It was the day before the Fuji Squad was due on board the Kuou. Kuon had learned all too well the mental toll of being dropped in a river while blindfolded and bound, unable to see or move. The only thing that kept him sane was En chattering away at him, but…
“Good Morning, Jogen! It’s the start of the happy hour, ready to blow all your Monday blues away! This is DJ NSR’s mega-cool, hyperactive super radio show, Repsol 999!
“Enjoy without fear of leaking water! Okay, first song coming up, Ifukube Akio’s ‘Kenjutsu Shobai’! Hmm hmmhmmm hmmm!” She then hummed the entire number.
Without En’s wackiness, he genuinely would have been in trouble. If he counted all the times in the last three weeks Kaede and this inane humming radio show had made his urge to kill rise, he’d be in the three digits. The way Kaede met his fury head on, never once ceasing her torment, and the way En happily kept the broadcast going were both impressive in their own ways.
Kuon still had enough left in him to be impressed.
The rest of the Fuji Squad (without Kuon) would board the Mobile Battleship Kuou tomorrow. After that, they would be on standby until the Operation began, so they had less than thirty hours of free time remaining.
That morning was the first day off he’d been granted since his training began, and he spent it catching up on sleep. He slept like the dead. The last ten days he’d managed only twenty hours of sleep total; even he was amazed he’d survived it.
But as he slept too deeply to even dream, the Device by his pillow rang. Rubbing his eyes, he glanced at the window, trying to focus on the name displayed:
Suzuka Hanabi-senpai.
This is a date.
No, it isn’t, it’s“thanks” and “sorry,” an expression of my gratitude.
But also a date.
No, no, it’s not. Definitely not. Thanks. Sorry. And…
These thoughts ran through Hanabi’s head on a loop. She sat alone at the largest shopping district on Jogen, waiting for Kuon.
They’d agreed to meet there. That much was definitively true, date or not.
Hanabi had made Rin triple-check her outfit but was still worried it was weird. She didn’t know how to hold her expensive-looking purse and she felt like the front of her shirt was open a little too far down and sure, it was always summer on the island but going entirely sleeveless was dubious and this skirt was definitely too short. She was getting so many glances from passersby that were fanning her anxiety. She should have just worn her uniform, although Rin would have stopped her if she’d left in a track suit.
Hanabi and Kuon had agreed to meet under a giant clock. “It’s cliché, but… No, it’s easily understood, which I think is for the best,” Rin had said when she suggested it. But that meant Rin also knew where they were meeting. That was obvious, but Hanabi was way too stressed about her first date (no, my expression of gratitude) to realize what that meant.
Ding, dong, ding.
The bell rang. It was exactly noon.
Kuon wasn’t there.
She began fretting. Maybe he wasn’t coming. Kuon said he’d been training to master the ultimate arts this whole time. When she’d called him that morning, he’d just woken up. Maybe he was so tired he fell back asleep? Or was his promise to her just not as important? After all, they were the Shichisei Kenbu ultimate arts. In a DM, he’d be humanity’s strongest swordsman. It didn’t take three seconds to know which was more important: her or those arts.
A lump formed in Hanabi’s chest. The anxious lump grew bigger and bigger until she could barely breathe. She felt so ashamed for getting all excited about this, for trying to dress up in the sort of thing she never wore. She felt so pathetic, but she couldn’t let herself cry. She should just leave. Just wait five more minutes. No, three. And if he doesn’t come…
“Sorry to keep you waiting, Hanabi-senpai!”
He’s here.
Kuon was right in front of her. She’d been staring at her hands and hadn’t noticed him coming.
He was apologizing, looking all flustered. “I’m sorry! You looked so beautiful I thought you were a model or something. I just walked right past you, not even realizing it was you. Only after looking everywhere else—”
“You came.”
She must have looked incredibly happy. “Yes. Um, senpai,” Kuon said, fidgeting. He looked embarrassed. “You look really lovely.”
Hanabi stared at her hands again.
Meanwhile, both Rin and En threw their thumbs up.
En, always by Kuon’s side, was naturally in “Sleep Mode” and not visible, yet still feeding Rin a detailed account. Actually, she’d gotten lazy halfway through and just started broadcasting a live feed directly over the link to Rin.
But…
Damn you, Hanabi… You aren’t talking to Kyuu-kun at all! What’s so fascinating about the ground?! You aren’t supposed to be staring at the sandals I loaned you, you’re supposed to be looking at the boy next to you!
Rin was watching them from the shadows through the PGM-F4 Rifle Scope she used for shooting practice, and she was furious to see Hanabi with her head down.
A few hours later, Headmaster Nanahoshi would uncover this scheme, and both Rin and En would be sent to the brig.
The first date between the Hero Reborn and the Warrior Princess was off to a rocky start.
Officially, this was to thank him for his help while they were adrift, apologize for shooting him during mock events, and express her gratitude for his help with her Fencing. Hanabi had asked Kuon where he wanted to go, but…
“Maybe an onsen?” he’d said, looking extremely serious.
The two eavesdropping had simultaneously yelled, “What are you, a grandpa?! No thirteen-year-old would say that!”
“Oh, sorry, no onsen in the shopping district!” Hanabi said. “Let’s try a sento instead!”
Not the point.
Not the problem, either.
A girl and an AI tightened their firsts, desperate to communicate their feelings. Sure, there was a sento here, but…