher ups -
Only four simple rules. Three rules that everyone has to follow.
Though some were easy for follow, for others they weren’t. These rules sometimes have raised an objection. But sadly the highest leader of each specie had come to an agreement in regard to this treaty. And there was nothing anyone can do. If they were to break it, their species would be forced to punish them. The punishment usually would be a death sentence right above their heads for all three of the species regardless of age, status, circumstances and relationship. It was strange since the higher ups are technically those that had already been the first generation infected with the viruses and lived. Yet the rules were already set and the country so far has been running with few bloodshed.
Another whimper left Sayaka’s closed mouth, pushing her head against Sae’s hand petting her head. Sae couldn’t help but chuckle a bit before ruffling a bit more.
“We’ll get out of here soon,” she whispered just so the two of them were able to hear. “Just got to pass through this city and find a place to reside in.”
The two girls were on a search to reside in. Ever since they were separated and transformed into their current state, right now they were looking for a home. At least a home and base they can build. Though they weren’t technically allowed to stay together for very long due to the trouble if one of the three higher ups and their small group of bodyguards sniff them out. So they were searching for a place that was just on the borders of their territory and establish it under their name. To build a small pack or a small house that would be beneficial to their life.
They merely wanted to live in peace and try to survive in this wrecked world they currently reside in. Oh if only they were born much later in the future or in the past to avoid such catastrophe.
Trending through the dirt path littered with dust and pieces of building that had collapse, the two individuals were high on the alert for any sort of enemies or allies crossing their path. Every once in a while, they would spot a small group of humans who were armed. They were smart enough not to get in their way. Sae had the ability of great quick instinctively mind as a vampire, so she was able to help Sayaka and herself avoid crossing fire with them. Despite being humans in the past, they knew that right now, it was different. The humans would only view them as monsters, nothing more and nothing less.
As they continued through the barely paved paths from multiple civilians and creatures walking to the same direction, there was a loud crash coming from their right. Alarmed, both Sae and Sayaka halted in their spot. Maintaining their same figure posture, only their ears perked up, searching for the source of the sound. Sayaka’s ears were to be seen still, twitching every five to ten seconds. After a couple seconds has passed by, the crash was followed up by a scream. The scream sounded like a young female crying out for help.
This caused both girls to look at each other.
“I think we should do something about this,” Sayaka barked as her growled with uncertainty.
Sae by her side nodded without hesitation. “We need to see who needs help.”
And the two ran off towards the direction the scream echoed off from. The wolf and vampire rushed with amazing speed that would impress any being. Wind pushing against their figures, it didn’t reduce their fast rate. Sayaka skidded to a stop with both of his paws only to use her hind legs for support of a dramatic leap. And that leap helped her jump right on top of a piece of rubble mess before their eyes. Sae on the other hand merely bounced up to it as if she was a kangaroo. Both leapt around and soon came back to ground level.
The two girls had finally reached their destination. The destination of a disordered building on the first floor. Windows and glasses were shattered; furniture and objects laying on all sort of direction and posture in different states. Some were luckily unharmed while others were completely crushed by whatever effect. This office floor by the entrance almost looked as though a hurricane ripped right through the area. But what they were faced with is nothing that they had imagined.
Throughout their vision were countless corpses of undead and even a couple weakened vampires from the X virus scattered all around. Blood pools and splatters colored the decayed walls and dirty cracked flooring. Powerful foul scent of blood from the inhumane creatures made both Sae and Sayaka crinkle their nose with displeasure. The werewolf especially since her sense of smell were heightened. She winced and almost wished that she was a vampire instead of a wolf. But continuing their observation, they heard a small, faint whimper. A whimper that came from the direction right behind a flipped desk. From their positioning, the two individuals were unable to see who or what was causing such sound. But of course, they knew that they have to approach in order to answer their suspicion.
Sae went ahead of Sayaka a few steps, allowing the werewolf to protect her in case something does happen. Considering that she is in her light vampire form right now, she knew that she wouldn’t have to worry about falling into any sort of dark state due to her personality, attitude and moral choice made. Gulping, the taller vampire took a couple more steps till she was able to peer right above the desk. From her sight, she widen her eyes when Sae saw who it was.
