Chapter Text
Before Period 1
“Oh look, they have those swimsuits available today!” Ruka said excitedly.
“Why do I have a bad feeling about this..?” Yuki sighed, watching Ruka as she made a beeline for the swimsuits on display in the boutique.
“Come ooon nothing bad has ever happened from someone wearing a swimsuit!” Ruka said.
“That’s not convincing coming from you.” Yuki said, exasperated. “Besides, don’t we do this every year?”
“It looks like we’ll have to play rock-paper-scissors to see who has to wear them.” Karen suggested.
“I won’t lose this time!” Tsukasa said.
“Hello? Is nobody listening to me?” Yuki said, getting obviously more frustrated.
“Merry! You should join in this time!” Ruka said, cornering the smiling shopkeeper.
“Only if you know what you’re signing up for~” Mari said in her characteristic singsong.
“Surely I’m not the only one worried about that. Please tell me at least one of you is worried.” Yuki begged in vain.
“Bring it on!” Megumi said.
“Time for more swimsuit shenanigans!” Tama cheered.
“Why does this always happen…” Yuki despaired.
“Alright, on three: One, two, three, shoot!”
They all stared at their extended hands, processing what had happened.
“Eeeeeeh?!” Ruka whined as she realised she’d lost.
“We all lost? How is that even possible?!” Tsukasa said.
“You can’t say you weren’t warned~.” Mari said, smiling cheerfully at her victory.
“Why do I let myself get talked into these things…” Yuki sighed.
Resigned to their fate, assault squad 31-A, mankind’s greatest hope, trudged to the fitting rooms to try on their swimsuits. As she changed, she thought about what a hard time they’d had recently. Her squad was always working so hard, it would be nice if there were more of them to lighten the load. Maybe then they wouldn’t be so hard pressed if someone needed to take time to rest again?
She strode out of the fitting room to see her squad assembled. Her Yukkie was stood with her back pressed up against a clothes rack, eyeing Ruka carefully.
“Yesss I’ve missed this sight.” Ruka said cheerfully.
“At least pretend you’re looking at someone other than me!” Yuki said back, rapidly turning pink.
“You look so hot though.” Ruka said.
“STOP LOOKING AT ME LIKE THAT! IT’S NOT LIKE THAT!” Yuki snapped at the rest of the squad, who’d started to make faces at the two of them.
Suddenly, the intercom system chimed: “31-A, please report to the commander’s office immediately.”
“The shenanigans are here!” Tama cheered, beaming from ear to ear.
Yuki sighed, “Why do you sound happy about that?”
“Come on girls, let’s get going.” Ruka said, leading them out of the shop, and towards Tezuka’s office.
Moon and Snow, Star and Fire
Honkai Star Rail Collaboration Episode
After Period 1
The six of them piled into the commander’s office, where Commander Tezuka was waiting for them. Next to her were two other girls: one lanky, with long grey hair and piercing yellow eyes, the other a gorgeous silver-haired girl with a kind smile.
“31-A present, commander.” Ruka said, putting her serious voice on.
Tezuka’s expression remained stern as she looked over the six of them. “Why are you all dressed like that?”
“We were browsing the boutique, when we noticed they had the swimsuits available, but we weren’t sure who was going to wear one, so we played rock-paper-scissors with Merry, but we all lost.” Ruka explained.
“She was fine with it previously, it’ll be fine this year too right?” Yuki muttered as Tezuka’s eyes closed.
“WHAT ARE YOU, DUM-DUMS?!” Tezuka shouted.
“She wasn’t fine with it!” Yuki said as she jumped in surprise.
The commander adjusted her beret and gathered her composure. “These two here have just arrived today. They are equipped with deflectors and mePads, but we haven’t been able to identify which squadron they were a part of. They claim to have come from space, though we have yet to verify this claim.”
“Wait, these are called mePads?” Said the grey-haired girl, gesturing with hers. “Can you really call them that?”
“Stelle…” The silver-haired girl giggled.
Tezuka shot a glance at the pair of them, before turning back to the squad. “In the meantime, we’d like you to supervise them. For the duration of this period, they’ll temporarily join squad 31-A.”
“Eh? Why us?” Ruka asked.
“31-A is the squad most capable of reacting to changes. If anything goes wrong, you’ll be most able to adapt to the situation.” Tezuka said.
“Guess we’ll introduce ourselves then. I’m Stelle.” Said the grey-haired girl.
“Huh? Stella?” Ruka asked.
“No no, Stelle.” Stelle corrected.
“So kinda like Stellar?” Ruka added
“You’re both just saying the same thing.” Yuki chided.
