章節 21: Mina Daisuki
Katsu and Shelly are standing in the doorway while a messy uniform matching Saku(18) is sitting in the desk with his dog, Friend(25 in dog years) sitting on the floor in the farthest corner from the door. Katsu and Saku stare at each other in silence.Katsu looks slightly excited while Saku side eyes the two and is annoyed.Shelly looks puzzled at the two.
Shelly: "Dooo you guys know each other?"
Katsu smiling without breaking eye contact with Saku, closes the door behind them.
Katsu:"Yea we were friends when I first moved to the city around kindergarten. I would get beat up and Saku here would rescue me. It was a while before you came to my family. I think."
Saku starts getting slightly angrier the more Katsu talks.He pets Friend.
Saku:"Yea we 'were' friends."
Shelly sees the pup and gets comedically infatuated while moving closer.
Shelly: "OH MY GOD PUPPY! Hi babyyy!"
Friend growls showing his fangs.
Shelly quickly stops and stares down the aggravated pooch back, her silent stare is fixated on the dog with an Iceman eye.
Saku smirks at her attempt.
Saku:"I wouldn't if I were you. He only lets me pet him and he doesn't trust anyone but me."
Katsu moves from the doorway and he is puzzled by the remark from before.
Katsu: "What do you mean? We're still friends, Saku, I don't know why we stopped… Hanging… Out."
Katsu finishes his sentence slowly once he gets close, he suddenly falls back in disbelief.
Katsu: "Holy shit dude! You-You have one of those super power eyes! You actually beat one of those monsters?"
While an unwavering Shelly, crouched 5ft from a low growling Friend, is still locking eyes.
Shelly:"Did you force this poor animal to fight just for power?"
Saku gets immediately offended and he stands up.
Saku:"Shut up bitch!"
The dog once again goes full snarl and without warning comes within inches of Shelly's face. Shelly being a badass doesn't even blink.
Saku:"You have no idea why our eye transfer happened. I'm only here because we were found passed out after we got the eyes. I've tried countless times to escape but only the military is allowed outside these mountain 'prisons'."
Saku then points towards Shelly and looks at Katsu.
Saku: "Come get your girl. I wondered if you had died from opening your stupid mouth to the wrong people."He drops back into his seat and the force slightly slides the chair back. Katsu looks upset and guilty.
Katsu: "I'm sorry if I abandoned you Sa-"
Saku angrily cuts him off.
Saku: "You didn't abandon anybody you weak nerd, I was the one protecting you until this chick probably made you 'feel a way you never felt before' and she has you wrapped around her finger."
Shelly looks at him from her squat position next to the dog.
Shelly:"Um excuse me?"
Saku ignores her and keeps going.
Saku: "To be honest I was glad I didn't have to bother myself with a babysitting duty that I didn't ask for."
Katsu's head is down in shame as he realizes the pain he obviously caused his old friend.
Katsu: "Saku, really I'm sorry. When my family adopted Shelly, she wasn't in the best mental state and then once she was better, nobody messed with me anymore."
A slight comical scene of 11 yr old Shelly running after bullies.
Katsu: "I think they were just scared to talk to girls, haha!*
Saku is not buying it. He looks at Friend still between him and Shelly in protect mode.
Saku: "Friend! Here! Lay down!
The dog in obedience and without hesitation turns around and walks to its master's feet and lays down. Saku pets him as a reward.
Saku: "Good boy. Don't worry buddy they're not any type of threat. They're just a crybaby pacifist and 'some girl'."
Shelly gets up, scolding him and it even intimidates Saku for a second, as she walks to the front row where Katsu still is looking upset and stands between them. Katsu's head can be seen over the shorter girl's shoulder. She slightly pats Katsu's head as she talks to Saku.
Shelly: "Listen I don't know who you are, how you two know each other, how you got those eyes or why you two stopped being friends but I know what you're trying to say.(She looks at Katsu)... Katsu is not like that and the reason we met isn't how you think. It's because of him that I'm willing to be a better person."
Saku now looks interested in her words. Katsu, hearing this for the first time, looks up no longer upset but slightly blushing. She scratches under Katsu's chin.
