Location: Terra Colony Andromeda
North Sector - Draco Outpost - Infirmary Wing
Date: January 31, 2050
Time - Nightfall
There was the smell of chemicals at the edges of her nose as she woke up. She was a small girl, stout, yet adorable, with round and bright purple eyes. Blinking away the white blurs of overhead light, she had difficulty sitting up. Soft fabric pressed under her palms, and at the same time small twinges of soreness flared across her body.
“Ugh..” She grunted, brushing her locks of pink and purple hair away so she could take her temperature. It was a habit she wished she’d broken, but it carried on from childhood. The touch was lukewarm, a good sign. “Ugh..”
A second wave of soreness hit, and this time she clutched her side, wishing it would cease by the power of her will. The commotions she seemed to make got the attention of a nearby attending nurse. Standing next to a bed across from her’s, the nurse rushed the distance to her side.
“Please, lay down.” She said, easing the girl back. “Don’t try to get up so soon. You’re not injured, but exhaustion isn’t a small matter to scoff at. Now, lay back.”
The girl did so, and managed to ask through the dispersing fog of waking her mind. “Where am I? What happened?”
“You’re in the infirmary at Draco Outpost. We’re in Terra Colony Andromeda. You were rendered unconscious during all the fighting in the recent war games exercise.” The nurse adjusted her face mask and took out a phone size data pad from the pocket of her scrubs. “Let’s see here.”
The girl watched as the nurse tapped at the data pad’s screen, glimpsing that she was bringing up a profile picture, along with a number of datapoints that she could only guess were about her health and other such medical information.
“Miss.. Iron.. Mouse?” The nurse spoke cautiously, as though she was mistaken. There was a kind of guilt in her expression. “Is that right? I’m not saying it wrong, am I?”
Ironmouse didn’t put it against her, her name was unique. And that’s how she liked it. “Yes.” She nodded, relaxing her head back into the embrace of a pillow. “But call me Mousey, it’s easier.”
“Of course, of course.” Said the nurse, hurriedly polite. “In any case, I need to run a few checks on you before I can discharge you.”
“Alright, but what about the soreness I’m feeling. Is that normal?”
“Possibly, you were knocked out and.. according to your profile, it’s best that you don’t push yourself too much after using your powers.”
There was something on the nurse’s lips that wasn’t ready to be let out. Ironmouse knew what it was, a sensitive topic, a detail, and a personal one at that. And about me. She dashed the line of thought away and sighed, letting the nurse run her tests. Ironmouse used the time to look around, seeing a row of infirmary beds and monitoring equipment lining the wall opposite to her. This was definitely a medical facility. There were clean curtain dividers, white walls, and the rhythmic beep of heart rate monitors. And the smell.. That uncomfortable smell of antiseptic.
Trying to take her mind off that, she spotted a few of the other patients, hoping one of her friends was around. Some were asleep while others chatted about at tables, eating and drinking the usual hospital fare. She recognized a few of them. Trainees, students, and.. Explorers. I wonder if everyone else is here. A couple minutes later, when the nurse was done, the curtain on her left swung away.
“Feeling alright?” Said a man. The person’s voice was posh and almost annoyingly condescending. It was good that she was used to it. “Mousey dear, why are you pouting? And don’t glare at me, what did I do?”
“Hmph.” Ironmouse crossed her arms and jerked her chin away. “It’s not what you did, it's about where you were, Bubi.”
Bubi scoffed, then grinned with a little of his sharp teeth showing. Ironmouse side eyed him, she had to tilt her head up since he was so tall. She’d get a stiff neck at this rate.
“Don’t be like that.” Bubi said so carefree. “We were separated during the exercise, of course I couldn’t just come running to you at a moment's notice.”
“But you could have!” Ironmouse argued. “When things got bad during the fight, where were you! I called out to you over the telepathic link, didn’t I!”
Bubi cringed and began playing with one side of his black and purple hair that rested on his shoulders. He didn’t dare to speak and let Ironmouse rant. When she got worked up, there was no stopping her, and today was a particularly egregiously bad day, for both him and her.