“I’m Firefly.” The silver-haired girl said. “This seems to be part of a military operation, but I’m unclear as to what your objective, and your enemy, is.”
“Kayamori.” Tezuka said. “I’m relying on 31-A to complete induction for these two. Consider it training of your leadership capabilities.”
“Understood.” Ruka said, nodding seriously.
“And girls.” Tezuka added as the eight of them filed out of the room. “Go get changed.”
Period 2
A change of clothes later, the lot of them met at the arena.
“So, how much did the commander explain to you?” Yuki asked.
“Not a lot.” Firefly said. “She explained that you were all members of the ‘Seraph Squadron’, and we were searched. She mentioned that we had ‘deflectors’ and ‘mePads’, but we haven’t been told what those do.”
“From the vibes, I guess you guys are supersoldiers fighting against some apocalyptic threat beyond your comprehension, right?” Stelle asked.
“Pretty much.” Ruka said.
“Nailed it.” Stelle grinned, pumping her fist.
“I’m getting a bad feeling about this…” Yuki muttered to herself.
The six of them explained the basics of their situation: the Cancer, Seraphs, mePads and deflectors. The two of them listened: Firefly attentively, while Stelle seemed to be staring off into the distance as they spoke.
“So, the tl;dr,” Stelle said, pulling up her mePad, “Evil aliens ravaging your planet, you have magic weapons to fight them. Do your magical girl transformation, normal weapons don’t work, don’t take health damage. That sound about right?”
“Don’t make this sound like some sci-fi story.” Yuki said.
“Yeah pretty much.” Ruka said.
“Don’t just agree to that!” Yuki exclaimed.
“So, either of ya fighters?” Megumi asked.
Stelle and Firefly shared a look, grinning.
“Never fought a day in my life.” Stelle lied.
Firefly smiled and rolled her eyes. “We fight a lot where we’re from. We make a great team. You don’t have to worry about us slowing you down.”
“Eh? A pretty girl like you, a fighter?” Ruka asked Firefly, dumbfounded.
Firefly grinned. “You’ll see.”
“Let’s see those Seraphs already!” Tama said.
“Alright, me first.” Stelle said, cracking her knuckles. She pulled out her mePad, raising it into the air. “Reach the end of the story in your own way!”
A wormhole opened up in the air, and from it descended an oversized baseball bat, black and gold, trailing ribbons.
“I don’t think I’ve seen a bat-type seraph before.” Karen remarked.
“Maybe it counts as a sword?” Tsukasa suggested.
“Hey baby, glad to see you’re safe.” Stelle said, giving the bat a few swings. “It’s heavier than normal, might need two hands.”
“Who says that about a weapon?” Yuki remarked.
“Alright, my turn. Please give me plenty of space.” Firefly said, taking a few steps back. She held her mePad aloft, saying, “Like fyreflies to a flame, life begets death!”
From the wormhole came two swords, spiralled weapons of crystalised flame settling neatly in Firefly’s hands.
“Eh? Twin swords?! That’s my thing!” Ruka cried.
“That angel girl had them too, you know.” Yuki said.
“Yeah but that wasn’t canon!” Ruka said.
“I don’t think this is canon either, no way the author got permission for either of these IPs.” Stelle said.
“AAAAH! THERE’S TWO OF THEM!” Yuki shouted as the penny dropped.
“Huh?” Karen, Tsukasa, Megumi, Tama, Ruka, Stelle, and Firefly said in unison.
“SHE’S AS STUPID AS RUKA IS! THEY’RE JUST GOING TO ENABLE EACH OTHER!” Yuki screamed.
“Sounds ideal for Yuki.” Tsukasa said smugly.
“I thought you’d like there being two Rukas.” Karen added.
“Woulda thought that’d be up your alley.” Megumi added.
“Two hot rockstars is too much for any woman to handle!” Tama added.
“I TOLD YOU IT’S NOT LIKE THAT!” Yuki shouted. “I’M SERIOUSLY GOING TO GO INSANE!”
“Don’t worry about it Stelle, she loves it really.” Ruka said, reassuring the new arrival.
Stelle and Firefly shared a knowing glance.
“Sooo, we gonna train now?” Stelle asked, changing the subject.
“Yes, please, let’s get back on track.” Yuki begged.
“I’ll go find Nanamin to give us an appropriate simulation.” Ruka said, rushing off.
Before long, Ruka returned, and the simulation started. Their surroundings shifted into greenery as a scene from the Japanese countryside formed.
“Wherever I go, the simulated universe follows…” Stelle muttered.
“I think this is just a normal holographic projection, nothing like that Stel.” Firefly said.