It was a raven haired girl trembling violently. Dressed in a university uniform of Akihabara, it was torn on the edges and was sticky from the red substance; unsure of whether it was the girl here or the creatures within the room. Whatever it was though, she wasn’t in any good state. Even more whimpers left her lips. Sae sensed that she was still alive, but… something was off. The older girl glanced over her shoulder to see the wolf bend her ears back; a quiet growl leaving her mouth as teeth was shown.
Seeing that the brown werewolf was becoming alarmed, Sae knew that she herself must be careful with this individual. Unsure of whether this person was a human being or an infected that was slowly becoming another being, she came around and bent down to the girl’s level. The vampire saw that this girl buried her face into her arms almost as if she didn’t want to see the world in its cruel state. Frowning, Sae spoke up gently to grab her attention.
“H-Hey… Miss? Are you okay?”
“…”
Silence. She was answered by the not-so-sweet silence that greeted her. Furrowing her eyebrows even more, Sae pressed the questioning a bit more.
“Are you the only one here? What happened here exactly?”
“…”
Just when Sae thought she might not get any sort of answer no matter what kind of question she threw out, the tall figure was almost startled out of her wits when this female spoke up.
“Ev… Everyone… No… Those creatures… attacked me… While… I-I… hid…”
“Did you kill them?”
“…H-Hai…”
How could she have killed them? It’s quite… impossible to kill these huge number of beings alone. Hell, this girl here has no weapon either from what Sae has seen. So how could this one university student take care of the undead and weakened vampires without much trouble? This girl wasn’t even severely injured, so that raised up a red flag on Sae’s case. Another one raised up instantly when the girl raised her face up from her arms.
“Oh God no…” Sae unintentionally slipped out of her barely parted mouth as she stared at the girl.
There was the flickering of the girl’s eyes becoming red. The color of bright red that resonated the transformation of a neutral vampire into a dark vampire. And becoming a dark vampire is something that no one wants to witness. Especially when there’s only both Sae and Sayaka alone here. At this point, this girl here can only revert it back if she has enough sanity and strength left mentally to fight off the urge to brutally fall into a state that would consist of bloodshed and violence. Horrified at what was soon going to happen, Sae grabbed of her shoulders roughly.
“Listen um… girl. You need to keep yourself from turning into a dark vampire.”
“A-Ahhh….”
Not good. Not good at all. The older girl’s eyes widen when she saw the student almost falling unconscious. Eyelids were fluttering, trying its best to keep the owner awake to the best of its ability. And she wasn’t able to answer back with a single word formed properly. At the same time, she was rising up from her spot, forcing Sae to rise up to equal level. It looked almost as if she was ready to howl out loud and tear anyone in her pathway.
Gritting her teeth, she felt Sayaka approach by her side quickly, barking a few times.
“Stay with me… You can’t lose your consciousness and let this dark side take control of your mind and body…”
There was a faint amount of sanity within the girl’s mental state. Bearing her teeth, resulting in showing her fangs, the raven haired female brought both of her hands to the side of her head. Making it look like she had a massive headache. “… It’s… It’s hard… AHHHHHH!”
Sae knew that if she fell into the darker side, both she and Sayaka are in grave danger. Placing both of her hands on top of the girl’s shoulders, she shook her slightly.
“I know it is, but take a deep breath, stay awake and stay with me.”
"G-GAHHHHH!"
"Tch, come on! You can do it!"
Though it took an agonizing amount of time to keep this student awake and sane with them, Sae and Sayaka had successfully supported the girl through the ordeal. Almost a few instances where they thought they had to end her life, she snapped back to reality with a clear mind. Soon she slid down back on the ground. The girl had tears streaming down her face endlessly as one hand resided on the top of her head; dizzy. She was awfully calm despite the state that she was in.
“I… I… T-Thank you… um…?”
“Ah, I apologize for not introducing myself, miss. I’m Sae and this is Sayaka,” Sae introduced themselves. Keeping one hand on top of the girl’s shoulder, she then asked, “What’s your name, if you don’t mind me asking.”
“…Kashiwagi… Yuki.”
“Kashiwagi Yuki, huh?” A dry chuckle left Sae’s lips as she comforted the girl by tenderly rubbing her shoulder. “You’re now safe and okay with us.”
“…”
It’s no surprise that she remained silent nor had any response. Yuki here after all was close to losing her mental sanity just minutes ago. For a vampire like her… to experience such transformation would be something that no one would want to dare have.
