Kenji
The VTOL hangar was cavernous and cold, the silence broken only by the low whine of the ship's engines powering down as the ramp lowered with a heavy hiss.
Outside, St. Freya was bathed in the dim, late-night glow of its path lights, the air cool and still. Team 7 stumbled out onto the solid ground, looking less like elite trainees and more like extras from a zombie movie.
Kiana was practically draped over Mei, letting out a groan that echoed dramatically in the hangar. "Ugh, my feet are killing me," she whined, her usual boundless energy completely depleted. "And I swear, if I have to lift another box anytime soon, I'm gonna start throwing them."
Mei just patted her shoulder tiredly, too drained to offer more than a weary smile. Bronya walked with her usual stiff posture, but even she seemed a bit slower, her datapad tucked away for once. Kenji just shuffled along, his entire body feeling like one giant bruise held together by sheer willpower and maybe some tape.
'Just get me to a couch,' he thought, his brain barely functioning. 'Is this what happens when you have a healing factor? Is all my mental tiredness just amplified? This sucks.'
Standing at the bottom of the ramp, leaning casually against a support beam with her arms crossed, was Himeko. She looked infuriatingly fresh, not a hair out of place, a lazy smirk playing on her lips as she watched them emerge.
'Of course,' Kenji's internal monologue grumbled. 'She looks like she just got back from a spa day while we look like we crawled out of a Honkai beast's digestive tract.'
"Well, well," Himeko drawled, pushing off the beam as they approached. "Look what the cat dragged in. You all look like you wrestled a Chariot and lost spectacularly."
Kiana managed a weak glare. "Very funny, Himeko-sensei."
Himeko chuckled, waving a hand dismissively. "Good work today, though. Rita's report was… detailed." She gave Kiana a pointed look, then glanced at Kenji. "Acceptable performance, minimal property damage this time." She finished with a grin. But her eyes subtly flashed to Kenji at the mention of property damage "Report's already filed, so go get some rest. All the other students arrived a lot sooner than you all did and even they look beat. Also, there's no class tomorrow, so enjoy it."
With a final, lazy wave, she turned and strode off, her footsteps echoing confidently in the vast hangar, leaving the exhausted team standing in her wake.
They began the long, silent trudge back towards the dorms. Though they seemed to gain a little pep in their step as the dorms silhouette slowly became visible
'So close,' Kenji thought, letting out a quiet groan. 'I just want to lie down on my bed.'
/ — /
Kenji
Mei fumbled with the keycard for a second before the lock clicked open. The dorm door swung inward, revealing the blessed sanctuary of the living room. A collective, near-orgasmic sigh of relief escaped the group as they practically spilled inside. Home. Or, well, the closest thing Kenji had to it now. And more importantly: a couch.
His eyes locked onto it like a heat-seeking missile. The soft cushions. It was calling to him.
"Dibs," he managed to croak out, already shuffling towards it. Just a few more steps and he could finally achieve symbiosis with inanimate furniture.
"NO WAY!"
A blur of white hair and unwarranted energy slammed into his side like a linebacker. Air whooshed out of Kenji's lungs as Kiana tackled him, sending them both crashing to the floor in a tangle of limbs just inches from his plushy salvation.!
"Get off me you white haired demon!" he grunted, trying to shove her away.
"Not a chance!" Kiana yelled back, somehow managing to pin his arm while simultaneously trying to knee him in the ribs. "You are covered in grime and who-knows-what-else from outside! You are NOT putting your dirty ass on my couch until you shower!"
"It's my couch too!" Kenji protested, though it was a weak argument when pinned to the floor. "And I was working! You were just playing games with kids!"
"Morale support is hard and dirty work!" she shot back indignantly. "Besides, I called dibs on the first shower! I'm way dirtier!"
"Like hell you are! I was literally moving heavy machinery!"
Mei sighed loudly from the doorway, pinching the bridge of her nose. "Are you two finished?" Her voice was laced with exhaustion but carried the unmistakable tone of a parent about to lose their patience. "There are two showers, remember?"
Kiana and Kenji froze mid-struggle, glancing up at Mei, then back at each other.
'Oh yeah.' His room had its own bathroom, perks of being the 'special case' apparently. The main one was still down the hall.
Mei pointed decisively. "Kenji, you use yours. Kiana, you can wait 20 minutes for the main one after I'm done." She turned her gaze to Bronya, looking for her input.