“Normal? This’s fancy military tech! Just where are y'all from?” Megumi asked.
“We’re from offworld. We told your commander, but she didn’t seem to believe us.” Stelle said.
“Wait, you’re seriously not from Earth? But the Cancer’s not from Earth…” Tsukasa said, troubled.
Stelle and Firefly shared another look.
“Did this Cancer appear after a star fell to the planet, by any chance?” Stelle asked.
“There were several meteor impacts that were precursors to the cancer invasion.” Yuki said.
“That doesn’t sound like a Stellaron, but the similarities are undeniable.” Firefly said.
Karen let out a low chuckle that drew everyone’s attention. Her facial expression shifted as her body twitched. Even her outfit had changed subtly, the ears now horns, her tail now devilish. Tsukasa whimpered and shuffled away from her.
“Let’s get killing already!” Karrie growled, “I want to see if these newbies have what it takes to keep up with us!”
“Is uh, is she good?” Stelle asked.
Yuki sighed. “She has DID. This is Karrie, she’s Karen’s serial killer alter.”
“Oooh okay, neat.” Stelle said. “Like an actual serial killer, or just kinda bloodthirsty?”
Karrie stalked over to the two of them with speed, putting her arms over their shoulders.
“I’m a serial killer known for my artistic killing style. You’d better impress me, or I might decide to make you my next prey.” Karrie growled.
“Actual, got it.” Stelle said, unphased. “Anyway we’ve been stuck in intro dialogue for ages, where’s the combat?”
Squad 31-A led the two of them through the simulated terrain. The first Cancer they encountered was a skitterer-type, a good practice target.
“Now, show us your killing style!” Karrie shouted, sending the two new arrivals onwards.
“Actually, Fly, you gonna be okay fighting without SAM?” Stelle asked.
“I’ll be fine, I don’t know why, but I feel so much stronger here.” Firefly said. “It’ll be nice to fight in my own body for a while.”
“Alright. Let’s see what the local monsters are made of.” Stelle grinned, “I’ll draw attention, you finish them.”
Stelle rushed in, a mighty swing of her bat sweeping the skitterer’s leg from underneath it, and causing it to rush after her. She jabbed and swung at it now and then as she danced around its attacks.
Firefly followed after them, biding her time as she watched the foe.
“Is she scared? Maybe we need to encourage her?” Ruka asked.
“She said she was a fighter, we should wait and see.” Yuki said.
Finally, Firefly lunged forward, throwing her entire body weight into a thrust that sent her sword straight through the Cancer’s hide. Not giving it a moment to recover, she turned into a whirlwind of blades, carving deep gashes through its shell, until with one last strike, its carapace splintered, sending teal veins of energy running across its entire body as it collapsed. Stelle seized this opportunity to bring her bat down in an overhead swing, crushing the skitterer’s head.
“They’re good!” Tsukasa exclaimed.
“Yes! More! More bloodshed!” Karrie cheered.
“That wasn’t so tough.” Stelle said smugly, posing with her bat.
“Hmm, that one had a similar-enough anatomy to a Sting. I can likely use a similar approach to find out their weaknesses.” Firefly said. Her expression had turned serious.
“What’s a Sting?” Tama asked.
“An insectoid being from the Swarm. My homeworld was destroyed by them.” Firefly said.
“You’re really from space, aren’t you?” Yuki mused.
“Let’s keep going, now we know they can fight, it’s time to put them through their paces.” Ruka said.
They continued through the simulation, introducing Stelle and Firefly to their fighting process to begin with, then beginning to go over the basics of how they approached operations. Both of them caught on surprisingly quickly, able to keep up with them even as they picked up the pace.
“Squad leader, we’re leaving the designated route.” Firefly said as Ruka made a detour.
“There should be upgrade materials this way.” Ruka said.
“Stop making it sound like this is some RPG.” Yuki said.
“So like a chest? What rarity?” Stelle asked.
“There’s no chest, they’re just loose on the ground. We’ll have to fight a tough opponent for them though.” Ruka replied.
“It’s more fun when you get to open a chest.” Stelle said.
“This isn’t a game, why would anyone leave treasure chests lying around?” Yuki said sardonically.
They neatly dispatched the enemies, collecting some GP before moving back to the main path. They fought their way through more packs of Cancer, taking another detour later on to collect more GP, before reaching the designated end of the simulation. There, a towering spider-legged Cancer awaited them.
“How are you holding up, Fly?” Stelle asked, turning to check on Firefly.
“I feel fine.” Firefly said, not taking her eyes away from the Cancer. “Normally I’d start to feel symptoms by now, but I’m still full of energy.”
