The First True Coupling
Luna, Yuzuki, and I were all hospitalized for a full week. Fortunately, both of us recovered quickly. Once the doctors determined we were stable enough, our discharge was handled without delay.
When we finally returned home after so long, I found Yuzuki sitting at the dining table with a piece of bread clenched between her teeth, fiddling with her phone. I sat down across from her and took a bite of my own bread. That was when Father suddenly spoke up.
It came completely out of nowhere. Still, I couldn't complain. Riding the train everywhere had been exhausting.
"Is that really okay?"
"We don't know what might happen next. Having the freedom to move around on your own terms would be best..." Father's gaze shifted between the two of us. His voice faltered for a moment. "And from now on, try to stay together as much as possible. Protect Yuzuki. You're her older brother, after all."
"Of course."
At my answer, Yuzuki lifted her head and looked at me. Her eyes wavered slightly before she pursed her lips in a pout.
"...What the heck? Now I just feel like a little kid."
Then, as if something had suddenly occurred to her, she tilted her head.
"But... do you even have a license, oppa? You've never shown any interest in driving before."
I slowly brushed the crumbs off my bread.
"Well, I can just get one."
In truth, I used to drive all the time. It was just that Yuto Nakamura didn't have a license. When I answered so casually, Yuzuki stared at me for a moment before the corners of her mouth curved upward.
"Then getting to the academy will be a lot easier now. You'll be my personal chauffeur every morning."
That shameless little smile made me chuckle despite myself.
"Just say the word. I'll drive you anywhere, not just the academy."
"What's with that tone...? It's suspicious."
"Suspicious? How? Your big brother is just offering to drive his cute little sister around."
"No... that's exactly why it's suspicious... You're not thinking anything weird, are you...?"
"What kind of weird thoughts?"
"Well..."
The girl actually speaking had turned strangely red. Her eyes darted around and her lips trembled. I was wondering whether I should tease her a little more when Yuzuki suddenly shot up from her seat in a panic.
"Never mind! Let's just go already. We're going to be late for the academy!"
Without waiting for a reply, she practically fled toward the entrance. As she pulled out her shoes and slipped them on, I could clearly see that the tips of her ears had turned bright crimson.
2. Returning to the academy after so long, the place was predictably buzzing about the incident. It felt like the first day of school all over again—every eye in the building was on us. The entire country had already been thrown into shock by what happened. So when the brother and sister who had barely survived that catastrophe showed up for class, it was impossible not to draw attention.
The moment I stepped through the classroom door, every gaze snapped toward us. Students began approaching one by one, their voices hushed.
"...Are you two really okay? I heard you were badly hurt..."
"That day... it must have been terrifying, right?"
Their careful, hesitant questions. I nodded and gave appropriately vague answers. Yuzuki stood beside me, forcing a calm expression, but having everyone's concern and pity dumped on us at once felt strangely exhausting.
Eventually, Yuzuki flashed a gentle smile and spoke in the refined, ladylike tone she had cultivated at school.
"I'm fine. Thank you for worrying about us. We're completely healed now, so please don't concern yourselves too much."
When the girls still lingered with relieved but uncertain expressions, Yuzuki continued.
"Come on, everyone. Let's return to our seats. The instructor will be here soon."
"Right. If anything feels difficult..."
"Ugh... I said I'm fine."
Yuzuki gently herded the cluster of girls back to their desks one by one before finally making her way to her own seat. I sat beside her and let out a quiet sigh. I'd expected this, but it was still awkward.
"This is draining."
It felt like every last drop of energy had been sucked from my bones. As I spoke, still feeling the girls' furtive glances, Yuzuki gave a soft, faint smile.
"...Well, they're all good kids at heart."
After all, if even Luna had been considered the biggest villain here, that said everything. Her personality was unpredictable, but from an ordinary perspective, she still maintained some boundaries.
While we were exchanging these slightly clumsy words, the classroom door opened. It was Instructor Kyoko. She entered with her usual indifferent expression, glanced briefly at Yuzuki and me, and gave a small nod. Then she stepped up to the lectern and spoke in a crisp voice.
