23 Do not mix. Hazard.

I see. I understand now.

The living room table.

The four-seater had, for the first time today, reached full capacity.

Jin and Mio, residents of the same dwelling.

Sharon, two guests of Chi.

The table, usually spacious, feels slightly cramped with four people seated at it.

A hug to make up? Yes. If Mio says so, it must be right.

Is Mio's statement more credible than the other's?

Of course. What are you saying, you fool?

Why had Jin ended up defending himself to Sharon? The origin of it only amplified the frustration.

"So, who is it? Your woman?"

"No."

No.

Both exhale in unison, rejecting Chi’s blunt question.

The irritation that had been building since Shirley arrived eased slightly. That reaction. As if Chi were fond of Jin, but the reality was undeniably different.

Jin speculated that the irritation he felt—perhaps the thought that she had already forgotten about him and moved on to a new woman—was what stirred within him.

"Just came by for a matter."

"You said just now you were back again, even though it was only yesterday."

"Just a matter of business!"

As she spoke, Shirley shoved the bundle she had grabbed into Jin's hands.

"This is what you asked for."

"...Appreciated."

Again, so soon after yesterday, another burden had been added.

Still, it wasn't possible to speak openly about it in front of Chi.

"What's this?"

"Repairs. I'm not good at it, you know."

That was the pretense. Surely she wouldn't be so brazen as to rifle through someone else's belongings.

Inside was likely a memory medium. The compiled results of the investigation so far.

"Is that so."

He pretended indifference, even though he had asked, and tapped the tablet terminal. As if some matter had been resolved. He tucked it into his bag and stood.

"Then, I'll use the kitchen. Endō Jin."

"Suit yourself."

"Of course. What's this? Covered in dust. This is why the Third Fleet—"

"Wait. What do you think you're doing, you?"

Sharon rose abruptly from her seat, confronting Chi, who was openly disparaging someone else's kitchen.

"What? Cooking."

"Cooking!?"

"You can cook!?"

The reaction from the women was dramatic.

Sharon stood frozen, as if struck by something profound.

Mio stood up immediately upon hearing "cooking," her expression brightening—then quickly sat back down, feigning disinterest. The act was transparent.

"Anyway, why are you here, in a lieutenant's home, starting to cook as if it's perfectly normal?"

"Why? I'm staying here for a while. Cooking is like rent."

"That's exactly what I said—rent is separate!"

"What do you mean, Lieutenant, no no!"

"Stop it. Don't grab my collar. It's already fraying."

Jin's collar, already torn from being seized by two people today, hung in tatters.

He'd decided to make it his sleeping uniform starting tomorrow.

"Staying. Staying."

"No, don't make it sound so dramatic. You stayed yourself, didn't you?"

"That's true, but—!"

"What's with you all of a sudden... Anyway, Mio. Anything you'd like to eat?"

"...Hamburger."

Slightly wary. Still unable to hide her curiosity, Mio voiced her request. At this point, she was already outmatched by Chi.

"Got it, coming."

"Don't just go ahead and decide things on your own!"

"No, what's the problem now? And who are you, exactly?"

"I'm Sharon—"

"Sharon's Sharon, that's what she says."

Sharon’s disappointment is palpable as she suppresses her excitement. Later, it will become a nickname. Unfortunately, before any correction could be made, the name "Sharon" had already been registered in Chi’s system.

“Hm. Miss Sharon. Tell me, what is the issue with me?”

“Quite the opposite—there are too many issues to even begin listing! Um, your name, please!”

“Chi Chikamatsu. Pleased to meet you. Miss Sharon.”

“Ah, likewise.”

Sharon extends her hand in a gesture of courtesy. She takes it without hesitation.

“Then why are you here, Chi?”

“Because of Lieutenant Higashi Jin. I lost my ID. Had no choice but to stay here.”

“What are you doing, Lieutenant!”

“No, it’s not my fault. The one who dropped something important is to blame.”

Jin thinks, today’s Sharon is all shouting. Is her throat even alright?

"What exactly is your relationship with Higashi Jin, Miss Sharon?"

"That is… "

Sharon turns her gaze toward Jin.

What is the nature of their current relationship? Jin wonders.

Ex-lovers. Pilot and mecha maintenance officer. Or perhaps, Mio's guardian?

"Otou-san and Sharon take baths together and sleep side by side."