“Alright, let’s see how we do against one of these. Let’s go!” Ruka announced, teleporting in towards the foe.
When the dust settled, the Cancer lay defeated, and the simulation deactivated.
“So, how did we do?” Stelle asked.
“Not bad, but I want to see MORE!” Karrie shouted in excitement.
“You put too much strain on your deflectors.” Yuki said. “On a real mission, you’d need to preserve them more in case of emergency.”
“Yukkie, go easy on them, they’re new.” Ruka said.
“All the more reason to tell them to be careful. I don’t know what the commander was thinking, putting them straight in the assault squad.” Yuki said.
“You can tell they were already fighters, we weren’t that strong when we just started.” Tsukasa said.
Ruka stretched. “Alright girls, time for lunch.”
Period 3
After lunch, the eight of them gathered outside the cafeteria. It was a warm, sunny summer day, perfect for slacking off.
“We should probably go back to the arena and continue training.” Yuki said, checking her mePad.
“Waaah I’m so boooored!” Ruka whined. “They’re really good already! Do we really need to train?”
“It would be a shame to waste this weather.” Karen said.
“Yeah! Weren’t we gonna have our day off today?” Megumi said.
“We were until the commander gave us new orders. We’re in the military, not high school.” Yuki sighed.
“Hey Stellar, your seraph is a baseball bat right? Why don’t we play baseball?” Ruka asked Stelle.
“You’re on. Hope you’re ready for the ass-whupping we’re about to give you.” Stelle said confidently.
Firefly laughed. “She’s never actually played baseball. Still, if we have the opportunity, that would be nice. I’m still not entirely sure my condition won’t play up, so I’d like a break from training.”
“Shenanigans time at last!” Tama cheered.
“Baseball needs nine a side, geniuses. We only have eight of us.” Yuki sighed.
“Sounds like I need to go gather some willing volunteers.” Stelle said. “What do you think Fly, split up and look for people, or stick together?”
Firefly’s mouth twisted into a grin. “I think we’ll cover more ground if we go separately. We’ve got this.”
The two of them took off in different directions at speed to go and gather volunteers for their team.
“Ruka, who’s going to be watching them?” Yuki asked as they watched the two of them run off.
“Why would we need to watch them?” Ruka asked.
“Because the commander ordered us to supervise them?” Yuki said sardonically.
“I totally forgot!” Ruka exclaimed. “Megumin, Cappy, you go follow Fifi! Tsukassie, Karerin, you follow Stellar! Yukkie, go get the equipment from Merry.” She said, quickly dishing out orders.
“And what if I don’t want to enable this?” Yuki sighed.
“Yukkiiieee!” Ruka whined, “The newbies are already getting a team! Do you want to let them down?”
“They only went cos you told them to.” Yuki said, before sighing, “At this point I should at least make sure you do this properly.”
“You’re the best Yukkie!” Ruka said, squeezing her in a tight hug.
“Get off me!” Yuki panicked, rapidly turning bright red before Ruka ran off.
“Let’s see, who likes baseball…” Ruka thought as she ran. An image appeared in her mind of several members of the squadron playing catch with one another. “The assassin sisters!”
Ruka ran around the base looking for them. On the way, she passed the members of squad 30-G discussing something near the helipad.
“Wait, I should ask Yuina-senpai to join in! She’s good at everything.” She thought.
“Ah, Ruka, I heard the Commander was looking for you, is everything alright?” Yuina asked with her characteristic cool.
“Yuina-senpai! We’re playing baseball with the new recruits and my team’ll be so much better with you on it.” Ruka said, trying not to appear too desperate.
“I see.” Yuina said, pausing to think. “Unfortunately, we need to report the results of our patrol now, so we’re unable to participate.”
“Senpaaaiii…” Ruka whined.
“Maybe Ogasahara can join you. She wasn’t paying much attention on patrol anyway.” Chie chuckled.
“I was paying attention!” Hisame protested.
“Oh? Then I guess we’ll have to follow your lead.” Monaka said with a perfect deadpan.
“I don’t even know how to play baseball?!” Hisame cried.
“I’m sure you’ll be fine.” Yuina said, “We’re counting on you to show our juniors what we’re capable of.”
“This is humiliating…” Hisame sighed.
“Welcome to the team, Sami!” Ruka cheered, clapping her on the back.
With Hisame in tow, Ruka carried on her quest. Thankfully, it wasn’t long before she found the sisters, leaning against the railings of the bridge near the clocktower.
“Sumomo! Ichigo!” Ruka called out to them, “We’re playing baseball with the newbies and we need you on our team.”
“Huh? What newbies?” The taller sister asked, an eyebrow raised.