Shelly: "...Sometimes I'm glad he doesn't like fighting, just because 'I' get to be the one that gets to fight for him."
Katsu(quietly):"Shelly…"
Saku looks over as he's also still petting his sitting dog, he starts petting under Friends chin and looks back at her. She stops and turns around making eye contact with Saku.
Shelly: "So If you're gonna make unnecessary assumptions and just talk shit to him, I'll make you hate me even more for his sake. (She gets slightly more angry) But let me make this absolutely clear. 'If you EVER try to hurt him, I won't hesitate to kick you and your dog's ass, little boy!"
Saku acts nonchalant and knows the game she's playing. He doesn't respond to her.
Saku: "Gunna let your woman speak for you nerd?"
Katsu bites his bottom lip behind Shelly whose fists at her side are clenching as he continues.
Saku: "Damn, at least when I was your bodyguard you would still play the 'voice of the hero' before and during me saving your ass. I guess she's learned your mouth gets you in even more trouble.
*he goes back to petting his dog*
And you wanna talk like a hypocrite about 'unnecessary assumptions'? When you wanted to accuse me of putting my dog in danger just to get a stupid alien eye that neither of us actually wanted.
*He also gets slightly upset*
I'll never tell my dog to fight for me. He only snarls and waits for me to fight only if it's absolutely necessary. So let me tell you something bitch, if you ever hurt Friend, I'll show you a worse monster than those aliens outside."
Shelly staring down the threat, hears Katsu's voice behind her.
Katsu: "You're right Saku. It is a poor excuse, and not fair to Shelly, for saying it was the reason I was a really bad friend back then. It makes me feel guilty for not realizing that mistake until now."
Saku and Shelly both look at him in shock, a single tear rolls down Katsu's left cheek but he's shown smiling, with watery eyes.
Katsu: "...But knowing you haven't changed from being a cool hardass brings back good memories."
Shelly(quietly): "Katsu…"
Katsu wipes his tears away and smiles.
Katsu: "Plus, the way you treat Friend and what Shelly just told both of us for the first time, makes something you two have in common to understand each other's feelings."
Shelly looks back at the delinquent and looks him up and down in disgust. Saku does the same thing back at her.
Katsu: "This makes me so happy that we got put in a squad together. It's how we should have been all along if I brought Shelly around to hang out and throw the football with us. The universe wants us 3 to be friends!"
Saku smiles remembering his old friend's habit of trying to make everyone get along and for everyone to be peaceful.
Saku: "Freakin nerd. And you're saying I'm the one who hasn't changed? I was wondering if you still had that 'voice of a hero'."
Shelly relaxes after Katsu fixes the tension in the room. A light is shown flashing from Katsu's and Shelly's watches. Shelly checks hers. She gets surprised by the screen that once displayed "40" is now a regular digital watch, "10:22" and "NE" takes up the top of the 1.6 mm screen.
Slightly underneath the time and the compass in the middle is "SC". Finally, taking up most of the screen, are 3 dots, 1 red dot bigger than the others, each a different color, and a red X at the end.
🔴🟣⚪❌
Shelly:"Our watches aren't blank screens anymore. Now it's an actual watch and compass. And there are some colored circles and a red X on them and what does 'SC' mean?"
Katsu quickly looks in excitement and begins to look confused. His watch is missing the SC that Shelly's watch has.
Katsu:"The red circle is bigger than the pink and white circles after it but why is there a red X? Either way that's so cool it's got another function!"
Saku looks weirded out.
Saku:"All it takes is time and a compass to get you to wear a tracking device?"
Katsu can see Saku's wrist is bare.
Katsu:"Wait, how did you know what room to come to if you don't have your watch? The note with our watches specifically said-"
Saku cuts him off.
Saku:"Gray thinks he can control this stupid military academy with fear. That's why I defy him. Whether it's laughing when he screeches like a banshee, skipping his easy ass class to piss him off or-*he holds up a lockpick set* sneaking into his office the night before that stupid assembly to find out where I need to be so I don't have to go. He doesn't control me or Friend.*dog barks in acceptance* Friend and I skipped that boring ass assembly. We got to sleep in for an extra hour."
Shelly looks back down at the screen as he finishes gloating.
