08 Overnight Stay 1

"Overnight stay, overnight stay"

Mio sings a peculiar, cheerful tune between Jin and Sharon.

She takes Jin's left hand as usual, and with her other hand, grasps Sharon's right.

Surrounded by the people she likes, Mio is in high spirits.

"Um, Lieutenant. I'll go gather my things now..."

"Apologies, Corporal. I'll return your thanks properly at a later date."

Jin thinks he'll be bowing his head for quite some time to come.

Perhaps, in this situation, he should just accept one or two odd adjustments to the unit without complaint.

As he thinks this, he notices Sharon's gaze—100% humidity.

"What is it, Corporal?"

"No, nothing. Not for the Lieutenant's sake. For Mio-chan's sake!"

"Uh, yeah. I know that already, no need to emphasize it."

Slightly thrown off by the intensity, Jin shifts his upper body slightly away.

He soothes her with his free hand, palm open.

“Ah, Sharon.”

Mio tugs at Shirley’s sleeve, leaning close.

Bending down, she begins whispering something into her ear.

Jin feels left out.

“Ah. It’s fine. I intended to bring it anyway.”

“Good.”

She seemed to have something specific in mind.

Slightly curious.

“Then, Mio-chan. See you later.”

“Yeah, see you.”

Mio waves Shirley off, then looks up at Jin.

“Otō-san.”

“What?”

“Let’s go shopping.”

She says it with an unexpectedly serious tone.

“Shopping? Did something come up…?”

“A bath.”

“A bath… Ah. Right. I’d been putting it off.”

She’d said they’d buy everything needed to bathe at home, but it had been postponed for too long.

“Sharon’s house, every day, bathed.”

“Uh-huh.”

Mio has become someone who cannot go without a bath.

So it is...

In the time he was away, Mio had been indulged too much.

Jin felt a chill at the realization.

A bath isn’t inherently significant, but this girl—she takes to indulgences too easily. He worried.

“That’s why we should buy bath supplies.”

Understood. I want a bath too…

Currently, Jin has therapeutic nanomachines inside his body. Normal nanomachine cleansing is impossible.

Interference could cause malfunctions.

The hospital had a shower room, so that was fortunate. He’d been considering enduring with a damp towel today.

No objections to preparing the bath.

Good. Let’s shop before he arrives.

Yeah!

Um… what should we get first…

Daddy. There’s a list of necessary items here—Sharon’s notes.

Mio pulls out her notebook with a self-satisfied expression.

"Good job, Mio. You actually looked it up."

"I did! I looked it up properly!"

She beams, head tilted up as Jin strokes her hair in approval.

Once the items to buy are clear, the process moves quickly.

"Then let's place the order first."

Jin swiftly places the requested items from the notebook onto the delivery website, selecting express shipping.

The drone should deliver within an hour.

"Alright, then let's head back and tidy up the room a bit."

"Got it! I'll clean it up!"

"By the way, when we were at his place before—how did you handle cleaning?"

"Mio cleaned Sharon's room. It was very clean."

"I see..."

Jin thinks—someone will probably call soon, asking where it is.

◆ ◆ ◆

"Um... Wait. Where did I put that new toner...?"

By that point, she had already begun wanting to ask Mio about it the same day.

Honestly, her room had become too clean—she could no longer tell where anything was.

—To Mio, it was merely a matter of relocating items that had been scattered on the floor to their proper places.

"There it is."

She packed necessities for an overnight stay into her bag.

Cosmetics, spare clothes.

"...Where did I put the new underwear, again?"

No deeper meaning.

She simply thought it odd to bring worn-out items.

……………………Shower first.

No deeper meaning.

She doubted Jin’s house had a bathroom, so she’d take care of it now.

Nano-machine cleansing did not count as bathing in her mind.

"Just staying over... no, just staying at Mio’s place."

Even if, generously speaking, it were Jin’s house—there would be no grounds for reproach.

There is no specific partner for Jin right now.

Not infidelity. Not even a casual affair.

Sharon thinks Jin likely doesn’t even notice such things.

Six years ago, perhaps.

Now they are Lieutenant and Sergeant. That is enough. It was Sharon who said she wanted it that way.

She imagines pouring hot water over her head, washing away the fog in her mind.

…But I’m not in the Lieutenant’s field of view.

For four years now.

Jin’s gaze has been fixed on one person.

That inner space has been filled by one person alone.

Now Mio is in there too.

There is no room left for herself. Sharon decides this.

The emptiness Jin felt during his time at the training academy.

Sharon could not fill it.

If even an empty space was unavailable, where could she possibly fit now, in a state already full?

I’m a machine specialist, that’s why it’s fine.

Humans are outside the scope of expertise.

She always says that.

She was unable to heal the human heart.

That's why I—

Once.

Sharon has seen Jin and Rei walking side by side.

The face was not clearly seen, but Jin remembers the calm expression on his back.

The calm expression I saw for the first time—unforgettable.

During training academy days, his face always seemed agitated, as if constantly irritated by something.

Even after being commissioned and becoming a regular soldier, it remained unchanged.

His arms rose steadily, but he was uncertain how to use them, how to handle the motion.

Sharon could not offer an answer to him, who claimed he did not know why he fought.

To be honest, I must confess.

Sharon felt envy toward Jin, a man she had never met.

He envied the one who had given Jin an answer, changing what Jin himself could not change.

Six years ago.

Jin directs envy and resentment toward the fact that he effortlessly accomplishes what he could not with Shirley, his former lover.

If I had been able to do that myself, perhaps I would have had a different relationship with Jin by now—.

"Ah, stop it, stop it!"

The shower temperature was increased.

The water pressure rises as if dissolving and flowing away the thoughts just conjured.

Hot water flows over Sharon's rounded body.

It's already over. There's no point in revisiting it.

It's all in the past now.

Sharon discarded the thought she had just had.

Well, was there anything good to bring as a gift...?

Emerging from the shower, wearing only a T-shirt, Sharon thinks.

It was a reasonable judgment that coming to your place uninvited and empty-handed would not be appropriate.

Still, something suitable for a gift...

(Leftover cheese... no, out of the question.)

Querying the database in one’s own mind, restricting options to unopened items.

Any item with a strong masculine scent is also ruled out.

That leaves surprisingly few options among what’s currently at home.

A sugar cube biscuit is chosen as a gift for Mio.

Her preference for sweets has been noted during her recent stay.

The issue remains the gift for Jin.

Calmly assessing, one cannot determine what he might like.

If limited to food—cubed rations.

"No, no, no, no."

Certainly not a gift of that.

Absolutely not.

"Hmm. This wine? Would that work?"

Tilting the head slightly, stuffing the bottle into the bag.

They parted before reaching drinking age, so that detail remained unknown to Sharon.

Still, it’s safe to assume he can drink.

Then… ah. No good. If I forget this, Mio will scold me.

Crumpling a single sheet of electronic paper in hand.

A request made directly by her.

This one must not be forgotten.

Stowing it inside the bag. No more forgotten items.

Preparations complete.

Adjusting her appearance slightly cleaner than usual, touching up her makeup with a lighter hand.

Unconsciously, it resembled the look she had during training days.

Moving with light steps, Shirley headed toward Jin’s house.