Chapter 81: Late-Summer Sea, Training, and... (6)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 81: Late-Summer Sea, Training, and... (6)
The peaceful interlude between the two factions—who usually held weapons to each other's throats, restrained from killing only by established rules—was never meant to last long. Yet, they made the absolute most of that single afternoon of tranquility.
Perhaps they hadn't intended to enjoy themselves from the start, but seeing them lose themselves in the moment made me realize that peace can sometimes arrive with surprising ease.
When the sun set and it was time to part, there was no need for formal goodbyes. It was simply a matter of the peaceful window closing and everyone returning to their usual hostile roles. Returning to normalcy wasn't the exception; the brief period where they could enjoy peace was the anomaly. Knowing that assigning meaning to that fleeting specialness wouldn't change anything, neither side lingered or showed regret.
"They're gone."
"So they are."
"You worked hard today, staying quiet all day."
Since I had to referee every match, I couldn't open my mouth even when people protested my calls. It was quite stifling, but regardless of my own frustration, seeing the members of Hunter Killer having such a good time made me feel better. Out of the precious three days and two nights they had been looking forward to, I wondered if the day spent with us felt special to them.
"We ended up losing the final score, didn't we? If you were going to lose the duel, you could have at least won here."
We had lost by a hair's breadth. When I made the joke—one I really didn't need to make—Luche smacked me on the back with her palm.
Slap! A sting spread across my back, but seeing the smile on Luche's face, I knew she wasn't actually upset.
"Did you have fun?"
"Yeah. It was fun."
The time spent playing with Hunter Killer, whom she usually faced in combat, seemed to be a uniquely pleasant experience for Luche, even though she was the one leading our team in a head-to-head confrontation against them.
"I hope an opportunity like this comes again."
"I doubt it will."
It was phrased as a question, but Luche's tone carried the conviction that such a time would never return. Yet, the fact that she asked despite that conviction made me wonder if, somewhere deep down, she wished she could keep enjoying moments like these.
"You never know. Let's go get some food."
"Let's."
Watching my colleagues head back to the lodgings with their gear, I walked alongside Luche toward the pension. Not much time remained of the first day—the only day we could truly play during this trip—and we had to prepare for tomorrow's training.
*
Back inside the pension, the members of Hunter Killer stretched to work out the fatigue from their active day.
"Time for dinner, right?"
Excited at the prospect of cooking, Blue asked the group. It had already been decided during the planning phase that Blue would handle the meals. The other members started to push themselves up from the sofa to see if there was anything to help with, but Blue waved them down.
"It's okay. You guys just rest."
While doing things together was fun, there would be plenty of time for that later. For now, Blue wanted to present the members with a meal she had prepared with her own hands. Her confidence had been bolstered by A's constant praise. Rolling up her sleeves, she headed for the kitchen, while the members on the sofa watched her go.
"She's a total mom."
"Total mom," Pink agreed with Red's mutter.
Yellow, watching the two of them stare blankly at Blue's retreating back, stood up from the sofa and followed her into the kitchen. Just as Blue was about to take out the utensils and prep the ingredients, she locked eyes with the approaching Yellow.
"What's up?"
"I thought I'd see if there's anything to help with."
"I told you, it's fine."
Blue smiled, touched that the usually clumsy Yellow had come to help. She placed a cutting board on the counter and pulled out a knife.
"Do you know how to chop onions?"
"Don't you just peel them and slice?"
"Right. Chop some onions for me, then. I'll handle the rest."
At Blue's direction, Yellow pulled the onions out of the bag and began peeling them at the sink. Having given Yellow a task, Blue started on the other preparations.
As she peeled, Yellow replayed the day's events in her head.
Because she had been at odds with the group and unable to express herself properly, she had wanted to create a situation where the members could play with a light heart today. After all, they had allowed her to come on a trip where they could have easily left her behind.
Then they had run into Spacetro, and she had given her all in every match to ensure the members could enjoy themselves. The peak of the vacation had arrived sooner than expected, and she felt a lingering regret, wondering if she could have had even more fun with them.
"What are you thinking about?"
Blue stepped up beside her, noticing her hands had stopped moving mid-peel. Blue was the one who looked at Yellow with the gentlest eyes in the group, and Yellow knew it. That was why there were things she could only say to her.
The old Yellow might have had the thought but failed to voice it, or caused a misunderstanding in the process, but she was different now. She had made a friend, and through that friend, she had realized that if you miss an opportunity, it's hard to get another chance.
"Just this and that. Wondering if I really belong here."
Yellow still had one piece of emotional homework left. She wanted to resolve the way she had acted and spoken toward the members in the past. It's impossible to recover water spilled from a broken jar, but it is possible to plug the leak and fill it with fresh water.
What Yellow wanted wasn't necessarily forgiveness. Even if she was met with insults, she wanted to convey her sincerity and apologize properly.
"Is what happened with Green still weighing on you?"
Having been present for the recent incident, Blue understood Yellow's dilemma immediately. In the past, Blue might have been late to hear about things and remained ignorant of the group's shifting dynamics, but she now had the emotional bandwidth to truly observe her teammates.
"Yeah."
"Why don't you just apologize exactly as you feel?"
"Will that be enough?"
She wasn't sure. For Yellow, "resolution" had never been a direction she took after a conflict. Usually, the friction would continue until the relationship broke or just fizzled out into an awkward limbo. Because of that, she felt an apology needed to be something special, containing a very specific and undeniable sincerity.