“Don’t worry about that.” Ruka said. “What’s important is that we beat them at baseball.”
“Are those two also joining your team then-nya?” The younger sister asked in her cattish manner.
“Eh? Two?” Ruka asked, turning around.
She leapt halfway out of her skin as she found herself near-enough face-to-face with a short Russian girl holding a stuffed bear.
“Charl?!” She exclaimed as she jumped.
“I join Ruka’s team, yes?” Charlotta asked, in a voice that had not even considered the alternative.
“Charl…” Ruka stopped and thought about it for a second. “That’s a great idea actually.”
“We’ll win, just the two of us…” Charlotta held her hands to own face as she daydreamed.
“No no, there’ll be other girls on the team too!” Ruka insisted.
“Other girls..?” Charlotta said, her eyes widening and her voice turning dark.
“Um, anyway, Ichigo, Sumomo, you both love baseball right? Don’t you wanna take the chance to actually play it?” Ruka asked, spinning around and changing the subject.
“We don’t have a proper field though…” Ichigo started. “Well, if this is the best opportunity we’ve got, we’d be suckers not to play. I’m in.”
“Me too-nya.” Sumomo said, her face twisting into a playful determination that Ruka had come to associate with imminent violence.
“Hell yeah!” Ruka cheered. “Four down, um… how many to go..?”
“Is 31-A on the team? That should be more than enough.” Ichigo said.
“Yukkie won’t join in.” Ruka said.
“Hmm. It won’t hurt to have backup.” Ichigo mused. “I’ll go get someone else who might be interested.”
As Ichigo set off to find another player, Ruka led Hisame, Charlotta, and Sumomo back to Narby Square. When they arrived, it looked like everyone was already getting ready.
“Yukkiiieee! I got more players for the team!” Ruka announced.
“Did you get enough? We’re down two members of 31-A.” Yuki said.
“Eeeeh? Who dipped?” Ruka gasped.
“We’re commentating!” Tama squeaked.
“A baseball match isn’t complete without commentary.” Tsukasa said smugly.
“We still need one more person for a team!” Ruka panicked.
She scanned around the surrounding area, trying to find anyone who wasn’t already attached to a team. To her luck, she saw two people sat enjoying a picnic under a tree on the other side of the square. She made a beeline for them, unable to believe her luck.
“Akariiin!” Ruka called out to them.
The purple-haired girl squeaked and hid behind her squad leader, peering nervously at Ruka.
“Ruka! Are you here to ask Date to join in?” Misato asked.
“Yeah! You’re great at tennis right? Doesn’t that mean you’ll be good at baseball too?” Ruka asked.
“Eh? I’m worthless, I’ll only drag you down…” Akari moaned, shrinking away more.
“Date, I’m sure you’ll be fine. I’ll be cheering for you from here.” Misato said, smiling at Akari.
“I-i-i-f you’re sure…” Akari squeaked, slowly picking herself up to follow Ruka.
Ruka returned to see Maria arrive with Ichigo. She hadn’t expected the pink-haired red-robed nun of all people to be there.
“Ciao, Maririn.” Ruka said. “You joining team Ruka?”
“Ciao, Ruka. I came here as a favour, nothing more.” Maria said.
“A favour to Ichigo?” Ruka asked. “What for?”
Maria grimaced, glaring daggers at her. “I’ll kill you.” She growled. Next to her, Ichigo had pulled out her gun and trained it on Ruka’s chest.
“Aaaah, forget I asked!” Ruka squealed, backing away towards the rest of the team.
It was around that time that Stelle and Firefly returned, their team following them. It looked like they’d recruited half of 31-D and 31-E.
“Stellar! Fifi! Looks like you have a team?” Ruka said.
“Just had to break out the ol’ trailblazer charm.” Stelle said, putting her hands on her hips.
“This adorable little bird caught my attention. Such passion must be embraced.” Shiki smirked.
Ruka eyed Shiki carefully. Knowing the maestra, she had ulterior motives for joining in.
“Oh yeah Fly, guess I’m part of a harem now, hope that’s cool.” Stelle said, gesturing to Shiki.
“Eh? You joined that easily?” Ruka gasped.
Firefly giggled, “Sounds like someone has good taste. Try not to have too much fun, my star.”
“They’ve both cool with it?!” Ruka exclaimed.
“Ruka! Who are these guys? I’ve not seen them around the base before.” Minori, the short-haired tomboy of the Oshima sisters, asked.
“New recruits. The commander wanted us to supervise them, so we’re playing baseball.” Ruka explained.
“That’s such a Ruka idea.” Isuzu Oshima smirked, closing her eyes. “Still, when a pretty girl asks me to play with her, I’m not going to say no.”