“So what were you doing here aside from hiding?” Sayaka interfered with her own set of questions. Sitting down with her tail whishing left and right slowly, she tilted her head to the side. “Akihabara University is very far from here.”
Yuki was seen to inhale deeply before exhaling her answer out.
“I… I was looking for… my older brother.”
“Your brother, huh?” Sae raised an eyebrow. “Was he lost or something?”
The raven haired girl shook her head. “M-Maybe…”
‘So he’s lost… Not good,’ Sayaka and Sae both mentally noted. But right when the short haired girl was about to ask again, Yuki decided to spill out her story to them.
“I was… living with my older brother in an apartment. He went to a university separate from mine, but we were close. After the outbreak of the virus, my older brother, Yuzi, was… becoming more and more different. Always aggressive… Always coming home late or even not coming home for a couple days at the most… Always keeping secrets… He’s not the same onii-san that I had before. Then one day…” she took a shaky breath. “He left me. He never came back nor even left a note.”
“That’s ridiculous of him… But he must have a reason…” Sayaka winced out loud. Then coming up to Yuki’s side, she tenderly rubbed her softy furry head against the student’s face for comfort. Yuki had a faint smile flash across her face before returning back to the grim expression.
“Maybe he did… But he left me… He didn’t save me… from those vampires…”
A shudder ran down Yuki’s spine. Memories of those vampires flashed across her mind. Those vampires that broke into her apartment after a good month her brother left her. They had… done incomprehensible and defiling actions that would drive anyone angry. Alas, along the process of that one unfortunate night…
“I was bitten by them.”
Sae widen her eyes when she was suddenly able to pinpoint the bite mark on the girl’s skin. It was located faintly on the side of her neck, healing yet the bruises and bumps were left remaining behind for the time being. She felt angry at those cursed vampires. She knew that there were many unfortunate and unlucky situations occurring around the world such as these, but to hear this from Yuki before her… It just drove her mad. Grumbling under her breath quietly, she exhaled loudly.
“Kashiwagi-san… I… I just want to let you know that… We can help find your brother,” she explained as Yuki fell silent after the previous statement. “We will let you stay with us.”
It seems that Yuki did not expect to hear that from both Sae and Sayaka. Blinking a few times with confusion, she shook her head vigorously.
“I-I can’t,” she rejected. “I can’t burden you both-“
“You’re not burdening us,” Sayaka barked out while wagging her tail. Tongue sticking out a bit from her barely parted mouth. “We don’t mind taking care of you-no. We actually want to take care of you.”
“But why… me?”
“Well…” Sae looked down towards the ground a bit before glancing back up at Yuki. “You needed help, yes? We can’t just leave you out here with the dangers of being attacked again.”
“I could defend myself-“
“You can, but what will happen if you were outnumbered?” Sae frowned. “You probably had killed some humans too in order to protect yourself… Which is one of the few reasons why you were close to turning into that cursed state.”
“…W-Wakarimasu…”
There was a soft sigh from Sayaka before she got back up on her four paws. Nudging her head against Yuki, she added, “We’ll protect you and keep you safe from harm.”
----------
“…And that’s how we met Yuki.”
Takahashi Minami had nodded her head slowly once Sae and Sayaka had finished speaking. Then glancing over at her assistant nearby, she muttered a few words that the two of them could only hear. Of course, Sae was able to pick them all up due to her sharp hearings along with Sayaka and merely blinked in response. When the general returned her attention to the two figures, she sighed softly.
“Now we understand a bit more about Yuzi… I thank you both for sharing with us these information.”
“We’re more than happy to help,” Sayaka smiled as she bowed her head in respect. Minami faintly smiled back in return at such respectful action.
“How about Matsui Rena? I’m sure there’s more-“
There was a loud crash coming from behind the Twin Towers girls, instantly interrupting the general. Alarmed, they all whipped their attention only to see Miyawaki Sakura. Her emergency medical uniform were splattered with blood as she waved both opened hands in the air. As much as it looked like her own, the younger girl wasn’t injured so it could be concluded that it was another person’s.
“General Takahashi! Captain Shinoda is severely injured and has arrived in the emergency room!” she announced frantically and in a panicked tone.
This threw off the mood of the atmosphere not too long ago. Widening her eyes, Minami immediately had stood up from her seat with both palm of her hands pressed against the surface of the table. Atsuko nearby took a step forth; concerned expression written all over her face. Hovering her view over to the two girls standing across from her, she shook her head.