It was coming back to them, what had happened and had gone wrong. Just as they were about to initiate the plan Headmaster Joel had hired them for, and throw a wrench into the training exercise to spice things up, it had all flipped. The once allied trainees sprung their trap first and knew how to subdue them in quick fashion. Bubi knew of how difficult communications had become beyond that point. Even with Ironmouse’s limited telepathic ability, she alone couldn’t have turned things around, not when she was surrounded and cut off from the others.
Ironmouse huffed, patting down her hospital gown with a look of disgust. God, I hate this thing. Touching her dainty fingers together, small sparks of purple and black energy sputtered, and then collected on her fingertips. Tapping the motes of energy to her neck, they materialized into the clothes across her body. Half black gothic themed and the other half cutely themed to be strikingly pink, her short, skirted dress was like a uniformly mismatch of chaotic patterns.
“Much better.” She said, feeling the frills on the pink half of her skirt.
Bubi raised a brow in alarm. “Should you be using your powers so soon? The nurse told you to take it easy.”
“Oh, I’m fine. Plus, what’s your excuse?” Ironmouse glanced at Bubi’s noble ware. “You're already changed out into yours, so why shouldn’t I?”
Bubi shrugged. “Fine, so.. On another matter.. How about..”
“MOUSEY!” An overly jubilant shout interrupted Bubi as an extremely tall woman jumped at Ironmouse, burying her between what could only be described by Bubi as.. The black holes of cleavages.. And.. the mother of all breasts. “MOUSEY! MOUSEY! MOUSEY!”
The tall woman squealed and squirmed, smothering Ironmouse, more wrestling than hugging the smaller girl as she was stuck between the soft sheets of the bed and the softer embrace of two enormous boobs.
“Mousey! You’re not hurt right?” The woman asked. “You aren’t sick, right? Did you have a nightmare? If you did, tell me? Mommy’s always here for you if you cry.”
Ironmouse struggled to breathe. She was caught like a literal rat in a mouse trap, pinned and imprisoned by such ungodly, yet heavenly soft, weight. Instantly, she knew who this was. Both by her mature tone and her motherly personality, and not to mention that only one person had breasts larger than a person’s head.
“Hime! Let go!” Ironmouse begged, muffled by the embrace of Hime’s blue sweater dress. “Let! GO! I’m! Suffocating! Can’t.. B-Breathe.. Bubi! Help!”
But Bubi didn’t move, instead he only closed his eyes. It required all his effort to keep his inner grin from spilling out. Rather than help, he let things run their course. This wasn’t the first time this happened after all. Hime had a rather clingy and boisterous personality. Trying to stop her was like trying to ask for a pig to fly, it just didn’t happen, and it was especially so when it came to Mousey, because.. Unfortunately, Hime’s complex for cute and adorable things was never going to be cured.
A man joined Bubi, walking over and nudging him in the side. “Good to see that you're amused.”
“And you aren’t, Garnt?” Bubi asked, giving a nudge in return. “You have to admit that this never gets old.” He motioned over to where Ironmouse and Hime were, where one of them was trying to escape and the other trying to snuggle the other like they were a cuddly teddy bear. “This’ll never cease to amuse me. If this ever became not funny anymore, then I’d be disappointed in myself.”
“Is that because you like seeing Mousey frazzled?” Garnt asked.
He wore the usual overalls of a white business shirt with blue jeans. Bubi found that wholly ordinary, but admitted that it fitted him well, along with his European features. Though, he wished his friend would take more time to care for his hair. The few locks of blonde in his mess of black hair were starting to fade. It wasn’t that Garnt was old, more that he needed to look after himself better.
Maybe Hime will set him right, he does look healthier than before. Bubi thought. Either way, he won’t have a choice if she’s involved. He glanced at the ring on Garnt’s finger. A wife.. eh? They sure change a person.
“That’s part of the reason.” Bubi said, answering Garnt’s question. “Mousey’s little reactions just add a little color to my day.”
“Must be nice.” Garnt said. “You’re with her most of the time, so your days are probably a blast.”
“No, not exactly. It’s only when I’m not dragged into the chaos she makes that I get to enjoy her fumbling and bumbling.” Bubi discreetly clenched his hands into fists, lowering his voice to a small and irritated whisper. “By God, the last time she made a fuss, I had to.. Oh..” He sighed. “Never mind.”
