Rena’s POV
“I’ll go take you to rest. Yuria! Calibrate Miyuki and Akane, Airin’s blacked out!”
“Hai, I’ll be right there!”
Airi...I’m really worried about you…
As I carried her, I saw so many people looking at me.
“Matsui.”
“Y-Yes Colonel Kashiwagi, ma’am?”
“What’s happened with Furukawa?”
“Well...”
“What?! Tell me!”
“She… She’s seems to have regained memories from her former partner, it seems the left hemisphere of her brain is retaining some pain.”
“Y-you mean...”
“Yes. Her.”
“Ogiso… She was one of the best, and was a good friend to Furukawa. I guess her death took a massive toll on her.”
“S-Shiori…!”
“I see, ma’am.”
“For now, watch out for her. She might seem emotionally unstable… As for Takayanagi...”
“What about her, ma’am?”
“Nothing, I’m running physical scans on everyone later on today, and I’m just worried for her.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Meanwhile…
Akane’s POV
I know how Airin’s feeling… I was in the same position as her before….
“Churi.. Please go!!”
“No.. Jurina!!”
No… I can’t look back..! Jaegers are dangerous things… Us pilots risk our lives riding these things.
“Churi-chan!”
“E-Eh? Milky?”
“The Colonel requests physical scans later, by the way.”
“Don’t remind me, Milky. She’s always worrying about me. Come here Papi-tan.”
A bird flew towards me with great speed.
“Nee, Papi-tan, here here!”
“So...”
“Too much workout...” My knees gave way and fell to the floor, “Colonel was right...”
“Oh god… Churi-chan, why did you overwork yourself...”
“She did it again, eh, Miyuki?”
“E-Eh? Colonel… Ma’am why are you here?”
“I knew Akane would’ve been overworking herself again. So I just came to check.”
“C-Colonel K-Kashi--”
I felt my head hit the floor and my eyes instantly closed
I was fatefully reminded of that very moment…
Flashback
“Akane, watch out!”
“E-Eh?”
As she stepped in front of me, I saw the Kaiju out there. It looked sinister.
“Just go, before you die.”
“Jurina, what about you?!”
“Tsk, then I’ve lived a good life.”
“No! I wouldn’t be able to leave my partner like that!”
“It’s my order, Akane! Just go! Before we both die!”
“I…”
“Goodbye.”
She pushed me out the gateway before the door closed.
“Jurina!!!”
As I rushed out of there, I heard explosions. It was terrifying to hear and experience before your very eyes.
“Headquarters to Takayanagi, what’s your status?”
“Takayanagi to Headquarters, Matsui sacrificed herself for my sake, I’m not sure if she’s dead though.”
“She most likely is, Takayanagi. It’s time to move on.”
“No… I-I can’t...”
“Just come back to base, are you injured?”
“I don’t think so… Ah!”
I felt a searing pain on my abdomen and put pressure on it before seeing blood all over my hands.
“Actually I might need some assistance….”
-End Flashback-
“Ugh… What’s going on…?”
I woke up in the infirmary… How did I get here? Why? Who?
“Churi?”
“Airin?”
“Ohayo~ What are you doing here?”
“Fatigued...The Colonel’s right. I do work too much.”
“Eh?”
“Ever since Jurina’s death, I was working my body to it’s limit, to protect everyone. I didn’t want Miyuki to die the same way.”
“When Shiori died, I made sure I didn’t work with anyone. Now that I have to work with Rena...”
“Do you think… this is fate giving us a second chance?”
“Do you think so?”
“Maybe. Who knows...”
“Un….”
Man… when did I end up getting to be so deep? Ha… Maybe I’ve changed…
*Knock* *Knock* *Knock*
“Come in?”
The door opened and revealed the Colonel, as well as Miyuki and Rena.
“Ah, Furukawa, Takayanagi. I needed to have a word with the both of you.”
“What?”