“They’re all thinking with their..!” Ruka started.
“Ruka!” Tama shouted from across the field, running up to them.
“Yo, Cappy.” Ruka greeted her.
“Ruka! We found someone to umpire for us!” Tama said excitedly.
“Eh? Instructor Asami?” Ruka immediately bowed to her teacher. “Please allow us to continue!”
“Don’t worry girls, I’m just here to make sure everyone follows the rules.” Instructor Asami beamed. “Just make sure we get this wrapped up before Tezuka comes along.”
“Thank you!” Ruka said, standing up straight again and turning to Tama. “Is Tsukassie back, Cappy? Yukkie said you were going to commentate”
“She’s making sure all the equipment Yuki got is okay! Rest assured we’ll get set up shortly!” Tama said.
Satisfied that everything was running smoothly, Ruka went to go get ready herself. It was at times like this that she realised how far Seraph Squadron generation 31 had come. The same efficiency that came to play in all their operations was on full display here, with Narby Square being turned into a makeshift baseball field.
The two teams lined up facing one another. Yuki was watching from the sidelines, ready to advise the time on strategy. On the other side, Yanagi was doing the same, camera in hand. Tama and Tsukasa had set up a table near the entrance to the square, where they were already beginning their commentary to unfortunate passers-by.
“Alright girls, remember, you only get so long before Tezuka finds out, so make it count. I don’t want to see anyone slacking here!” Asami said.
“Should a military instructor really be saying things like that?” Yuki sighed.
“Captains, shake hands.” Asami ordered.
Ruka stepped forward to face Stelle.
“So, feeling confident?” Ruka asked.
“I never lose.” Stelle said, offering her hand. “This should be fun.”
“Me neither.” Ruka said, taking her hand. “May the best protagonist win.”
They stepped back into their teams, filled with determination. Asami gave the order for the teams to bow to one another, and the game began.
After School
“I can’t believe Nanamin made us stop while we were tied.” Ruka whined.
“We should be thankful we didn’t get punished for this.” Yuki said. “This is a military operation, not a school.”
“What a game though.” Stelle said, leaning back in her chair. “You guys really know how to have fun.”
“It’s nice to have the chance to take part in regular sports.” Firefly said with a smile.
“Say, where are Tsukassie and Cappy?” Ruka asked.
“They said they needed to sort something out, so they took dinner to go.” Karen said.
“Well that’s concerning.” Yuki said.
“They were clearly havin’ fun with their commentary.” Megumi said.
“That’s what worries me.” Yuki sighed.
“So what do you usually have for dinner here?” Stelle asked.
“It changes every day. We have a surprisingly good selection here.” Yuki said.
“Yeah, we even get knife-cut noodles here.” Ruka said.
“Huh?” Stelle said. “Wait, is that where you stand in front of a boiling pot of water, knife in one hand, dough in the other, and slice nice-and-thin pieces into the pot until they’re boiled?”
“You actually knew about those?!” Yuki gasped.
“Yeah, they make them in Aurum Alley.” Stelle said.
A couple of plates were on the table, each of them seemingly with the same type of food, something with cabbage leaves in it. In the middle of it there’s another two, both having something yellow-ish on it, looking more like solidified pudding than anything else. Next to all of them there’s a few containers with sour cream in them. Ruka sniffed the air. While the cabbage plates had a bit of a meaty smell to them, the yellow thing just smelled… warm?
“Is this something you usually have?” Stelle asked, inspecting the plates herself.
“First time I ever see it.” Ruka replied. “Especially the yellow thing.”
“Maybe it’s potato based!” Stelle exclaimed and immediately took a fork out of it. Her expression went from excitement to… neutral.
“Food that bad?” Megumin asked.
Stelle shook her head, looking more disappointed than ever. “I have no idea what I even expected.”
“Yukkiieeee, do you know what this might be?” Ruka asked, trying to push herself into the hacker’s personal space.
“Do I look like Tojo? I’m not full of random trivia.” Yuki rolled her eyes.
“I think I heard of this?” Karen said, taking one of the cabbage things. “They should have meat in them."
“Yes!” Ruka exclaimed. “More meat!”
“But what exactly is this dish…?” Firefly asked. “Never seen something like this where we come from.”
A small frown appeared on Karen’s face. “I don’t know all the details. I read online once about some people being big lovers of these cabbage rolls.” She looked back at the yellow solid-pudding and the sour cream. “One of the people I used to play video games with kept talking about these. They called it ‘mămăligă’?” She pointed it at the plates.
“Now that you mention it…” Yuki joined in the conversation. “I saw it mentioned as well. Romania used to cook it quite a lot before the Cancer attacked.”