"Then you are indeed lovers. In front of a child—"

A sharp flicker of disdain crosses Chi’s expression.

"Only pilot and maintenance officer!"

"At the time, Mio was with us too!"

"They get along well."

"Hm?"

Chi’s gaze hardens as it fixes on Jin.

"Never mind. Miss Sharon. What about dinner? Two portions or three—no real difference. If you're eating, I’ll prepare it."

"Thank you."

"Hey, isn't that meal meant for me too?"

"Exclusion isn't allowed."

Mio's critique earns Chi a muttered sigh as he orders ingredients for Jin as well. Facing the ingredients delivered in fifteen minutes, Chi begins cooking with practiced efficiency.

"Wow—so cool. Just like Jake!"

"Ah. So this Jake of yours also cooks?"

"Yeah, really delicious."

"I see. Uncommon for someone from the Third Fleet."

Mio is thoroughly captivated by the skill. Perhaps the heart is always won through the stomach, Jin thinks.

"Wait—Lieutenant! What exactly do you think you're doing! She's from the Second Fleet's dispatched unit!"

Sharon, speaking in a hushed but sharp tone, confronts Jin.

Jin says nothing. He points silently to his ear, then gestures toward Chi.

Hiding his mouth from Chi’s view, he moves only his lips.

‘You hear me.’

With that single word, Sharon understands—her opponent is one of the Cyber-Squad.

He altered the conversation to something innocuous.

"Even if you say you'll stay, there's only one bed in this house, isn't there? What are we supposed to do?"

"Crush you onto the sofa."

"Hey, I can hear you, Jin. Is that how the Eastern family welcomes guests?"

"Unfortunately, that's how we treat unexpected visitors. You're a cyborg, aren't you? You don't get tired."

"True enough."

They spoke quietly, but Chi heard every word. Her auditory enhancements were fully active.

Sharon understood exactly what Chi meant.

This wasn't going to work—no way they could proceed with their originally planned rendezvous, the kind that had been imagined as something intimate. The discussion about the mysterious situation surrounding the Third Fleet was out of the question.

That left only one option: Sharon’s house, if Jin’s wouldn’t do.

Jin nodded slightly, pointing only with his fingertip toward Sharon’s residence. Sharon nodded in return, as if acknowledging everything. For now, that was enough.

"Good. Done."

They passed the time with harmless chatter and teasing remarks about Chi's cooking skills.

Shirley, meanwhile, kept making oddly meticulous remarks. The same woman who, when cooking, set fire to the ceiling with her flames.

The result, as requested by Mio, was a hamburger. Accompaniments. Soup. Steamed rice. Arranged in that order, Jin felt a faint, distant memory stir.

Ah. I remember.

Exactly this. I've seen it before.

"Yes. The hamburger's ready. We make this often at home. My little sister loves it."

Rei's voice came back vividly.

Taking a bite with trembling hands, the taste brought tears to his eyes.

It was the same flavor as the meal Rei had cooked, two years prior.

"Delicious."

"Un... way better than me..."

Mio smiled, seemingly pleased. Sharon ate with quiet lament, lamenting the gap between herself and the other.

Chi noticed Jin, frozen with a single bite still in his mouth, and opened her mouth as if to speak, then closed it again.

"...Why."

She bit her lip.

Chi had never truly disliked Jin.

Two years ago. Jin, already one of the most skilled pilots in the entire fleet. A trainee once inspired by Jin’s name—Chi herself.

There should have been no connection.

Not if Jin had not been her sister’s husband.

Her beloved sister marrying her idol, the ace. The news had shocked Chi beyond measure.

She had waited for that day.

That day, everything had unraveled.

At her sister’s funeral, Jin did not weep.

He said only that his strength had been insufficient. Offered no excuse.

Why wouldn’t he cry?

Didn’t he love her sister?

Why offer no explanation at all?

If even the strongest person in the universe couldn't do anything about it, then surely no one could.

He knows it's merely Chi forcing her ideal onto Jin.

Still.

He wanted him to cry.

He wanted him to give up.

Because otherwise—

her sister’s death—

would mean Jin bore the responsibility.

And now, having heard the story of how he abandoned her and fled, there was no other way to see it.

"Why now...?"

Seeing Jin’s face on the verge of tears, Chi bit her lower lip until it broke.