12 The One Who Caught Up
"Ah. Finally back, huh."
"Yeah. Never thought I’d end up in the infirmary twice in half a year."
Having finished rehabilitation, Jin supervised the trainees.
By evening, Jin appeared at the mess hall.
Jake’s words upon seeing Jin for the first time since the class observation day.
This was actually an early return.
On another fleet where nanomachines were restricted, such a swift recovery wouldn’t have been possible.
It might have taken nearly a month to fully recover.
"Makes sense why I thought they were dragging."
Jake chuckled at that.
They—those so-called troublemaker trio—lay on the table like dried fish, just as before.
"Strange… Instructors should have a lapse, shouldn’t they?"
"Could this be it…? We’ve been away from the Instructor’s training, so we’ve got the lapse too."
"Damn it... I didn’t even realize I’d let my guard down."
It was simply that Jin had been unusually lively after such a long break from the Instructor’s training.
The result had been a perfect match. This was the consequence.
"Hey, Jin, listen for a second."
"Yeah? Oh, water, please."
"Here. The supply of rations has finally returned to normal! Next month, the menu will be completely overhauled!"
"Huh? Oh. So that means we’ll get food other than Cube Rations?"
"Exactly."
Jake smiled, clearly pleased.
Jake, who had never hesitated to call Cube Rations 'rations' outright.
The return of proper meals after so long would naturally stir deeper emotion.
"Then I’ll have to bring Mio back again."
Not Cube Rations or their derivatives—real ingredients grown in agricultural plants.
Their resumption of distribution meant the fleet’s food reserves had now recovered to pre-human-attack levels.
About five months since the first attack.
The fleet was gradually regaining its composure.
Occasional encounters with ASID swarms still occurred, but after surviving engagements with humanoid forms, those threats no longer carried weight.
The detachment sent from the Second Fleet appeared to be performing adequately, stabilizing the fleet’s combat capacity after significant losses.
“Say, where’s Mio-chan? Isn’t she with you?”
“Ah… Mio’s—”
“Papa!?”
A silver mass lunged straight for Jin’s abdomen.
“Look! Isn’t she cute? Isn’t she cute?”
“Ah… Mio-chan, you’ve cut your hair. It suits you.”
“Thanks, May-nee!”
Mio had gone to the salon—the length of her hair had grown considerably.
Her bangs were shorter now, revealing her eyes more clearly.
"Yeah. She was cute yesterday, but now she’s ten times cuter."
Jin, who had initially thought he could just cut her hair at home, could only offer admiration at the skill displayed.
He’d never manage something this clean if he tried.
"Right? Mio was surprised too."
"Huh. You got your hair cut? Did you go by yourself?"
"No. Sharon took me."
Jake grinned, amused by the reply.
Sharon entered the dining hall, jacket already on, slightly behind Mio.
"Back from the salon, Lieutenant."
"Sorry, Sergeant."
"I didn’t expect you’d actually cut it at home…"
"Sometimes I do it at the facility. Still do it myself occasionally."
"Yeah. That’s why your hairstyle changes now and then."
"...Did it look odd?"
The three watched silently.
Something’s close. Definitely close!
"Yeah, yeah. Yuriya, calm down. It’s rude to let live things spark imagination."
"Hey. Just realized something terrifying... From a squad leader’s love-brain perspective, we’re probably being imagined the same way, aren’t we?"
Suddenly. Mio grimaced at Kou’s horrifying realization.
"Should I… respond to that expectation, then?"
"Following that kind of imagination could lead to anything unpredictable."
"True. That kind of imagination would be intense."
"Hey. Both of you. Can you stop talking as if I have a love-brain?"
Ignoring Yuriya’s request for improved treatment.
"Mio-chan. Can I talk to you for a moment?"
"What is it, big sister?"
"Hmm? That’s a weird way to address me."
Why does May call herself May-nee-chan while I’m just plain Nee-san? Yuriya wonders.
She never imagined her close friend had whispered such a thing.
“What’s going on between Mio-chan’s oto-san and that other nee-san, I wonder?”