“Ro… Is that a pretty lady?” Stelle asked, tilting her head.
“It’s a country.” Yuki corrected.
“That’s a country? Where?” Ruka said, giving up on pronouncing the word.
“It’s in eastern Europe.” Karen said.
“Y’all speak a different language to me…” Stelle frowned.
“They probably mean a region of this planet, Stelle.” Firefly patted her back.
“Never heard of that.” Ruka nodded.
“Ya never heard of the vampires from Transylvania?” Megumi shouted. “You were a rocker! Aren’t vampires a rock thing?!”
Stelle’s eyes grew wide. “You guys have vampires here?!”
“No, vampires aren’t real. They’re just myths.” Yuki waved her hand, dismissively.
“There were some cases where people said that they are actual vampires.” Karen nodded.
“Don’t encourage them.” Yuki rolled her eyes.
“Ohhh but what if I turn into a vampire if I eat this? Yukkie, would you still love me if I was a vampire?” Ruka turned towards her, breaking out her puppy-dog eyes.
“WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?” She replied, a blush beginning to appear on her face. Everyone besides Ruka shared a knowing look.
“Should we maybe just… try the food?” Firefly asked, in a polite manner.
“Karerin, any recommendations?” Ruka asked.
“I think just mix the mămăligă with the cabbage rolls. Oh, maybe putting some sour cream would help as well?”
“How can ya even make that sound?!” Megumi asked.
“Oh, this? Mămăligă?” Karen laughed. “Some gaming buddies taught me how to swear in their language so I’ve learnt how to pronounce some of those letters.”
“... I get more surprised by my squad with each passing day.” Yuki mumbled to herself.
Ruka picked a few cabbage rolls, one of each plate and took a healthy amount of this so-called “mămăligă”. She poured some sour cream on top of all of this and dug in. The taste of beef meat mixed with spices and some rice combined really well with the bread-like solid-pudding thing and the sour cream seemed to balance the strong taste.
“This is so delicious!” she exclaimed.
“I wasn’t expecting this to have rice in it.” Stelle said.
“Yours had rice?” Yuki asked. “Mine had quinoa instead.”
“Maybe there’s different types in each plate? Can’t think of any reason why they wouldn’t have put all of them into a big bowl instead.” Firefly said.
“We need to try all of them!” Stelle and Ruka somehow exclaimed in unison. Firefly laughed while Yuki looked exasperated at the two of them.
Not long after, Ruka discovered that some had pork in them as well, while others were a combination of beef and pork. It didn’t take too long before the meal was over and everyone was enjoying a cold glass of soda.
“That was delicious.” Firefly said. “Hmm, do you have desserts here?”
“There’s usually some cakes for dessert.” Karen said.
“What are the chances they have oak cake rolls?” Firefly asked, with a gleam in her eyes.
“What are those?” Ruka asked.
“It’s a cake roll made from many layers of batter wrapped around a spit. Each layer has a different flavour, and it’s covered in chocolate.” Firefly gushed. “Traditional versions in the dreamscape have botanical additives referencing when people were so poor they had to put wood chips in their food to bulk it out. It’s got such a unique flavour, I can’t stop eating them.”
“So like baumkuchen then?” Megumi asked.
“Wait, you have those here?!” Firefly jumped in excitement.
“I’ve never seen them serve those in the cafteria, but they used to be popular before the Cancer showed up.” Yuki said.
Firefly’s excitement deflated. “That’s okay, I have them a lot back home. I’m sure there are other cakes I can have.”
“Hmm…” Ruka mused
Night 2
Late evening rolled around, and 31-A returned to their room.
“This is your barracks?” Firefly asked, looking around. “It’s a lot comfier-looking than I thought it would be.”
“It’s the coziest!” Tama said.
“The commander hasn’t given you your own room yet.” Yuki said. “So you’ll have to stay with us.”
“Since there’s only six beds, someone’s going to have to share.” Ruka said.
“Fly and I can share.” Stelle said. “Don’t worry, we’ll keep our hands to ourselves in polite company.”
“Of course you will, who even needs to specify that? I’m more worried now you’ve mentioned you were even thinking of it.” Yuki said.
“Well obviously Ruka and Yuki’re gonna share a bed again.” Megumi smirked.
“That’s not obvious! Why would that be obvious?! I told you we’re not like that!” Yuki protested.
“We all know you used her like a body pillow last time.” Tsukasa commented.
“NO I DID NOT! DO NONE OF YOU HAVE ANY SENSE OF DECENCY?!” Yuki screamed.
