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Kasane was going to the moon in a few days.
Shiden sighed and leaned back in his chair so he could stare up at his ceiling. Soon his rival will be gone, and he would be free to climb the ranks of the OSF without having to worry about her overtaking him. Sure he was excited by that prospect but at the same time it poked a part of his brain that he didn’t like.
“What the hell’s going on?” he grumbled to himself. He noticed a spec on his glasses, and he sat up to clean them. He paused as he stared at the glasses in his hands, one of the pairs that Kasane had gifted him. He wasn’t going to be able to compete against her anymore, was he? No more missions together, no more fighting by each other’s side. This was it, the end of everything. Kasane had even taken the next few days off of OSF work to prepare for the trip so he had even less of an excuse to see her.
To see her.
Why the hell did he want to see her?
A slight tint of red took his cheeks as a thought flitted across his mind. A possible reason that he was feeling like this, but it couldn’t be. It wasn’t logical in any way. It was just chemicals in his brain! He ran his fingers through his hair as he tried to push that thought away but failed miserably. Now that he had realized that was a possibility his mind was examining it.
Sure, he cared for Kasane, the whole platoon looked after each other and even Shiden would admit he would trust their platoon members with his life. Kasane had always been different though. She would always one-up him and always do it with that stoic expression on her face and there were her quips and how she always knew how to get on his nerves. She was really powerful in the fights and scraps they had gotten into and he would admit her smile was very cute whenever she showed it.
He groaned at the thought and quickly moved his hands away from his terminal as sparks jumped from his fingertips. His power on the fritz again due to his emotions. “Damn it Kasane,” he murmured to himself. What in the world was he supposed to do with this!? She was leaving in a few days, even if he said anything to her, what in the world was supposed to happen? It probably would be better to just leave it and pretend he never realized this.
Shiden’s thoughts went to Seto and then to Naomi. Regrets for those whose words could no longer be said. Who knew what would happen on the moon?
“Damn it.” Shiden put his glasses back on and before he could change his mind, sent Kasane a brain message.
***
“Well this isn’t like you Shiden,” said Kasane as she approached the table where Shiden was waiting for her.
“Shut up, I can’t be nice and invite you out for a drink?” he retorted.
She raised an eyebrow but didn’t refute his point. Shiden was Shiden after all. Although she would admit she was surprised when she got the brain message from him asking if she would meet him in Seiran for lunch. It was short and to the point and so like him. She assumed it was so they could chat before she had to leave for the moon. The rest of her platoon along with Yuito platoon had been inviting her out over the past few days and she knew Shiden would as well. Probably just so he wouldn’t be left out. He was oddly sensitive about that sort of thing.
“You bought me a drink?” she asked in surprise, noticing there were two cups on the table.
“Yeah, I thought it would save us some time. There’s this restaurant nearby that recently opened if we want to get food. I haven’t tried it myself so I can’t guarantee anything.”
“Uh huh.” Kasane took a sip of the coffee. She eyed Shiden over the top of her drink. There was definitely something off with him today. He was tapping on the table with a finger, and she could sense his leg was shaking as well. He also wasn’t looking her in the eye, his attention focused on the crowds around them. Very, very unlike him.
Of course she wasn’t the type to beat around the bush about this sort of thing. “What’s up with you? You look like you’re worried about an Other attacking us.”
“What? No I’m not!”
Kasane slowly blinked, his denial was so obviously forced.
Shiden cursed under his breathe and leaned back in his seat. “This might be easier to do this way,” he said through a brain message.
Now she was even more curious to what was going on here. She kept quiet though and let him get his thoughts together. If it was one thing she learned through this whole experience it was the value of her teammates. Even if sometimes Shiden could get on her nerves.
“Okay, so I don’t know how else to say this and I’m not like Kagero so I can’t say this smooth and all but I like you Kasane.”
Kasane stared at him blankly. “What?” she said out loud. Was that really everything he wanted to say?
“What? That’s it! That’s all you can say?” he snapped in his usual annoyed tone.
“Why are you getting so upset about this?” she asked with a frown. “I mean we all like each other, I don’t understand why you had to call me out to say this.”
“What…you?” Shiden ran his fingers through his hair, electricity sparking from fingertips. He grumbled under his breath, “I should have known you would have thought of it that way.”
“Shiden, what are you talking about?” Kasane let out a long sigh. “If you’re not going to be clear about what you want to say I’m going on my way.”
“Wait, hang on. I’m getting there!” He paused and glanced at the people that were eying them from the nearby tables due to his loud outburst. He cleared his throat and slumped in his seat before focusing back on Kasane.
“I don’t mean in a friends way.”
“What does that even mean?” she asked, an inkling of a thought poking the back of her brain, the way Shiden was looking at her reminding her of how Hanabi looked at Yuito. “Wait...” Her eyes widen. “By liking me you mean…”
“Oh thank everything you got it. I don’t want to bother explaining it further.” Shiden’s face was now a shade of bright red, a color she never expected to see on him.
“Shiden I…”
“Listen, you don’t have to answer me. In fact you can just leave right now and not talk to me again if that’s awkward for you. I just wanted you to know, I don’t want to have any regrets.”
Based on the look in his eye, she knew he was thinking of everyone that had been lost to get here. “Shiden, I’m not going to ignore you over something like this.” She put down the cup of coffee. “But I know something like this deserves an answer.” She looked at the crowd of people going about their daily lives. “To be honest Shiden, I never thought of things such as ‘liking’ someone before. Especially with everything going on.”
“To be clear I didn’t realize it until yesterday,” he said. He slumped in his seat as he didn’t look her in the eye.
“And to be honest with my trip to the moon, I don’t know how long I’ll be up there,” continued Kasane.
“Makes sense,” said Shiden. “Well, forget I said anything then.”
“I wasn’t done. Let me finish.” She touched the flower hairclip and thought back to Naomi and her crush on Yuito. Kasane knew exactly what her sister would say right now. “However when I return from the moon for a visit or for whatever reason, I wouldn’t mind trying this whole dating thing.”
“Huh?” Shiden stared at her wide-eyed.
“What? Did I say something weird?” Kasane thought back to their conversation but nothing about it felt out of place. She felt like she had answered him politely enough.
“No, not at all,” he stammered. “I just…I just wasn’t expecting that.” He cleared his throat and rubbed the back of his neck as his face turned into an alarming shade of red.
“Why not? I mean we get along well and I enjoy being around you Shiden.” She shrugged.
“Wait, did you just say yes out of pity?! If so then save it. I don’t want it.”
“Of course not.” He could be so prickly at times. She crossed her arms as she tried to put together her thoughts. “I do enjoy spending time with you and to be honest I’m not sure where my own feelings fall on that matter. I would usually ask my sister but…” She shook her head to clear those thoughts. “But I am willing to give it a try. Of course I will also say don’t wait for me if you end up finding someone else to like.”
“Of course I wouldn’t,” he retorted. He paused as if realizing what he said and groaned. “This is…you better not tell anyone in our platoon.”
Kasane chuckled. “Of course not, I’ll keep it to myself.” Although with how their platoon was, she assumed everyone would figure it out soon enough. She picked up the cup of coffee and gestured to the restaurant. “I’m a little hungry myself, want to go get some food?”
“Yeah, let’s.” Shiden scrambled to his feet, almost tripping over the chair in his wake.