“Due to the fact that the both of you are injured, you four aren’t going to participate in the next envoy.”
“Wait.. Why?!”
“The one I’m worried for most is Furukawa.”
“Eh?”
“It seems you’ve retained a lot of Ogiso’s memories, it’s the cause of the pain on the left hemisphere of your brain. It’s very rare for that to happen so I want to keep an eye on you.”
“No...”
“I’m sorry, Furukawa… We’re trying to see what we can do.”
“Thanks...”
“As for you Akane-chan...”
“N-Nani?”
“Ano… Colonel...!”
“Yes?”
“There’s an emergency! Category 4 Kaiju incoming!”
“Category 4?! Ugh… Never mind then, I’m deploying you four.”
“Eh?”
“Furukawa, you and Takayanagi are trained. You two have beaten more Kajiu between you both than any other soldier I’ve been inspecting. I’m trusting you both. Airi, if anything happens, just straight up say. I don’t want anything to happen like last time.”
“Thank you, Yuki-senpai. I will.”
“Stay safe.”
We saluted them off as they left the room.
“Churi… The colonel just complimented us…. We should go before she changes her mind.”
“Yeah we should. I don’t want her going all ‘Black’ mode on us… She’s creepy when she’s like that...”
“I remember a month ago...”
Flashback
“The path to the moon, appears anew.”
“Umm… Airin..! You shouldn’t have made her mad!”
“M-Me?! It was you, Churi! You bird-brained idiot!”
“Ugh…. Let’s just suffer in peace...”
“I-i-i-i… IYAAAAAAAA!!!!”
End of Flashback
I shuddered. Both of us did, remembering that moment.
“Just thinking about it still gives me chills.”
“Rule #1: Never anger Yuki.”
“Un. Or she’ll torture you to no end.”
“I wonder how she ended up like that….”
“Who knows.”
“Ah, maybe Mayu would.”
“Oh, right. Those two are pretty close.”
“Plus, when Yuki got mad, Mayu was the one who was able to calm her down.”
“Hee~ I wonder...”
Meanwhile…
Yuki’s POV
Tsk, those two~
“Nee, Yuki-chan!”
“Eh? Mayu..?”
“I just wanted to say we’ve just finished another prototype. It’s got dual caliber cannons. I’ve also asked if we can implant a WMB2x90 AKM Chest Launcher, the same one that is used in Striker.”
“Umm...”
“Ah,” she blushed heavily. “I got too excited again, didn’t I?”
I giggled, patting her head. “You love machines. It can’t be helped.”
“B-but...”
“Don’t get so embarrassed. You’re our head engineer, right? It’s good you know all these things.”
She smiled. “Thanks.”
“Well, I’ve got the perfect pair to test this with.”
“Furukawa Airi and Matsui Rena, right? I wonder if you’re doing that because you have a feeling Furukawa-san has a crush on Matsui-san.”
“E-E-EH?!”
“Hahaha, why are you blushing? It’s just a rumor.”
“W-well, yeah, but..!”
“Oh, you’re so cute, Yuki-chan. Hahaha.”
Mayu… You’re the one who’s cute…
“Ah, I gotta go. Jyaa, I’ll see you later, Yuki-chan.”
“Un...”
What is wrong with me..? Whenever I’m around Mayu, I…
“Nee, Kashiwagi-senpai! Do you love Mayu-senpai or something?”
“E-EH?! N-N-No!”
“Really, senpai? It seemed like it~”
“That was just your imagination!”
“Kashiwagi-senpai!”
“Eh? Furukawa, Takayanagi? Get to the battle station, we’re getting ready.”
“Hai!”
“Yukirin-paisen~”
Oh God…
“Miyuki… How many times?!”
“Eto….”
“I’m sorry, it’s just very irritating. Just get ready, Takayanagi’s already there.”
“Okay, thanks for not killing me!”
Miyuki will never change, will she? When is she ever going to get serious?
Airi’s POV
“Rena-san…”
“Nani, Airin?”