“It’s okay, Tojo and I can share again.” Karen said, sidling up next to Tsukasa.
“Eh? R-really?” Tsukasa panicked.
“It’s okay, Karrie didn’t attack you last time either, remember?” Karen said.
“I g-g-guess…” Tsukasa stammered, still tensed up.
“The offer of a Ruka body pillow is still there, Yukkie.” Ruka said.
“I SAID I DON’T…” Yuki started, turning bright red, before cutting off her yelling. “Whatever, I’m going to bed, I’m not going to let you all rile me up before sleep.”
Late Night
“Uuuugh I ate too much dairy.” Ruka whispered as she hauled herself out of bed.
She looked around at the other beds. Despite the protests, Tsukasa and Karen were cuddled up tightly together. They looked so cute as they slept.
She looked over to where Stelle and Firefly were sleeping.
“Woah, she’s all hanging out.” Ruka thought. Stelle had turned down the offer to borrow pyjamas, instead borrowing a dressing gown so she could at least get to and from the bed without exposing herself. It turned out that the covers could barely contain her while she slept either.
“Wait, where’s Fifi?” She thought, realising she was missing.
She left to do her business. On her way back from the bathroom, she looked up the stairs. If she were restless at night, that was probably where she would go, after all. She ascended the spiral staircase leading to the roof.
Up on the rooftop, She found Firefly leaning against the railing, looking up at the clear sky full of stars.
“Yo Fifi.” Ruka said, leaning against the railing next to her.
“Oh, hello Ruka.” Firefly said. “I hope I didn’t wake you coming up here.”
“No no, I just needed the bathroom.” Ruka said. “What about you? Couldn’t sleep?”
“You could say that.” Firefly said. “I don’t need to sleep as much as most people. Judging from the clocks here, I would only need one or two system hours to be fully rested.”
“Whaaat, that’s so cool!” Ruka said. “I could be so much more productive if I didn’t need so much sleep!”
Firefly smiled sadly. “I was designed that way, one of the many differences between me and a normal girl. I need much less sleep than most, and I’m incapable of dreaming.”
“Eh? You can’t dream? Wait, designed?” Ruka asked.
Firefly turned back to looking at the stars. “I was part of a force born to fight against The Swarm, an existential threat that arrived from space. The people who made us made adjustments to make sure we were most capable of fighting back. Among… other things.”
“Woah.” Ruka said. A lot of thoughts were racing through her mind, but she settled on one she was sure would be safe. “I think you should talk to Cappy, you and her have a lot in common, you know.”
“I’ll make sure to talk to her.” Firefly said. “You know, being here… it brings back a lot of memories.” She turned and smiled at Ruka. “It looks like your commander takes good care of you though. You eat well, your rooms are comfortable. You even got away with organising a baseball game without being reprimanded.” She chuckled. “I know first-hand what you’re going through. No matter how noble the cause, no war is a ‘good’ war, but, still... I’m happy for you, in a way. Even though your lives are on the line, there are those who still recognise your humanity.”
Ruka was silent as she processed those words. Though there were no cameras up here, she wasn’t sure what she could get away with saying. She too looked up at the stars.
“Yeah, it’s pretty great here.” She said, “What about your home now? Is it still in danger?”
“Glamoth is gone. I’m one of only a handful of Iron Cavalry left out there in the cosmos.” Firefly said. “Still, I found a new home, one with people who care about me, and something worth fighting for, where I can change what destiny has in store for me.” She paused, contemplating for a while.
“Having people you can rely on makes it all worth it.” Ruka said wistfully.
“Yeah. I can’t imagine my life without Stelle and Marchie anymore, and I don’t want to. I love them so much.” Firefly said.
“Eh? Who’s Marchie?” Ruka asked. Had she heard right?
Firefly chuckled. “Our other girlfriend, March 7th. It’s a long story, but the three of us are happy together. I hope you and Yuki have that kind of happiness too.
Ruka smiled. “She says it’s not like that, but it feels like we’ve been married for a long time. I dunno what I’d do without her.”
“I’m happy for you.” Firefly said, keeping her gaze up at the skies. “Hmm… I wonder which stars are Glamoth, if any of them. I still don’t know how we ended up here, but we’ll have to find our way home.”
“Well, until you leave I hope you feel at home with us.” Ruka said.
“I really appreciate that.” Firefly said.
They watched in silence as wispy clouds floated by under the curtain of stars against the black. Ruka shuddered as a light breeze hit her.
“You should head back to sleep.” Firefly said. “I’ll stay here a little longer before heading back down. Maybe we can talk more tomorrow?”
“Sounds great! Goodnight, Fifi.”
“Sweet dreams, Ruka.”