“I apologize about this, but we can talk another time,” she muttered as the general pushed herself away from her desk. Circling around the figures, she brushed right passed by them with haste. An aura of nervousness and horror was felt from the shorter girl. And trailing right behind her was Atsuko, who was furrowing her brows deeply at the ordeal in hand.
Minami quickly threw out a question as Sakura led both her and Atsuko towards the emergency room on the lower floors.
“How is Mariko?” she asked.
The medical member shook her head. “She’s lost a lot of blood. Sustained severe injuries that could make just about anyone pass out.”
“She called for back-up?”
“Iie. She actually… walked most of her way towards our base. A sniper of ours saw her and called for help.”
The general bit the bottom of her lip as they approached the elevator. Mentally she couldn’t help but be amazed at the amount of stamina and endurance Mariko had in her tall, fit body. While Sakura pressed on the arrow button that was facing downward, she felt Atsuko by her side take ahold of her hand. Her right hand’s fingers intertwining with the shorter girl’s left. Minami shot a glance over at the dark haired girl, who still had grave features scrawled all over her face. Yet there was a firm squeeze within her grip. Almost as if she was reassuring Minami that she was there for her. Minami gulped and squeezed back; glad to have another person to lean against aside from Yui. The warmth from Atsuko’s hand has made Minami feel a bit calm at the crisis.
When the elevator made its dinging sound, the three hurried inside of the elevator. They were instantly greeted with Minegishi Minami. She was dressed in her clothing in her workshop of delivery, hinting that she had just rushed out of her job. It wasn’t much of a surprise for her to see the others cram themselves into the elevator. Sakura glanced her dark eyes over to the buttons and saw that their destination was already highlighted.
“Mii-chan? What are you doing here?” Minami asked the other Minami. Minegishi sucked in a deep breath. “I have to see my best friend. I have to see Mari-chan to make sure she’s okay.”
There were tears welling up in her eyes yet none spilled out from their sockets. The emotional girl was trying to hold in the droplets that would break her down if released. So trying her best to hold them back, she remained silent as Minami sighed. She knew how close Minegishi and Mariko were. Despite the two always trolling and bickering with each other, they had one of the tightest bond the general has ever seen.
Minami pinched the bridge of her nose with her right hand, eyes closed. She wanted all of this to be a nightmare. Just a nightmare that she was having difficulty awakening from. Yet every time Minami reopens her eyes, she was slapped with the reality of their situation.
In the meantime, the two girls were left in the room of Minami’s office alone. Both Sae and Sayaka nervously exchanged glances at each other. They didn’t know such an emergency could occur at such a wrong timing. And right now, without the person they needed to talk to, they had nothing to do.
There was a brief silence hanging in the air before the ikemen girl spoke up.
“I think… we should see both Yuki and Rena,” she stated.
-----------
I yawned to myself when I realized how bored I was. Sitting in the cafeteria with the white werewolf, well, wolfing down her food. (See what I did there?) On the other hand, Haruka seated herself right next to me. She wasn’t really hungry, so all she had was a bottle of juice at hand; half of it left in the plastic container.
At the moment, there wasn’t many individuals hanging around in this area. Many were on duty and focused on protecting the base. Those who were on breaks most likely ran off to the small park I had visited not too long ago or somewhere within the building. As much as this is a military base, it doesn’t mean that it’s a place where strict rules are implied and controlling the members. It’s almost like a small community where both members and non-members freely spend their time here. A safe haven as one can label it as.
There were news of Mariko already at the emergency room from what we’ve heard from the intercom and news spreading around between the members. But as much as I wanted to see Mariko, they didn’t allow anyone other than Takahashi Minami and Maeda Atsuko to see her. Though I should be extremely worried, I was somewhat at ease to hear that she had returned back safely to the mission. Not so much for the other members though… A small bit of sadness hit my heart to those that had lost their lives out on the mission. It’s almost as though each mission was becoming more and more dangerous as they were issued out…
“It’s been a good while since I last saw you, Yuihan~”
That familiar cute voice came from behind my seated figure. I had to drag my consciousness out of my trance-like state. My hand toying around with the bottle of Pepsi came to a stop as I glanced over my shoulder. Both Haruka and Sayanee too dragged their attention over to the girl from behind me. While I was turning, I was met with Kasai’s arms wrapped around my upper body, giving me a friendly hug; the ladle seen in one hand. A smile crossed my face when I saw the chef.
