"Ash-kuuun!" Emi's voice rang through the ARKS common room, her lavender hair swaying as she bustled over, nearly tripping over nothing. "I've been meaning to show you something really kawaii~"
Ash turned from his mission report, expression neutral as always. “What is it, Emi-san?”
“Well, as Yui-chan's teammate, I thought you might enjoy seeing how far she's come as a defender.” Emi's glasses glinted with sisterly pride as she reached towards her MAG hovering obediently as usual by her side. “She's really grown so much!”
Across the room, Yui's blonde head snapped up from her book, catapulting poor Mochi from his perch atop her head. “Emi-chan, wait—”
“Look at her first successful mission!” Emi was already pulling up files with the holographic UI projections from her MAG, her ever-dynamic F-cups bouncing with enthusiasm.
Why are they bouncing when you're just STANDING there?!
“That's NOT what those videos are for!” Yui rocketed at her from across the room, but Emi smoothly sidestepped, channelling a gracefulness she definitely should not have. [What happened to tripping every 2 seconds?]
“Oh, and here's when she helped that lost child find their parents in Central City! So gentle and kind~”
Yui paused mid-lunge, caught off guard. “Wait, you recorded that?”
Seizing this moment of optimal perch conditions, Mochi glided back down, executing a perfect touchdown on his usual place atop Yui's head.
“Of course! It was such a sweet moment.” Emi beamed. “Though I also may have some adorably determined practice sessions...”
“EMI!” Yui's face blazed crimson as she made a desperate grab for the MAG, Mochi holding on for dear life as his shrieking perch suddenly decided to lunged through the air. Emi’s MAG, having apparently developed a mischievous personality of its own, drifted just centimeters out of reach of its petite assailant with an almost smug bobbing motion. Meanwhile, Emi continued showcasing her library of precious memories, completely oblivious to both Yui’s mounting frustration and her MAG’s apparent cheeky streak. [Even their MAGs have embraced the chaos]
“Your form has improved so much since then!” Emi remarked in genuine pride. “Remember how hard you worked on your stance?”
Ash cleared his throat, a hint of interest showing. “The progress is impressive.”
“Ne, Ash-kun?” Emi beamed approvingly. “Though there were some entertaining moments along the way—”
This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.
“Please, no mission bloopers!” Yui's small horns practically drooped with pre-emptive embarrassment.
“Actually, I was thinking of showing how you helped train the new recruits,” Emi said thoughtfully. “You're quite good at explaining the basics now.”
Yui blinked, momentarily forgetting her panic. “I... am?”
“Mhm! Though I do have that one clip of your Photon Blast incident...”
“EMI!” Yui began rapidly slapping Emi's preposterous chest pillows in flustered desperation. “Not that one! Not in front of—” She froze mid-slap, suddenly remembering Ash was still there.
“Ara ara, so energetic~” Emi giggled. “Don't worry, I edited out the mesa incident. Though your determined face beforehand was quite inspiring… and very kawaii!”
A small crowd of ARKS had begun to gather, drawn by the commotion. Several operatives exchanged knowing grins - the Chaos girls were at it again, and that meant free entertainment! Then, as if on cue, a familiar voice sang out.
"Nyaaa! Are we watching Yui-chan's greatest hits?" The Chaos queen of the Chaos Girls—Narumi herself—practically bounced through the gathering crowd, her tail swishing playfully.
“NOT YOU TOO!” Yui's hands remained frozen in mid-slap position, mortification keeping her locked in place.
Ash stood dumbfounded, completely lost as to what the correct protocols for handling this situation were. His training had not covered what to do when your fellow ARKS colleague discovers their enthusiastic weapon practice monologues and training mishaps have been documented in a seven-part series, complete with bloopers. [Well, as a certain grylled bear used to say – “Improvise, adapt, overcome!”]
Despite his evident discomfort, Ash managed a slight smile. "Strong in battle, yet kind and gentle with civilians and recruits alike. That's... truly admirable, Yui-san."
Yui's arms dropped limply to her sides as she processed Ash's unexpected observation, her cheeks flushing a delicate pink as she struggled to maintain eye contact. "I... um..."
"Ara ara, look so bashful~" Emi beamed. "That adorable blush! Just like when you stayed up all night making get-well cookies for everyone after that difficult mission they had!"
I still can't believe she recorded that...!
Ash, seeming to find his comfort zone, offered a small nod as he smiled. “The cookies were... very good.”
Yui's face instantly blazed crimson, but this time, it was a complicated mixture of embarrassment and happiness that colored her cheeks. She hastily buried her burning face in her hands, not that it helped much with her ears soon matching in shade as they practically billowed steam.
“Your shooting form was solid as always,” he added professionally, then gave her one of his rare small smiles. “Though you've just seemed a bit... distracted lately. During the mission, and even during today's briefing.” [Eh? What were you looking at, Yui?]
The resulting squeak from Yui was almost loud enough to shatter windows, causing poor Mochi to shed a couple of feathers as he ruffled up in a fright. Without warning, Narumi pounced from behind, wrapping Yui in an enthusiastic embrace and completing her mortification.
"Nyaaaaa! You're too cute Yui-chanya! This is definitely going in the 'Yui-chan's Precious Progress' folder!" Narumi began nonstop nuzzling Yui's cheek with enthusiastic cat-like affection, her tail curling into a delighted question mark as her MAG continued faithfully recording the entire scene in super-ultra-extreme 64k resolution. [How many damn pixels do you need??] "Or maybe the 'Yui-chan's Heart Goes Doki-Doki' collection~?"
I still want to die... Yui thought dramatically, as she tried to fend off an over-excited cat threatening to topple both her and poor Mochi. But maybe just a little less than before... [The duality of Yui]