“Oto-san and Sharon?”
Hm, well, Mio drifts her gaze aimlessly upward.
Then she speaks of recent events.
“(Mio and) shared a bath, (Mio and) slept together!”
The missing subject was tragic.
“See? Just as I said!”
“Are you serious…? This fantasy of a delusional girl from the start is actually real?”
“Huh. That’s harsh.”
“No way. That overactive romantic imagination of yours actually hit the mark… Turns out the world’s full of surprises, after all.”
“Hey, we’re friends, right?”
Two who could not hide their astonishment at the fact that Yuriya’s delusion—though mistaken—had become reality.
“Anyway, isn’t that kind of thing bad for education…? I mean, it’s someone else’s personal life, after all.”
“Hmm. Should we casually mention to the Instructor? Like, ‘Mio-chan’s watching you’?”
“Yeah, but how do you casually say something like that? And seriously, I’m getting flustered… I can’t even look straight at both of them.”
Yuriya spoke with heavy breath, her face hidden behind her palms, flushed crimson. May gave her an overtly exasperated look.
“You always have wilder fantasies than this. What are you even talking about?”
“Wild? What’s wild about that?”
“Tch. What are you saying in front of children, May!”
“What kind of character are you even going for?”
Kou interjected with a weary sigh, his tone dry and unimpressed by Yuriya’s absurdity.
He had already lost interest.
Yet his refusal to stand is precisely what defines his manner of companionship.
Mio stares at Kou without blinking.
“…Is there something?”
Unlike Yuriya or May, there is little connection between Kou and Mio.
They have likely spoken one-on-one fewer times than can be counted.
Thus, she cannot understand why he is being stared at like this.
“Um, Carmine said that seeing a handsome man makes your eyes widen.”
“Huh?”
“I didn’t understand, so I’m just imitating.”
Which means, to Mio, Kou is a handsome man.
He is not so easily flustered by a child ten years younger calling him that.
But he does not know how to react.
Stiffening into an awkward expression, May steps in, pushing past him.
“No no. Mio, that’s not how it works. A handsome man isn’t just about appearance—he must have a good character too.”
“Really?”
“That’s right. You’ll end up with a man who looks good on the outside but has a bad character. Or worse—like Yuriya, dreaming too much!”
May argues, pushing forward with both hands as if challenging two opponents at once.
The two respond with protests, beginning a heated exchange.
“Three of them getting along so well.”
Mio nods contentedly, as if this were exactly as expected.
The older group watches the younger ones’ antics and sighs.
“Feels like we’ve lost our youth, somehow.”
“Don’t lump me in with you. I’m still young.”
“I’m young too! Just because I’m a single parent doesn’t mean I’ve grown old!”
The two insist they’re still young.
Jin doesn’t comment on their differing views.
But he knows this kind of moment—this ease—only came because of Mio.
She was the reason he could face forward again.
“Huh…?”
A new group enters the mess hall.
Unfamiliar uniforms.
That’s… right. The memory stirs.
Uniforms of the defense forces varied subtly between fleets.
Navy blue as the base for the Third Fleet.
And gray as the base for them—Second Fleet.
One of them met his gaze.
Jin’s thoughts froze.
Why is she here.
Only that question filled his mind.
She stepped away from the group, moving directly toward Jin.
Jake and Sharon froze, eyes locked on the approaching figure.
A momentary hesitation—her gaze flickered toward Mio.
Then, without impediment, the figure stood before Jin.
Before Jin could speak.
The sound of an upraised hand striking her cheek echoed through the mess hall.
No pain.
The words that followed cut deeper into Jin’s mind.
“Seems quite enjoyable, doesn’t it.”
A voice soaked in hatred.
Ah. Jin felt a memory connect—suddenly whole.
Was it her?
Then it made sense.
She had reason—and the right—to hate him.
“Why didn’t you protect my sister!”
The same face. The same voice. As two years ago.
She accuses him.
“Someone who abandoned my sister!”
No matter how Jin faces forward, how he looks toward now and the future—
the past does not vanish.
That slap—renewed—was a blow from the past, reminding him.