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Admiral Kaizuka is rumored to be capable of teleportation. There are even talks of how he’s capable of using Aldnoah, and that’s how he’s able to immediately vanish upon the clock striking five.
Before, she used to think that such gossip is just because there’s way too many bored people who are also jealous of the Terran War Hero’s career and prowess. But upon getting assigned to work in the same office as him, she has seen that event with her own four eyes.
Admiral Kaizuka would be speaking to another officer at 16:59, but then he’d be out of the door at exactly 17:00:00.
“I heard it’s because his wife is very strict,” Aoi whispers to her during lunch one day.
The bright lights of the indoor cafeteria wash away the gloominess that comes from the heavy rainclouds outside. At peacetime, Deucalion is in the docks, and the Southern base feels more like a vacation spot rather than a military base. There’s palpable ease rippling across everyone’s faces, since the workload is more about logistics and administrative work, rather than actual combat.
She’s too young and immature at the time of the invasion of the landing castles, but it doesn’t take rigorous experience to know that it’s much more preferable to live in peacetime.
“What do you mean the Admiral has a wife,” she whispers back, scandalized.
“What’s the use of having four eyes if you’re this blind,” Shoko laments as she joins their conversation. Due to the rain, the cafeteria is full enough that their gossiping can continue without anyone especially listening in to them. “Have you never noticed the ring on his hand?”
Arima joins in, in-between his demolition of the pile of chicken wings on his plate. “What if he’s just wearing that ring to ward off his admirers?”
“I heard he’s been wearing that ring for ten years now,” Aoi adds, proving to be a wealth of questionable information.
“How many admirers could he have?” She’s even more scandalized now, at the thought of the stone-faced Admiral having to deal with actual admirers. “With that face of his?”
“Huh? Minami, didn’t you use to be one of his fans?” Aoi quirks an eyebrow at her. “Have you grown past the hero worship? I’m so proud of you.”
She rolls her eyes at her friend’s motion of wiping fake tears. “It’s because he’s almost like a celebrity. He’s the Hero of Earth, you know.” They’re roughly the same age, but the things she’s done at seventeen couldn’t even compare to the Admiral’s actions.
“Plus, he’s very handsome,” Arima adds dreamily, biting into another chicken wing.
Shoko playfully shoots down their friend’s dreams. “It’d be more believable if Admiral has a wife than to believe that you stand a chance, Arima.”
“I think it’s more believable that he’d scare off any potential wife,” she admits, shaking her head. “He could be quite… you know.”
All four occupants of their table share a simultaneous nod and sigh. Admiral Kaizuka is definitely an admirable, undeniable presence, but there’s certainly something… off, about him. There are barely any inflections on his voice, making him always sound like a robot reading off the ingredients list at the back of some food packaging. His single right eye also has the tendency to give off the feeling of him staring down into someone’s soul. There are rumors of him being a walking dictionary, a walking encyclopedia, a walking calculator and a walking lie detector.
Such an outstanding guy… It’s really difficult to think of a person who could match such a personality.
As if hearing the gossip and deciding to fan the flames, Admiral Kaizuka enters the cafeteria. If not for his naturally commanding presence—and the fact that the whole base has been briefed about him taking office here in the meantime—one would not be able to miss his entrance, no thanks to the bright orange furoshiki wrapping his bento.
The Admiral carries it with him like he has no idea that it’s such a bright beacon to his location. He queues up to get a mug of steaming tea, and occupies one of the two-seater tables flush against the window.
Arima’s eyes are glued to his idol. Shoko and Aoi don’t bother teasing him to snap him out of the spell, and instead take the opportunity to steal food from his plate. She focuses on his left hand—and sees a simple silver band on his ring finger.
She laments her blindness for a moment. How could she have missed it? There’s even a small stone at the middle, with such a beautiful shade of blue-green. It’s such a unique and lovely color for a gemstone. It looks like it would cost an arm and a leg and a kidney from her.
Admiral Kaizuka places his phone in the middle of the table, propping it up like he’s some livestreamer about to showcase his lunch. He then tucks in a pair of earphones to his ear, looking quite old-fashioned because he’s not using wireless versions. He unfurls the furoshiki with practiced movements, unveiling a bento box that’s even more glaringly orange.
Her eyes twitch at the offensively bright sight, but it doesn’t seem to deter Admiral Kaizuka at all.
In fact, his facial expression softens a lot, easing the deadpan quality to something that possesses a fond smile that radiates all the way to his eye. It’s certainly not an impression anyone should have, if the food they’re about to eat has eggs that are slightly burnt.
But the Admiral looks like he’s about to dine in a feast for kings, looking so blindingly happy that it hurts her eyes.
“…Tsk. Maybe he actually has managed to get a wife,” she mutters under her breath, dragging her eyes away from the Admiral who looks like he’s eating lunch together with his wife over a video call.
-
A couple of days later, she spots Admiral Kaizuka entertaining a few guests in the lounge.
She overhears from Aoi that those people are retired members from Deucalion, and Admiral Kaizuka’s old classmates. They look roughly the same age as each other, but none of them sports the same serious aura as the war hero. They all look lively enough, which is probably to balance Admiral Kaizuka’s dull facial expressions.
“—You should at least join the dinner party this year,” says a girl with short hair. She has hands on her hips, looking like she’s exasperated from lecturing the Admiral. “You’re definitely not busy!”