A quiet tension settled over the classroom the moment she finished. No one complained or whined. Everyone understood the gravity of the situation.
Instructor Kyoko swept her gaze across the room once more before adding in the same calm tone:
"With that in mind, we'll begin Dracore practice immediately. Everyone prepare and head to the simulation combat arena."
It was the same mock battlefield where I had once watched Iori and Haruka fight alongside Luna. I took a light breath and stood up. The girls around me began gathering their bags as well.
Once again, all the female students changed first before I was left alone in the locker room to slip into my pilot suit. After finishing preparations, we headed to the simulation combat arena where Instructor Kyoko was already waiting with every hangar bay open.
I glanced inside and saw a Dracore kneeling on one knee. As if to prove it was a bio-mechanical weapon, numerous thin tubes and cables extended from the gaps in its sleek outer armor. Like IV lines plugged into a patient, those lines connected the Dracore to something else, and the slowly blinking indicator lamps flickered in sequence.
Instructor Kyoko scanned the students briefly before speaking in a composed voice.
"Each of you, proceed with your designated partner and wait in front of the assigned Dracore."
Naturally, my partner was Yuzuki. Since I still knew almost nothing about boarding a Dracore, I had to follow her lead completely. When Yuzuki started walking, I followed slowly behind her.
The unit waiting in our designated section was the same Dracore I'd seen earlier. Even though it was only for training, seeing the real thing up close made me swallow involuntarily. It was completely different in both size and atmosphere from the one we'd used for the coupling test at Father's lab. That earlier machine had been nothing more than a test unit, but this one felt like a living, colossal creature.
Standing over ten meters tall, its humanoid form loomed as high as a building. Its sleek armor rose and fell slowly, as if breathing, while a strangely moist mechanical hum leaked from within. Facing its overwhelming presence, the realization that this was no ordinary weapon sent a chill down my spine.
"You were so confident back at the hospital, but now that you're seeing it in person, you're nervous?"
I turned at the sound of Yuzuki's voice. She stood with her arms crossed, watching my expression as I stared at the Dracore. I couldn't hide my smile as I shook my head.
"No, it's not nervousness... Honestly, I'm just excited. I finally get to pilot one for real."
It wasn't fear. Rather, the thought of controlling this thing myself set my mind on fire. It was pure, raw anticipation rising from the very bottom of my heart.
Yuzuki narrowed her eyes at my answer. She let out a small sigh and frowned slightly.
"Wow... that's actually kind of creepy. A grown man getting this excited like a little kid?"
I let out a small laugh. Girls wouldn't understand. Men stay kids no matter how old they get. Especially when it comes to piloting something as massive as a Dracore—even if it wasn't purely mechanical.
After making a face of mild disgust, Yuzuki operated a terminal. The lift installed in the hangar floor began to move.
"Anyway, let's get up there. Come on. Step onto the lift so I can activate it."
The moment I placed my feet on the platform, a gentle vibration traveled from my toes up through my calves. As the lift rose slowly, our view left the hangar floor and climbed to the height of the Dracore's chest. When it finally stopped, the Dracore's cockpit opened as if it had been waiting, releasing a cold, damp current from within.
The air carried a mingled scent of metal and organic matter. The interior was lined with soft, moist membranes that pulsed like living flesh, reflecting light in rippling waves. Yuzuki stepped inside first, moving with familiar ease. I took a short breath and followed, placing one foot after the other. The air inside clung to me, as if slowly swallowing my body heat.
Once inside, Yuzuki immediately opened an interior panel with practiced hands. She pressed her palm against a transparent membrane-like interface, and a faint light spread across its surface.
"Normally, you'd learn the controls and settings from the beginning of the semester," Yuzuki said, glancing at me after a short breath. "But since you joined midway... I'll set it to my preferred configuration for now. Let me know if it's uncomfortable later."
"...Sure, I'd appreciate that."