“Excuse me.” What sounded like a plain robotic feminine voice came from behind them. “Just what the heck is happening?”
Garnt and Bubi turned to find that a fellow patient had come to see what the commotion was about. Bubi was the first to recognize who she was. The robotic voice gave it away, as did the metallic red and black bodysuit, and those drastically sharp yellow eyes and brow. When he was about to say hello, he wondered why she was carrying another patient under her arm like a sack of potatoes.
Bubi blinked his attention back to her. “Uh? Zentreya? Why are you back here? I thought you were already discharged. You woke up first, didn’t you?”
“I did.” Zentreya said, then jerked the person slung under her arm, there was a low groan that escaped from the apparent little girl. “Henya here tried to sneak off before the nurses could check her out. I found her playing video games off in some corner of the outpost. It was difficult to fish her out because of all the tight spaces it had to go through.”
You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.
“I bet.” Garnt, unable to help himself, got a good look at her. Zentreya was tall, slim, but there were parts of her that made it.. Difficult to fit into small places. “You must’ve had it rough.”
A then sensual and foreboding voice beckoned to him. “Garnt~ Honey~ Just what are you looking at?”
Garnt’s spine immediately went rigid, and he stiffened up like a man knowing what was good for him. “Nothing.. Nothing at all, dear.” He didn’t even attempt to turn around, if he did, Hime would see right through him.
Hime slowly trained her eyes into a glare, somewhat ready to relent and let Ironmouse out her confined hug so that she could talk with him somewhere so they could speak freely. And where there weren’t any witnesses or cameras.
“He was looking at my breasts.” Said Zentreya, abruptly throwing Garnt under the proverbial bus. “Hime, I suggest that you get your man in order. I’m worried about the stability of your marriage if Garnt can’t keep some control around other women.”
“Garnt!” Hime bellowed and rounded on her husband before even a second ticked by. She grabbed him up by the collar, shaking him. “Why!” She asked, tears in her eyes. “Why! Would you look at her breasts when you have mine right here!”
Garnt blushed, he didn’t have any real answer to that. He was flattered, giddy, and mostly embarrassed at how outright his wife was with her love. Hime shook the daylights out of him for his silence, and Bubi found that his day was once again being filled with another colorful event. That was until Ironmouse pinched his ear and dragged him over to the side.
Zentreya marveled at their interactions, finding them interesting, chaotic, and wholly human. She, unlike everyone else here, was entirely robotic. But, to say she wasn’t human was a stretch. She understood emotions and could feel a tick of exasperation at all the bickering going on, along with the humor that leaked onto her straight-laced expression. She was considered human by a majority of her peers, and she could do what humans could, and even do it better at times.
But I’m not really human, aren’t I.. I can’t.. Get.. married? Or could I? She put the lines of data tied to these thoughts away, they weren’t much help for what she needed to do. Eh.. Whatever.
“Hehehe.” Henya, still held like a sack of potatoes under Zen’s arm, chuckled like a mischievous child. “Nice going, Zen, you made things worse, Dayo.”
“I don’t think I did.” Zen said, forcing a little offense in her robotic tone. “They say that couples and friends bond over hardships. There is no difference in this scenario.”
Henya wasn’t so sure about that, then asked. “Do you mind letting me down, now? I can walk just fine, dayo.”
“No, I will not.”
“Why, dayo!” Henya demanded.
“Because you would just run off again when I’m not looking. Now, behave and let the nurses check you out this time. Maybe they can solve one of your underlying health issues.”
“I have a health issue?”
“Yes.” Nodded Zentreya. “Your breasts have not grown in the past year, and you are supposed to be in the middle of puberty. I am starting to believe that you may be cursed forever with a flat chest.”
“Hey! Don’t bring that up!” Henya roared in a high pitched squeal. “Especially not in public, what the fuck are you doing dayo.”
“Don’t be embarrassed, Henya. Even if you are flat forever, I’ll still be your friend.”
“What the heck does that mean!” Henya gritted her teeth, fed up with this one sided narrative. “That’s not what I.. ugh.. Dammit.” She inhaled, and then shouted with a piercing call, “ZEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEN! YOU BIG DUMMY! LET ME GO!”