“It has been a while, Tomo~mi,” I responded back.
The older girl giggled as she retracted her arms from my body. The silver ladle was seen pointing the blunt end of it upward in the air as another hand rested on her hip. Wearing a pink checkered apron with a white background followed underneath by a white chef uniform found in almost any restaurant, she looked ready to cook us another meal.
“So how have you been, chiyuu~?” she threw out another question at my direction.
Of course. Her infamous ‘chiyuu’ saying. It’s become a habit coming from the girl but it didn’t bother any of us at all. Rather we were quite… fond of it. Anyway, Kasai tilted her head as I answered her question.
“I’ve been doing well so far. Glad to be out of the medical floor.”
“I bet,” she giggled. Then right when she was going to say more, we all heard, “TOMO~MI!”
And… Itano comes into the picture. Rushing right into the scene, the gardener looked… disheveled. This beauty queen looked almost like she ran a marathon for the sake of seeing Kasai. When the other Tomomi dragged her attention away from mine and towards Itano, it didn’t even take a second for us to see her dragged away by the arm. Kasai looks confused as ever while Itano had the gravest expression. Then leaving the entire cafeteria space, we were left dumbfounded. To our surprise, this all happened in less than one minute.
“…”
Silence. Silence hanged in the air as the three of us could only stare dumbly at the direction they had just left.
“Ooooooooookay then,” Sayanee barked out before licking her lips. “I don’t know what that was about.”
“Me neither,” I mumbled. Scratching the back of my head, I thought about resting for a bit on this table. Maybe take a quick nap since I have been awfully tired lately. Even my throat was becoming a bit scratchy… But it’s not like I have a sore throat. And I was feeling thirsty despite how much soda and water I’ve drank today. Rubbing my throat with one of my hand, I found my eyes to connect with Haruka. We were staring at each other before the other girl pulled away, glancing at another direction. There was a faint trace of a blush seen on her cheeks…
But that might as well be my imagination, right?
Squinting my eyes, from the corner of my vision, I saw a figure right past the two seated individuals. There was Kitahara Rie in the distance. Leaning against the wall of the cafeteria’s entrance, she had her arms crossed across her chest. The military member had a small smile when she noticed that I saw her. And seeing that smile… It made my heart skip a beat. Gulping, I instantly risen up from my seat when Rie motioned me to come over to her.
It seems that I had taken both Sayanee and Haruka by surprise from my sudden action.
“Where are you going, Yui?” Haruka asked.
“Kitarie needed me for something,” I told her. Then waving to the two girls that I would be back in a bit, I walked around the table. Now heading straight towards Rie, she pushed herself away from the wall. The smile was still plastered on her face. When I approached to her side, she pointed her index finger up above to the ceiling. “I need to tell you something in my room, if you don’t mind.”
‘Hm? What could she be saying here?’ Is it something private that only she can discuss with me? What exactly is going on? What is she going to tell me? Is it something that important?
Whatever it was, none of these questions are going to be answered till we reached our destination. Bobbing my head in comprehension, Rie nodded back. Then she led me out of the cafeteria and into the busy hallway filled with members dashing left and right with their duties on this floor. Some were even little children that were forced to live here with their surviving family members within the base.
I sensed Rie’s heartbeat going at a much faster rate. Glancing directly at her back, I felt that she was nervous. But what exactly was she nervous about?
“Kitarie… What did you want to talk to me about?” I asked as we walked towards the place. I usually was patient, but right now I was becoming… impatient and needed to hear what she wanted to talk to me about.
The member halted in her spot, nearly causing me to crash into her by accident. Glancing over her shoulder, Rie slanted her eyebrows in a downward diagonal direction. “I… I need to tell you about… something in regard to Sashihara Rino and me.”
I nearly had a cardiac arrest from hearing that statement.
----------
“Jurina…”
Mayu had to extend her arm in order to reach out and touch the side of the younger girl’s face. She could feel Jurina stiffen before relaxing when she knew that it was just Mayu. Pressing gently against Mayu’s hand, she even brought her own hand to manually perform the action. She could only stare blankly at the girl laying on the bed. Concern was scrawled all over the older girl’s facial features.