"Yes. That's all it takes."
Blue knew. She knew that the colleagues she had worked with for years were good people. She had never doubted that for a single moment. She also knew better than anyone that Yellow was simply someone who was honest with her feelings but clumsy at expressing them.
Hearing Blue's words, Yellow looked over at the members watching TV on the sofa. Except for Red, who had gone to wash up, Pink and Green were basking in the draft of the air conditioner.
"Go on."
Blue placed a palm on Yellow's back, giving her a gentle push as she hesitated. Despite her soft voice and being much smaller than Yellow, Blue felt like the largest presence in the group.
"Okay."
Walking toward the living room, Yellow kept her eyes fixed on Green. She decided to trust the moment she had reconciled with A and Blue's advice. Instead of letting her mistakes slide in this vaguely improved atmosphere, she would apologize clearly and start over properly.
Meanwhile, Green, seeing Yellow return to the living room, shifted over to make space, assuming she was coming to sit down. However, Yellow didn't sit. She stood tall right in front of them. Pink, who was watching TV alongside Green, also turned her gaze toward Yellow.
"?"
Seeing Green tilt her head in confusion, Yellow braced herself to speak. She thought she had prepared her heart during the walk over, but now that it was time to actually say the words, she felt like she couldn't breathe.
I was nervous when I apologized to A, but not this much.
Realizing she shouldn't let the silence stretch any longer, Yellow finally opened her mouth.
"…I'm sorry about before. I was too harsh with my words."
That single, clumsy sentence carried a mountain of emotion and meaning. Green caught it instantly and, after a moment of surprise, broke into a smile. It was actually Pink whose eyes went wide with shock. Having been at odds with Yellow the longest, Pink had never imagined Yellow would offer such a sincere apology.
"I told you, I'm fine. Have you been worrying about that this whole time?"
"I felt like I hadn't apologized properly."
"It's really okay. I know you only said those things because you were worried about me."
"Still, it's a fact that I was out of line."
"Then shall we consider that matter settled?"
Yellow looked at Green with a look that asked, Is it really that easy? and Green nodded. Yellow realized that the actual process of apologizing was much simpler than she had imagined. However, the road to reaching that simple process had been arduous.
An incident occurs, you take time to think, and you organize your heart.
Then comes the moment where you must choose: to apologize or not. Only when you choose to apologize does the simple resolution follow.
Everyone goes through cycles of conflict and reconciliation. But Yellow was feeling, even more than she had with A, how a single act of apology could change everything.
Then, Yellow turned her gaze toward Pink.
Pink, still stunned by the unexpected scene she'd just witnessed, avoided Yellow's eyes as she felt them land on her.
"I'm sorry for everything until now."
The apology for all her past friction with Pink was even more blunt. No doubt the weight of their history made it harder to find the right words.
Faced with Yellow's uncharacteristic display of vulnerability, Pink couldn't meet her eyes.
"Fine. I'm sorry too."
"I still don't think I can change my personality, though."
"I'm not asking you to."
Pink still disliked Yellow. But the more she listened to the other members, the more she realized the Yellow she knew was different from the Yellow everyone else knew. She began to wonder if she had been viewing Yellow through a fixed, narrow lens. Relationships can certainly improve. However, Pink wasn't the type to suddenly become affectionate with someone she disliked, and given how long they had been on bad terms, she didn't expect things to change overnight.
An awkward silence settled over the living room. Just as Blue was about to smile and say something to break it, the bathroom door swung open.
"Why isn't anyone coming in?!"
Red's voice drew everyone's attention. Standing there dripping wet without a stitch of clothing on, she looked genuinely slighted that no one had joined her in the shower.
To be precise, she had overheard the conversation in the living room from inside the bathroom and had shouted loudly, pretending to be upset, just to shift the atmosphere.
"What? You wanted to wash together?"
Sensing Red's intention, Pink was the first to stand up. she unknotted the towel wrapped around her, revealing the swimsuit underneath.
"Yellow, you come too."
"Uh… what? Me too?!"
Red grabbed the arm of the uncharacteristically flustered Yellow and yanked her toward the bathroom. Seeing Green standing there unsure of what to say in the sudden chaos, Pink reached out and undid the towel wrapped around her as well.
"Green, you're coming too."
"Huh? Isn't that too many people?"
Green worried it might be too cramped for four people at once, but Red's voice echoed from inside.
"It's fine! The bathroom is huge, we can all fit!"
Pushed by Pink, Green was forced into the bathroom without a chance to resist. Inside, Yellow had already been stripped of her swimsuit by Red's hands. Just as Red said, the bathroom was spacious enough to hold all of them with room to spare. Pink, having shoved Green inside, poked her head back out into the living room.
"Blue, aren't you coming?"
"Me too?"
Blue, who had paused her prep work to watch the living room, smiled at the invitation and pulled off the T-shirt she was wearing over her swimsuit.
"All right."
As Pink followed the others in and Blue entered last, the door clicked shut. The sound of the shower running was soon joined by the boisterous voices of five women echoing from the bathroom.
It was a sudden, somewhat random group shower, but none of them felt any aversion to it.
The members of Team Hunter Killer were finally beginning to close the long-standing gaps between them—not just as individuals, but as a whole.
"Whoa, your boobs are huge!"
Red's voice, seeing Pink's bare chest for the first time after only ever seeing her in underwear, rang out the loudest of all.