"The Bronya is fine waiting for either." She simply said.
"Alright, that settles it."
Neither Kiana or Kenji were willing to argue, as Mei looked completely exhausted and neither wanted to incur her tired wrath.
Kiana grumbled but finally relented, rolling off Kenji and onto her feet. "Fine. But if you take longer than that, Mei, I'm breaking down the door."
"You wouldn't dare." Mei replied calmly, already heading toward the main bathroom.
Kenji scrambled to his feet, brushing dust off his already filthy battlesuit. "Finally," he muttered, making a beeline for his room before Kiana could come up with another reason to assault him. Having his own bathroom was turning out to be the single greatest perk of this whole arrangement. Privacy. Blessed, uninterrupted privacy.
The hot water was pure bliss, washing away the grime, the sweat, and at least some of the bone-deep fatigue. He took his time, letting the steam work out the kinks in his shoulders.
'This is heaven.'
/ — /
Kiana
Kiana sighed as she plopped her head on the dining room table. Kenji and Mei were still in the showers and neither seemed to be anywhere close to finishing.
'I want to take showers with Mei again…' She yearningly thought. While they usually take turns when showering, there was the occasional time where they would share the showers together.
But she knew well enough that now is not the time for that. They had just gone on their first mission after all, and she had to admit, it was rough.
She was someone that thrived on constant action, so doing the same thing over and over again for an entire day mentally drained her.
'Though the kids were pretty fun to play with.'
(20 Minutes Later)
"Alright that does it!" Kiana shouted. She was tired and felt icky, she needed a shower right now.
She stood and marched towards her usual bathroom, about to open the door when she stopped.
'Actually… Maybe not…' Quickly changing her mind. Barging into the bathroom while Mei was busy left a sour taste in her mouth. She seemed exhausted and Kiana wanted to let her relax for a while.
But Kenji on the other hand…
She hastily marched into his room, walking past his bed and straight to the bathroom door. "Kenji, are you done yet?! Mei's taking forever and I'm dying out here!" Kiana yelled, barging in without even a hint of a knock.
Only to be greeted by Kenji with a towel around his waist and one around his head. The two stared at each other in silence for a split second before Kenji's mind processed what happened.
"KIANA?!" Kenji yelped, startled. Pure reflex took over, and just as she was about to respond, red lightning surrounded him as he took off the towel on his head and threw it straight at her face.
THWAP.
"Uwaah!"
/ — /
Kenji
An hour later, peace had settled over the dorm. Showers had been taken, grime had been scrubbed away, and the lingering tension of the mission had softened in the comfort of the living room.
Kiana was sprawled across one end of the couch, aggressively channel-surfing with the remote, letting out loud, frustrated sighs every few seconds. Mei sat calmly at the other end, sipping a cup of herbal tea, her earlier weariness replaced by her usual serene composure. Bronya occupied her customary spot in the armchair, fingers flying silently across her datapad, seemingly oblivious to the world around her.
Kenji sat on the floor and leaned against the couch. It turned out that for some reason, the floor was much more comfortable than he had expected. "Finally," he muttered, closing his eyes for a blissful second. "I feel so clean."
His moment of peace was shattered by Kiana abruptly pausing her channel surfing. She turned, fixing him with a glare, though the red mark on her cheek from the towel incident had thankfully faded. "You're lucky Mei stopped me from retaliating," she declared, pointing the remote at him like a weapon. "Why'd you have to throw it so hard? My face still stings."
Kenji cracked an eye open, offering a completely unapologetic smirk. "Maybe next time you'll learn to knock."
"Maybe next time you'll learn not to weaponize your hygiene products!"
Mei sighed, setting her teacup down gently. "Honestly, Kiana, barging into someone's room like that... I thought you'd learned your lesson after the last time you tried that with me." She added with a smirk.
Kiana actually had the decency to look slightly sheepish at that memory, though she's blushing a little too hard if you ask him, she quickly recovered her bravado. "Hey! That was different! Besides," she glanced towards Mei, her tone softening almost imperceptibly, "I figured you'd be too tired after today. Didn't wanna bother you while you were relaxing."
Kenji choked on air. He sat up, staring at Kiana with a judging expression. "Wait, hold on. So, you wouldn't barge in on Mei because she's tired, but I'm fair game? So you would have done it if she wasn't? What kind of logic is that?!"