She thrashed around, feet almost kicking off her yellow crocs in a futile attempt to break free. All her efforts, in the end, would only amount to more wrinkles on her favorite purple jacket.
“ZEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEN!”
***
Itsuki, along with Arielle and the rest of the remaining injured, walked through the infirmary halls. The tiled flooring and white painted walls were all pristine and up to code. Each room was stocked with enough medical supplies to last for months, and the facility itself could care for whole armies. If there ever was an emergency, this place could be counted on to treat and save lives.
As he turned a corner, a wash of numbness began to spread from up his legs. He faltered in one of his steps, recovering as Shis held onto him. She still insisted on being carried like a princess.
“Boss? You alright?” She asked.
“I’m fine.” Itsuki said. “Just tripped, nothing of note. On another topic, do you mind letting me go now?”
Shis adamantly shook her head. “No! No way!” She then gave him a cheeky grin, her bright purple eyes welling with a big bright puppy like tears. “But.. if you give me a kiss, I’d be content.”
“No.” Itsuki’s instant refusal put an end to Shis’s facade. Before she could whine, he said, “But I can compromise, remember? What do you want? If there’s anything I can give you, just name it.”
“Anything?”
“Yes, but not a kiss.” Itsuki reminded.
Shis blinked a few times, it was rare that she got a concession out of him. He wasn’t so forthright when he was working, which was all the time. She thought about the offer, and when they arrived at the entrance to one of the main medical rooms, she decided and smiled to herself.
“Then how about you make or give me a weapon. A new one, something I can add to my Tactical Armored Core.”
“And what do you want in particular?” Itsuki asked.
“Oh, you know. Just one from your personal collection. That, or an upgrade. And a big one.”
Itsuki knew she’d jump at this chance. He’d never let anyone into his personal collection. It was dangerous, and most of those weapons were experimental. They’d blow up if you didn’t know how to use them correctly, or worse.
“Alright.” He said, relenting. “I’ll need to talk with the professor to get your authorization. If I can’t, I personally upgrade your TAC. Now, can you let me go?”
“Yeah, and remember, this is a promise.”
Shis pecked him on the cheek one last time before hopping out of his arms and skipping off like a merry little girl. She drew the attention of the staff in the corridor. The tight purple body suit she wore made all a few head’s turn. Even some of the women were unable to look away. The girl had assets in all the right places, and she was young, beautiful, and an infectiously cheerful.
“So?” Arielle came up to pat Itsuki’s shoulder. “How’d you land a girl like that? It's hard to believe that a pretty girl like her seems overly interested in a jackass like you.”
Itsuki grunted disapprovingly. “I didn’t land a girl. She’s just one of the trainees I’ve taught during my time here at Andromeda.”
“Really? Is that all? There’s.. Nothing else to it?”
Itsuki had no idea what she was insinuating, but he wished she’d stop. “Let’s go.” He said, pressing the door controls to make them slide open. “Get the injured inside and have them treated.”
Arielle shrugged and waved down the staff to assist in lifting the injured into beds. A line of stretchers rushed into the room as medical staff began discussing and examining. Of them, Sinder, Haruka, and Chisuke were laid down and hooked up to health monitors. Trailing at the back, Dahlia carefully stepped into the now bustling infirmary wing. Spotting Chisuke, she slowly started to come closer to his bedside.
“Huh? Why are you here?” Arielle asked, stopping her. “You should be with the rest of the students.”
“Y-yes.. I’m sorry.” Dahlia said, head down. “But.. I just.. Umm..”
“What? Spit it out.”
Startled, Dahlia stepped back, almost ready to bolt away. That was until Itsuki caught her arm from behind her. His gaze went to her clenched hand.
“What is that?” He asked.
Arielle watched as Dahlia descended into a trembling mess of a girl. There was a mix of fear, hesitation, and.. Excitement? Why in the world would she be excited?
When Itsuki got no response, he asked again. “What is that?” This time he pointed and raised Dahlia’s arm to show her.
The poor startled girl came back to herself, her deer-like ears flicking. “Oh.. I.. I.. I picked this up.. From the fight.” She unfurled her hand, presenting what looked like a light brown piece of what could only be thought of as bone.
“Is that a piece of bone?” Arielle asked. “Why’d you pick that up?”