Ever since Jurina had just gotten the message that Mariko was in the emergency room, she couldn’t help but want to rush blindly out of Mayu’s room and into the very place her senpai was located. Yet here she is, stuck in her room with no access into it. The other nurses had to scold her along with the general’s assistance herself about it. Jurina simply felt helpless. Not too long ago after confessing to Mayu, here she is… Stuck with a tragic news that made her heart beat rapidly for a negative reason. This girl wanted to cry and shed the tears. Yet she continue to keep a strong image. Besides… Mayu was here to comfort her, right?
The member on the bed knew better than to let Jurina mope around under such heavy atmosphere. Even though she was here in the room with her, Mayu knew that she couldn’t really do much to help Jurina. Stuck in bed and unable to get up due to the medications, the cyborg girl decided for Jurina to do something for her. Something else aside from sitting here with a dark expression.
“Jurina?” she called out.
“Mm?”
“Do you want to get me a drink?”
“…okay then.”
Rising up from her seat, Jurina hesitantly released Mayu’s hand from her face. The warmth soon disappeared, leaving the one side of her face colder than before. Sadly looking over at Mayu, she couldn’t help but brush away a stray strand of hair on the girl’s forehead. Then without thinking, the taller girl leaned down to land a small peck on the same area her fingers touched upon. When she retracted, Jurina saw Mayu blush and look away, grumbling. A soft chuckle unconsciously escaped her lips before taking her leave from the room.
When she finally had gotten out of the room, there was… someone that she wasn’t exactly expecting to be seeing at this point in time.
“R-Rena… What are you doing here?”
That was right. The dark haired girl was staring directly at Jurina and standing in front of her. Jurina was unsure of what she wanted, but she knew that she had to get the drink from the vending machine for Mayu. That was her priority at this time. Nothing more and nothing less crossed her mind ever since the news was heard about Mariko’s state.
When her question wasn’t answered, Jurina didn’t waste any time to gently push Rena aside. But right when her two hands reached out to touch Rena, in a matter of seconds, Jurina found herself pinned against the wall near the patient’s room Mayu was located in. Both of her wrists were held forcefully by both of Rena’s hands. The vampire’s grip tightened when Jurina showed signs of struggling.
Rena leaned in forth till she was able to breathe right besides Jurina’s ear. Every inhale and exhale could be felt, causing the younger girl’s face to burn up slightly from embarrassment. She was completely confused at what was going on.
“Gomen ne, Jurina… Demo…” Rena retracted away from Jurina’s ear and before they knew it, connected their lips together. It was a long, yet sweet kiss in Rena’s viewpoint. On the other hand, Jurina widen her eyes when she saw what had happened. Yet as much as she resisted, the older Matsui had only pushed onward even further. Deep within her internal world, Jurina couldn’t help but admit that she was enjoying this kiss. A kiss that she blindly fell into its trap. When they separated, Rena licked her lips with pleasure as Jurina blushed even more.
Looking away, Jurina felt ashamed of her actions when she noticed what she had done. Slightly angry at the same time, she wanted to bark at Rena when one of her wrist was free from its captor. Instead, one of Rena’s gentle hand cupped underneath her chin and brought the girl to stare into her eyes. Jurina was unable to look away the moment their connection was made.
“I want you Jurina…” Rena huskily breathed out. “I would highly advise… you be careful with Watanabe-san… I’m not like Yukirin… But it doesn’t mean that I feel jealous.”
----------
While Yui went off with Rie to discuss some matter, all that was left in the table were both Sayanee and Haruka. Both were cleaning themselves up after having finished drinking and/or eating their meal for the afternoon.
“Boy, that was some good stuff!” Sayanee barked happily as she wagged her tail left and right rapidly. Haruka couldn’t help but giggle and pet the top of the other girl’s head. The older girl must seem to be enjoying this for she closed her eyes and stuck out her tongue, panting and breathing quickly with happiness. “I bet it does, Sayanee. I bet.”
After a couple of seconds has passed by, Sayanee finally blurted out something to Haruka.
“Neh neh… I gotta tell ya a secret, Paruru.”
“Hm? Okay then.”
“It’s…” She inhaled deeply; almost as if she was going to dramatically make the hardest decision of her lifetime or some sort of speech that will blow Haruka’s mind away. “I’m beginning to fall in love for Yuihan.”
"E-Eh?"
"I said I'm starting to love Yokayama Yui."