“…Mm, I’ll ask first.”
“Uwaaaa, you’re still acting so whipped!” This exclamation is the exact echo of Minami’s feelings as an eavesdropper. Short Hair frowns. “So it’s true, what Yuki-san said about you moving here…”
“It’s us two moving here.” When Admiral Kaizuka makes this correction, his eye sparkles, causing his friends to jeer at him for his sentimentality. “The change in environment should be good. It’s also nice to be near the sea.”
“You’re really doting,” sighs Blond Pigtails. “It’s nice seeing you like this, Inaho-kun.”
Tall Guy says, “I don’t think ‘nice’ is necessarily the right word…”
She would have loved to stay and eavesdrop some more, but she spots Arima walking her way, so she has to do some damage control and steer him away. After all, he might end up wailing if he overhears about his idol being such a doting husband.
-
And then of course, something decidedly unpeaceful happens.
It should have been a routine military exercise, but a Versian extremist has apparently managed to replace one of the newbies and sneak in to launch an indiscriminate surprise attack. Admiral Kaizuka manages to protect the newbies, but ends up having to be immediately sent to the medical bay.
As one of the members of the exercise, she’s also injured, but they’re thankfully mild. After completing her discharge procedures, she makes her way to find Aoi—who’s currently helping out at the bay for the more severe injuries.
That’s when she sees a sight so beautiful it stops her tracks.
Long blond hair tied up in a messy ponytail. A loose beige sweater that’s nearly hanging off… her? frame. A pair of dark sunglasses that are bulky enough to cover half of her(?) face, but aren’t enough to fully disguise how lovely her(?) eyes are. She(?) looks windswept and a bit unkempt, like she(?) didn’t even bother to look at what she(?) is wearing in her haste to go here.
And she(?) is beelining towards a certain ward, looking like a beautifully violent force.
“—Kaizuka Inaho, you stupid fucking idiot!”
…Oh, what a decidedly male voice.
“You complain a lot when I’m late to have lunch with you, but you have the nerve to be late today and get your ass injured!”
Minami slinks forward, approaching the ward for Admiral Kaizuka, shamelessly eavesdropping.
“I’m sorry I worried you,” Admiral Kaizuka sounds so much gentler than usual. “Don’t cry, Slaine.”
“I’m not worried about you and I’m not crying!” The beautiful blond’s voice sounds like it’s straining at the edges, seconds away from full-on sniffling. “I’m just annoyed!”
A hint of laughter. “You’re not worried, but you rushed here, wearing my clothes.”
Minami moves closer, sneaking in a peek.
This time, she’s not blind. She sees the ring on Admiral Kaizuka’s finger first. She spots the matching one on the teary-eyed blond, but the stone on his ring matches the color of Admiral Kaizuka’s eye.
Slaine—come to think of it, it’s quite the familiar name—sniffs as he slaps Admiral Kaizuka’s chest, right above the bandages. Admiral Kaizuka seems well enough to sit on a recline, and his stormy visitor is seated close enough that there’s no such thing as personal space.
…Especially since the Admiral leans in and reaches out to touch the tips of the messy blond hair. “You even forgot to take an umbrella.”
Slaine clicks his tongue but doesn’t move away. “I’m not like you, who likes pretending to be a wet puppy.”
“Making use of useful strategies is the key to winning.”
“Being stupid and shameless, you mean.”
“You’re very cute when you’re being impolite with me.”
“I’m seconds away from strangling you, see how polite I could be.”
Admiral Kaizuka moves his hand so he’s cupping Slaine’s cheek. “Don’t cry, Slaine. This is just a minor injury. I’ll go home with you, and I’ll still be able to sleep with you tonight.”
Minami shrieks, utterly scandalized.
Thankfully, Slaine’s loud hissing and cursing overshadows her sounds. “As if I care about that!”
“I wouldn’t leave you alone,” Admiral Kaizuka continues, completely unmoved by his partner’s protests. “I’ll never leave you alone, Slaine.”
“Don’t sound so proud of being a clingy nuisance.” Slaine turns his head a bit, cheeks pink with embarrassment. But he doesn’t shove the hand on his face away. “Anyway, I’m just here because I want to see what kind of scum is capable of catching you off-guard, that’s all.”
A brief pause.
“…Slaine, you look so beautiful when you’re angry for my sake.”
“Are you actually getting hard at this situation—you idiot! Have some shame! I’m angry AT YOU, damn it!”
Another pause.
Admiral Kaizuka blinks and admits, “The attacker yelled something about avenging Slaine Saazbaum Troyard, so I got distracted.”
“You—! You’re an idiot! An insufferable idiot!”
“That’s just how much I like you, Slaine.”
“Shut up! I’m not doing it with you here!”
“This place has a lot of useful medical supplies, and the bed could withstand—”
“—I’m not doing it with you at all, stupid Inaho!”
While the two continue their violent flirting, Minami could only slink down against the wall, eyes blank as she stares into nothingness.
…Slaine Saazbaum Troyard…
That couldn’t be it, right…?
Admiral Kaizuka couldn’t be so ridiculous, right…?
She feels like she has suddenly received a serious injury to her psyche. The last coherent thought she has before passing out from information overload is that… wow, she cannot believe that since Admiral Kaizuka is apparently gay, Arima theoretically has a better chance of being with him than him having an actual wife.
-
end