“Have you ever been in the Drift?”
“Drift?”
“It’s an interdimension that connects our minds into one. It’s dangerous, really. Now you know what happened with me and Ogiso...”
It’s really tragic… Thinking of that moment... when I saw her inevitable end…
“Does that mean I can see your memories?”
“Basically, yes. But, there’s another reason why it’s dangerous...”
“What is that?”
“It’s called ‘chasing the rabbit’.”
“W-What? I just want to ask, which hemisphere do you normally control, Airin?”
“E-Eh? Right… Why?”
“Just wondering~ Why is ‘Catching the rabbit’ so dangerous?”
“There are R.A.B.I.Ts or Random Access Brain Impulse Triggers, where either one of us latches on to a memory whilst in the Drift. If that happens, then the activities going on in the dream will affect the actions of the Jaegers.”
“Ah...”
“But, it has been advised we make sure that doesn’t happen, because someone can become trapped in a memory and never get out. Like an infinite loop, if you must.”
“That does sound terrible...”
“I’ve actually had it happen to me on my first mission… ”
“Oh… W-What happened….?”
“I was caught in a memory of when I was younger, when my father died. I almost blew up the whole Shatterdome because I had lost control...”
“Wow...”
“Yeah--”
The pain was back again… But it was more intense than before.
“R-Rena… Get… Get Kashiwagi-senpai!”
“Got it!”
As I saw her run off, my vision started to fade…
“Airin...”
“Shio..ri….”
This was so painful, physically and mentally….
----------------------------
Rena’s POV
I ran as fast I could, knowing that Airi’s life might be in danger.
Airi….Why do I feel so… Warm and fuzzy when I see you?
I rushed in to the control panel where the colonel and Mayu were.
“Matsui? What are you doing here?”
“I-It’s about Furukawa-san!”
“What?!”
“The same thing happened, we can’t let her join the battle!”
“No…! This has become much more difficult… Show me to where she is.”
“Hai.”
As we walked towards Airi’s location, I saw Takayanagi-san and Watanabe-san preparing.
“Nee, Milky-chan...”
“Nani, Churi-chan?”
“How many Category 4’s have you beaten before..?”
“A few… How about you?”
“Let’s just a say a lot.”
“It’s obvious, Churi. You’re my senpai, you’re much more skilled than I am, I’m even thankful I have you as my partner. ”
She smiled. “Thanks. Even though I don’t have my best friend beside me, it’s good to have someone like you, Milky.”
Watanabe-san turned and saw me. She seemed to have been wondering what was going on so she asked me.
“Ah, Rena-san, what’s going on? Why aren’t you preparing with Airin?”
“Airin’s the problem.”
“Eh?!”
“She collapsed again. I’m getting worried.”
“It is getting pretty worrying, but we know the circumstances she’s been through. She’s going through a rare thing. We can’t do anything to stop it.”
“Ah, Takayanagi, Watanabe. I’m sure you’ve heard. Matsui and Furukawa won’t be able to assist you. You’re going solo.”
“M-Ma’am, that’s impossible! I-It’s been told it’s impossible to go solo!”
“It’s an order! We have no other choice.”
“Yes, ma’am.” She stubbornly replied, “I still find it impossible...”
“What was that?”
“Nothing, ma’am..!”
She glared at us a bit. She always knew Takayanagi-san was doing up to no good.
“I would send Yamamoto and Ogasawara, but they’ve been deployed elsewhere in the world.”
“....”
-Incoming Transmission-
“Colonel Kashiwagi Yuki, this is Marshal Kim Taeyeon here. How many troops have you got left?”
“Not many. We’re getting repairs set up for a number of our Jaegers.”
“Which Shatterdome are you at?”
“Osaka.”
“Uso...”
“Masaka..!”
Topic: The One Who Never Sleeps (RenAirin, ChuriMilky, MaYuki) Chap 2 22/2/15 (Read 2532 times)