Kiana just shrugged, turning back to the TV, but he swore that she had a light blush on her cheeks.
"I do NOT want to know what these two get up to in their alone time" Kenji grumbled internally, slumping back against the couch.
The brief flare-up subsided, leaving a comfortable quiet in its wake. Mei picked up her teacup again, her gaze thoughtful as she looked around at her teammates. "So... how did everyone find their first field exercise?"
Kiana immediately perked up, abandoning the remote. "Boring! Mostly. Except for the end part with the Chariots, that was kinda cool. But Rita was super strict!"
She launched into a dramatic retelling of her 'morale support' duties, somehow making handing out candy sound like the most complicated mission in existence. "...and then this one little girl, super shy, wouldn't talk to anyone. But I showed her this awesome rock-paper-scissors trick, and she actually smiled! See? Vital work!"
"So you taught her to cheat?"
"Cheating is subjective!"
Kenji chuckled, shaking his head. "Sounds like you had your hands full."
"Totally!" Kiana agreed emphatically, conveniently glossing over the part with the looters. Kenji didn't bring it up either. It was their little secret, and no one else had to know. He glanced at Bronya, expecting her usual deadpan dismissal of Kiana's story, but the silver-haired girl remained engrossed in her datapad, seemingly unaware.
Mei smiled faintly at Kiana's story before her own expression grew more somber. She recounted her encounter at the distribution line, everyone listened calmly up until she talked about the man that confronted her.
Kiana's playful demeanor vanished instantly. "What?! That jerk!" she exploded, sitting bolt upright. "How dare he say that stuff to you! If I'd been there, I would've crushed his small—"
"Kiana," Mei interrupted her, "It's alright. He was angry and… scared." She then described the woman who had stepped in with an unexpected slap, which earned a chuckle from everyone else, even earning a small smile from Bronya.
Kenji listened intently, still a little annoyed at the guy who shouted at Mei. "Some people don't know when to keep their mouths shut," he muttered. He remembered the whispers, the stares directed at Mei. Seeing her vulnerability now, even in recollection, made something protective stir within him. "Glad that woman stepped up, though. Sounds like she wasn't taking any crap."
"Yeah, she was nice…"
The conversation lulled again, the bitterness from Mei's encounter starting to disappear. Kenji shifted uncomfortably, feeling the ghost of his own encounter prickling at the edge of his thoughts. He quickly pushed it away, offering a casual summary of his own day.
"Mine was mostly just… lifting," he said with a shrug. "Felt like my old job, but with heavier boxes and no tips. I almost got lost a couple of times trying to find a family, though. These ruined streets all look the same."
Mei gave him an understanding look. "It can be disorienting."
"Ooh, speaking of getting lost," Kiana chirped, leaning conspiratorially towards Kenji. "You looked pretty lost in thought during Rita's briefing yesterday. A little too focused at our supervisor if I might say~"
Kenji choked on his own spit. Heat instantly flooded his face. "What?! No!" he spluttered, maybe a little too quickly. "I was just respecting a superior! Paying attention! It's called professionalism, maybe you should try it sometime!"
"Uh-huh. Suuure," Kiana drawled, wiggling her eyebrows. " Admit it, you're a total fanboy!"
"I am NOT a fanboy!" Kenji insisted, crossing his arms defensively, acutely aware of Mei trying (and failing) to hide her amusement behind her teacup. Even Bronya glanced up from her datapad for a fraction of a second, a barely perceptible twitch at the corner of her mouth.
The teasing continued for a few more minutes, Kenji vehemently denying everything while Kiana reveled in his flustered state, until Mei finally took pity on him and gently steered the conversation elsewhere.
Eventually, a comfortable quiet settled over the dorm again. The day's exhaustion began to truly sink in. Kiana yawned, finally succumbing to her fatigue, and curled up on her end of the couch.
Mei retrieved a book from her bag and settled beside her, the two leaning on each other while falling into murmured conversations. Bronya remained in her armchair, the soft clicks of her game console the only sound from her corner.
Kenji leaned back against the couch cushions, picking up the remote Kiana had discarded. He flipped through the channels, bypassing the flashy entertainment shows and landing on the nightly news broadcast.
And thus ended another day at St. Freya.