Just after Kentaro slipped into his bedroom, where Yura waited, Serica and Aria exchanged glances. They had been pretending to work for a while now, and poorly at that. Serica hadn't been washing dishes for the last five minutes; she was just running her hands under the water to sell the illusion. Aria had long finished vacuuming but kept dragging the nozzle pointlessly across the same spot like a soldier waiting for a signal.

Because they both knew.

Yura had been off all day. Not enough for Kentaro to panic, but enough for anyone paying attention, quieter, fidgetier, more distant than the Yura they knew. Even Aria, who hadn't known her as long, could tell something wasn't right.

And if Kentaro was going to talk to her? Then Serica and Aria were going to make sure she came out of it better.

The apartment was dead silent, their hearts racing as they finally dropped the façade and looked at each other. Aria squeezed the vacuum handle tighter. Serica nodded. Aria nodded back.

"Let's make them feel better," they whispered in unison, before ducking into the spare bathroom.

When they came back out, the transformation was complete. Both of them walked with the kind of exaggerated confidence you only get from raw chaos energy. Their plan wasn't subtle, but it didn't need to be.

They stationed themselves outside Kentaro's room, ears pressed to the door like kids listening in on a forbidden secret.

"Ohhh, I want to know too," Serica whispered, eyes gleaming as Yura's muffled voice talked about Tokyo.

"I bet it's got something to do with that anchor thing on the side of his head," Aria whispered back, her cheeks heating.

After listening for a while, they both jumped slightly at the sound of footsteps coming toward the door. Their talk was over, and it was time to get into their positions.

"QUICK, ARIA, INTO POSITION!" Serica hissed.

Aria scrambled, throwing her hands above her head, chest pushed forward, face beet red. Serica bent forward with one hand on her knee, winking like a veteran seductress.

The door creaked open.

Kentaro stopped dead.

Two drop-dead gorgeous women stood there in barely-there nurse uniforms, every line of fabric cut to make sure nothing was left to the imagination. Serica's breasts practically bounced in his face as she winked; Aria's arms were raised, the motion pushing her chest up and together as if gravity itself was conspiring against Kentaro's sanity.

His mouth went dry. "Wha-"

"We're here to make sure you and Yura are okay, Master!" They said in perfect unison, their tones dripping with mock professionalism but their bodies screaming anything but.

Kentaro's brain fried instantly. "W-WHAT IS THIS?!" he stammered, eyes darting from cleavage to thighs to the smirk on Serica's lips.

Yura, behind him, turned scarlet. "HOW-HOW SHAMELESS!" She tried to shout, but her words died in her throat as the girls pounced.

In an instant, Serica and Aria grabbed her by the arms and laid her down on the couch, ignoring her sputtered protests. A cold towel pressed to her forehead. A mask slid across her face. And then Aria, blushing furiously but determined, started rubbing Yura's feet with a skill that felt like she'd trained for it.

Yura blinked, stunned at the sudden pampering, but the tension in her shoulders melted as her toes curled in relief. Aria looked up and whispered, "We saw you were feeling off today, Yura… So, we wanted to make you feel better."

Serica smirked, dabbing the towel across her forehead. "Be grateful. If you get too sick or sad to cook, who's going to feed us?"

Kentaro, standing off to the side, scratched his head and chuckled dryly. "So that's the motive, huh."

But Yura smiled, her heart warmed despite the absurdity. "Thank you, both of you. It really… Means a lot."

The pampering didn't stop until she was glowing. Then, ignoring her protests, Serica princess carried her all the way to bed, tucking her in with surprising gentleness. Aria lingered by Kentaro's side, giggling.

"Hehehe… Guess Serica's good at that."

Kentaro chuckled. "Yeah, though you'd need a girl like Yura to make it work. Still… Guess it worked out."

But the laughter faded as Serica returned from putting Yura to sleep. The air shifted. Kentaro realised far too late that the girl's attention had turned to him.

He held up his hands nervously. "Come on, girls, no need for m-"

"WOAH!"

Before he could even finish, Serica scooped him up like he weighed nothing and slammed him gently onto the couch. Kentaro's body jolted as something soft pressed against his feet. He looked down. Aria was straddling his calves, her breasts squishing against him as her hands massaged up his legs. Her face burned crimson, but her movements were skilled, confident, almost too good.

Kentaro's head rolled back. Holy crap, she's good at this.

Then came Serica. Trying to reach his shoulders while he was lying down meant leaning over him, her chest dangling right over his face, bouncing dangerously close every time she shifted her grip. Kentaro's eyes widened, his shrieks muffled by two very real, very heavy distractions slapping against him like pinballs.

He couldn't take it. His body twitched with overstimulation, his breath ragged. "H-HOLY!"

CREEK.

The front door opened.

Tenka stepped inside from HQ, exhausted but alert until her eyes landed on the scene.

Kentaro sprawled on the couch, flushed and sweaty, his pants askew. Serica practically on top of him, out of breath. Aria was kneeling at his legs, hands dangerously high up his thighs, her face beet red. And all of them dressed in shamelessly skimpy nurse uniforms.