Shelly:"Well now that we know because our squadmate is a liability and defies orders for his own amusement, these symbols could resemble our squad communication color code and the red X is you."
From off screen a male voice can be heard.
Voice: "That's exactly correct madame."
Saku bobbles the lockpick but snatches it and hides it. They turn to see their mentor, Daisuki, smiling in the doorway.
Daisuki (35) is a 6ft Portuguese man, 190lbs, lean and athletic, with dreadlocks and a trimmed beard. An Iceman eye in his right{stage left} eye. He is wearing a black sweatshirt, hood off, with a small red "C" over his right pectoral. The right sleeve has 3 different patches along the side: A silver Iceman head. A gold "Supplies" Badge. A bronze Chibi Angel. On the back over the top is "Daisuki" and the number "40" like a jersey is on his back. Black pants and black sneakers.
He is spinning one of the watches on his pointer finger and holding a full big paper bag.
Daisuki: "Sorry I'm late everyone but one of my new responsibilities can't be controlled by 'the man'."
He stops spinning it and closes the door. He walks closer and tosses it in Saku's direction.
Comedically, the watch doesn't come close to the stationary boy and hits the floor. The 4 look at the watch dumbfounded at this first encounter.
All 3 young adults(thinking): *What kind of throw was that?*
Saku doesn't get up to retrieve it as if in refusal.
Katsu:"Wait, are you our mentor? Where is your uniform?"
The man turns around to show him the back of his sweatshirt with the number 40. The 3 of them look as he then reaches through the paper bag and pulls out 'almost' identical sweatshirts, missing the "C" on the chest and sleeve patches, in their sizes. He passes them out as he talks.
Daisuki: "Congrats! Those uniforms are for strictly academic purposes. Now that you all are going to be out there fighting while helping scout for supplies and survivors, you need more comfortable clothes. The names and team number are inspired from sports jerseys. The patches are for different accomplishments achieved on excursions.(He points to each patch from top to bottom)
Icemen killed.
Supplies brought back.
Survivors saved from 'Hell'.
Since your first names are the only ones documented here they go on the back. Other squads will be getting a similar version except with their names and squad number in case we're ever paired up for excursions."
He hands Katsu his sweatshirt and he unfolds it, the front is blank as well as the sleeves, but the back has the same "40" and the name KATSU is on the upper back. The boy can't get his academy uniform jacket off and the sweatshirt on quick enough, even knocking over a chair.
Shelly: "Careful Katsu."
The mentor kneels down like a knight as he hands the girl her sweatshirt. She blushes in embarrassment. Katsu doesn't see while fighting inside his own sweatshirt. Saku looks on in a cringe.
Shelly: "What are you doing Sensei?!"
She takes the sweatshirt quickly and Daisuki moves on without explanation towards Saku in the back of the class. He picks up the watch he badly tossed on the way.
Calming down, she unfolds it to see "SHELLY" "40", she smiles then slowly takes off her jacket to reveal her tucked in clean white long sleeve shirt to put her sweatshirt on. Saku is caught admiring the beautiful girl when his new mentor walks up smiling and holding out a sweatshirt and the watch on top.
Daisuki: "Careful, inner squad romance can be dangerous."
Saku blushes (without eye contact) and takes the sweatshirt and the watch aggressively.
Saku: "I'm not the one you should be saying that to."
He looks at the sweatshirt with "Saku" & "40" on the back. The watch sitting on top, he doesn't put them on. Daisuki holds out his hand and places down something else.
Daisuki: "I hope you'll be willing to try and cooperate with me, Saku. I was told my squad would be 'a little different' but then they only gave me the 3 sweatshirts. So I had this made."
The man looks at the dog and walks away. Saku looks at what he was given and it's a bandana with "SQUAD 40" cleanly stitched into it. Saku is surprised when he looks at Friend and back at the mentor walking to the front of the class. Saku doesn't show an expression but is impressed inside.
Saku:"Come here buddy. I guess it's more comfortable than these 'prison uniforms'."
The dog gets up and Saku puts the bandana on him. The canine barks in thanks. Katsu is heard yelling in excitement as Saku puts his sweatshirt on and his watch on.
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