“It’s not bone, it’s part of that girl’s antler.” Dahlia turned her head to where Haruka was snoring away. “I thought they could reattach it, and.. I thought I could help the injured.. Because.. Well.. I can.”
She was talking about her innate healing abilities. Itsuki was welcomed to the idea, except he didn’t immediately accept. She was a student, and the recent hours had not been kind. She needs rest, time to think, and time to.. deliberate on what she had remembered of the past. He was sure she knew who he was, who he really was. They had met before, a long time ago, and he wished she had never needed to know him, or anything about him.
“No.” Itsuki said, taking the piece of antler and tossing it to Arielle. “We’ll handle things from here. Go back to where the students are and get some rest.” Dahlia was about to protest when he motioned to a couple of on duty soldiers. “Please bring this student safely to the others, report back to me when you are done.”
The two soldiers saluted. One of them held out a hand to Dahlia, who didn’t have much choice. She was rushed out, and Itsuki could tell that Arielle found that suspicious.
“Don’t ask.” Itsuki said curtly. “Don’t dig where you don’t need to.”
Arielle put her hands up, all innocent. “Hey, I didn’t say anything. You’ve got secrets you don’t wanna tell, so do I. I understand.”
“No..” Mumbled Itsuki. “You don’t.”
He walked on, leaving Arielle to deal with Haruka. He passed bed after bed down the enormous room. The sounds of bickering became louder and he found who he needed. Off to one side, Bubi was off in an argument with Ironmouse while being chased around one of the communal tables. On the other side, Garnt was sitting on the hard floor with his legs tucked under him as his wife, Hime, was well off into a rant about.. Breasts?
Oddly enough, no one minded the noise and chaos. Everyone here was either an explorer, a trainee, or a soldier. It spoke to how there was an invisible sense of comradery amongst the people here. But..
What a bunch of weirdos. Itsuki thought, and sighed the next second. Then again, we’re all weirdos. Me included.
“Garnt. Bubi.” He called out to them. “Where’s Joey?”
That got their attention. Hime swiveled on her heels with her hands on her hips. Ironmouse’s eyes widened and she stopped chasing Bubi. Darting away in a heartbeat, she hid behind Bubi like a human shield.
“You!” Hime spoke loudly, pointing a judging finger at Itsuki. “You’re the one who told them.”
“Told who? And what?” Itsuki asked, playing dumb. “I have no idea who you are talking about.”
“The Trainees!” Hime said. “You told them about our weaknesses during the training exercise, didn’t you. There was no way they would have beaten us if they didn’t know about our powers.”
“You don’t know that.” Itsuki lied, testing to see if Hime could pick up on that. Arielle would, Bubi seemed to take the hint, though the others? Not so much. “Maybe you’re getting rusty, or maybe this batch of trainees were just that good. I recommend you train yourselves some more.”
Hime shot him a dismissive snort. “Hmph, you’re such an ass.”
“Tell me what I don’t know, and don’t blame me for what happened. You took Joel’s request, so you can only blame yourself. I’ve told you before, he’s sneaky.” Itsuki said and then met Garnt’s gaze. “So, where’s Joey?”
“He’s in the medical wing a few halls down.” Garnt said, dusting off his jeans as he stood back up. “If you need to talk to him, then you can probably only get a few minutes. He’s a little busy.”
“I see.” Itsuki pulled out a data pad from his storage ring, tapping away as he got a few medical scans of his own condition. The earlier numbness was crawling up his chest now, he almost couldn’t feel his fingers. “Are you and Bubi available at the moment, I could use your help?”
“With what?” Bubi asked, not quite inviting in his tone. “If it’s some unsavory stuff, then I don’t want any part of it.”
“Agreed.” Said Garnt.
The datapad in Itsuki’s hand beeped. Itsuki gave it a few more taps, and then tossed it over to Garnt. “Good, then you won’t have any complaints. Now can you help or not?”
Garnt read the datapad, as well as Bubi and Hime. Ironmouse was the exception since she was occupied with keeping an eye on Itsuki. She was like a cautious cat, and with how the small white horns on her head wiggled a little, it made the comparison seem so.
Itsuki walked ahead, passing them all. “If you want to help, come with me. If not, you can stay here.”