Her jaw dropped. Her face ignited in anime-like speed.

"WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?!" She screamed at the top of her lungs.

"IT'S NOT WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE!!!" The three of them shouted back in perfect, panicked unison.

*

The room was dark as Kira and her group stepped inside with Akio at the lead. The air smelled faintly metallic, heavy like blood that had long dried. Their footsteps echoed across the chamber, bouncing off the unseen walls in an eerie rhythm. For a moment, it didn't even feel like a training facility; it felt like a tomb.

Akio, however, chuckled. A quiet, smug sound that echoed louder than it should have in the silence.

"My, it's been a while since I've set foot in one of these facilities," she said casually, as if the oppressive air didn't reach her.

Kira glanced at her, narrowing her eyes. When was the last time she even trained? The way Akio carried herself, the arrogance behind her words, it almost felt like she didn't need to.

"U-um, Supreme Commander…" A voice piped up from behind Kira. Milly. Her voice was timid but curious. "Do you… Not train?"

Akio turned slowly, her piercing eyes locking on Milly. A smirk crept across her lips.

"Don't be silly. Of course I do. We all have to. Whether you're a rookie or someone carrying power, training is necessary. In a sense," she turned her gaze back toward the darkness of the room, "we're all the same in that respect."

Milly blinked, then smiled brightly, standing straighter.

"I'll make sure to give it my all, ma'am!" She declared, snapping into a salute.

Akio gave a small nod.

Suddenly, a low hum reverberated through the walls, followed by the crackling rush of electricity. A moment later, light blazed into the chamber.

The training hall revealed itself.

The space was massive, an arena-like chamber with a wide white floor and walls of sterile steel. The group stood high on a ledge that wrapped around the entire facility, giving them a commanding view of the room below. The floors gleamed metallic grey under the harsh lights, almost like the lab of an experiment… Which, in many ways, it was. Fighters came here to hone their techniques, to test themselves.

And now Kira and her squad were here for something surreal: a spar against Akio, the strongest fighter Cradle had ever seen.

Kira's chest tightened. Even if this was just "practice," it was like standing at the edge of a storm.

A light touch on her shoulder pulled her from her thoughts. Milly. She grinned ear to ear, almost bouncing in place.

"Are you ready?" She asked, like a kid about to unwrap a long-awaited present.

Kira found herself smiling despite the tension. "Yeah. Definitely."

Commander Isak clapped his hands, his tone brisk though his nerves showed in the faint sweat on his brow.

"Right. Miss Akio, if you don't mind, I'd like a moment to speak with my squad while you get ready?"

Akio's smirk carried absolute confidence. "Of course. Don't take too long, Commander Isak."

And just before she left, she turned back with a smile, "I'll tell you what, whoever wins or even gets close to winning, I'll allow you to personally join the inner circle, heheh", she said, letting out a chuckle of confidence.

And with that, she leapt.

The squad gasped in unison as she dropped forty, maybe fifty feet, without hesitation, without any A.A.S to cushion her fall. She landed silently, as if gravity itself bent around her, and walked to the opposite side of the room with a casual grace that sent a chill through Kira's spine.

"Yo... Imagine that, the life you could live being next to Akio all day!" Aruther shouted, his eyes practically had stars in them as he watched Akio walk to the other side and begin her stretching.

"Yeah, if we even get that close," Kira said in a doubtful tone.

Aruther smiled, giving her a thumbs up. "Dream big, Sis!" He shouted, but Kira ignored his enthusiasm.

Isak's squad busied themselves. Each soldier activated their A.A.S. armour, plates whirring into place, energy fields flickering alive. They were permitted their longswords, but no firearms, for safety. Not for Akio's safety. For theirs.

Isak rubbed his brow, exhaling sharply before turning on his squad with fiery eyes.

"Listen up, dumbasses! Savour this moment. Learn from it. Every move she makes, big or small, watch it, memorise it, burn it into your brains. Understood?"

"YESSIR!" the squad barked, snapping salutes.

Isak chuckled under his breath. "You lot are lucky. I can't even remember how many of your kind ever got the chance to spar with the Supreme Commander. Enjoy it. Don't push too hard. And above all, no showing off." His sharp gaze landed on one particular soldier. "That means you, Arthur."

Arthur flicked his perfectly kept hair with exaggerated flair, striking a pose like some protagonist from a romance novel.

"Tch. Commander, I plan to make the hot Supreme Commander fall for me, not with my sword, but with my words."

"Gross," Milly muttered. Several others echoed her in disgust.

Isak pinched the bridge of his nose with a long, suffering sigh. He knew Arthur wouldn't listen. And worse, Akio was finishing her stretches. Time was up.

"Fine. Since pretty boy here thinks he's so damn clever, he can go first."

Arthur puffed his chest, striding dramatically toward the ledge. "Very well. I shall do my best."

He vaulted the railing and dropped down into the arena with a flourish, his longsword gleaming in the sterile light.

Milly leaned toward Kira, smirking. "Think he'll last a minute?"

Kira tilted her head, lips twitching sideways.

They both giggled.

And so the first mock battle began.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.