I nodded and sat in the rear seat behind Yuzuki. At that exact moment, her fingers froze. I noticed her shoulders twitch ever so slightly. An oddly unfamiliar tension settled between us.
Yuzuki remained still for a moment as if time had stopped, then took a determined breath and resumed her work. Soon, a mechanical sound echoed from above as the control yoke slowly descended and settled against her spine. Her back trembled slightly at the sensation, and she spoke to me in a low voice.
"...I'm ready. Grab on."
I nodded and reached for her control yoke. The moment my hands rested on it, a gentle electric current seeped into my fingertips. At the same time, Yuzuki's shoulders shuddered violently. Her lips parted slightly, and a suppressed moan escaped like a sigh.
The initial stage of coupling had begun.
As I gradually raised the synchronization rate, Yuzuki's body began to tremble uncontrollably. Her back arched slowly against the seat as tension flooded through her. Her fingers, resting on the interface beside the seat, twitched in tiny spasms, and thin, broken breaths slipped from her lips.
"Hngh... Th-this feels weird... It's stronger than last time..."
A silent heat spread from the nape of her neck down her spine. The sensation of connecting to each other. Our senses were mixing far more deeply than before.
I looked up at Yuzuki. She kept her fingertips pressed against the interface, taking long, steady breaths. Her faintly trembling shoulders were clearly visible.
"Hngh..."
Her short moan rang far too close to my ear. I caught a glimpse of her thighs quietly clenching together. The air inside the cockpit grew subtly warmer, carrying her faint body heat as it crept up to my neck.
"...Yuzuki?"
When I called her name carefully, Yuzuki squeezed her eyes shut. A trembling voice spilled out a beat later.
"D-don't... talk to me... Ngh... It makes me feel it even more..."
Her body, which had been trying to hold its breath, shook hard. A sharp, electric tension raced down her back and traveled straight to my hands gripping the yoke.
Finally, as I watched her hang her head and pant heavily, I swallowed. The subtle dampness forming between her thighs refused to leave my vision. Every time she drew a breath, I couldn't even tell if it was sweat or something else.
Just as I hesitated over what to say, her breathing grew even rougher.
"Take your hands off the yoke for a second... and close your eyes... Please..."
"...What?"
"I'm begging you... Hurry..."
It was a genuine plea. I withdrew my hands and closed my eyes. The moment my vision disappeared, every other sense became vividly alive. Yuzuki's heartbeat, her breath, her embarrassment—they all pressed against my skin. In that state, for some reason, Yuzuki stood up from the cockpit seat, panting. I was curious what she was doing, but with my eyes closed, I couldn't know. The only thing my hearing told me was that her breathing showed no sign of calming down.
"...Yuzuki?"
"Don't open your eyes... Not until I say so... If you open them... I really will kill you."
"......"
She meant it. So I didn't dare open my eyes and simply waited. How long had it been? Just as I was wondering when I could open them, another voice cut in between us.
"No... We're fine."
It was Yuzuki who answered. "There was just... a small issue... but I've taken care of it. We'll resume now."
I felt her settle back into the pilot seat. I had no idea what she'd done in that short time, but her voice sounded much steadier as she spoke.
"You can open your eyes now. Sorry for making you wait. Let's continue."
"Alright."
I finally opened my eyes and looked at Yuzuki. She had returned to her usual seated posture in the cockpit, but there was no hiding how flushed her neck had become. For some reason, it made my own face grow hot. I reached for her control yoke once more.
"Hngh..."
Yuzuki's short moan tickled my ears again. This time, however, the trembling was suppressed, replaced by a calm composure. When the coupling finally connected completely, the interior interface glowed softly. Our senses overlapped once more.
I wasn't sure why, but while the previous attempt had been turbulent, this time it felt as if we were sinking together beneath cool, still waters.
At that moment, Yuzuki let out a long breath and whispered in a low voice.
"...Go ahead and move. I'll support you."
I nodded. In the air thick with tension and a strange feverish heat, I began the Dracore's first true movement.