Chapter 36.2

"Tadaima!" Asami said out loud as she entered her house and kicked her shoes off. She stretched before throwing her school bag away and entering the living room.

"You're late, Chibi," a voice said to her and Asami smiled.

Looking over, she saw a man with gray streaks in his hair sitting in the living room on a cushion with a backrest. The cushioned seat had no legs and was on the ground while the man's legs were hidden in a kotatsu and, despite relaxing and sipping on some tea, he looked beyond fatigued.

"Aww, but daddy, I was out having fun with a friend," Asami said in Japanese while skipping to hug her father.

"A friend, or a friend?" Mr. Chiba asked hesitantly while placing his tea on the table.

"... Uh … both…? We only did it once!" Asami said sheepishly and her father sighed while rolling his eyes.

"This is what? The seventeenth?" Chiba was a staunch traditionalist with only one child and he really wanted grandkids. However, he had accepted his daughter's sexuality long ago. But what he couldn't accept was that his daughter seemed to have too many girlfriends.

"Well, it's good that you're safe," Mr. Chiba said. Instead of berating her, he sighed with relief.

"What do you mean, Chichi?" Asami asked, confused at her father's concern.

"You didn't know?" Mr. Chiba was surprised before showing the news from a holo-screen on the kotatsu. It showed footage of the missile strike while covering live reports on the injured and the death toll.

"O ... m ... g" Asami raised a hand to her mouth. This was the second time a terror attack happened in less than a week and she recognized the place very well.

Alina! And Jason! Shit! Asami quickly texted Alina, asking her if she was okay but didn't receive a reply. Mr. Chiba, seeing her frantic typing frowned.

"Do you know something, Chibi?" Mr. Chiba asked, his voice stern.

"Hmm? Nope, no way. How - why would I know?" Asami said while laughing, her nervousness apparent.

"Well, since you say so …" Mr. Chiba shrugged before gesturing at an area behind Asami with sympathy. "You just need to convince your mother."

"Ha, that's funny, Chichi," Asami laughed even more nervously. "Haha is in Japan, she's not here."

"So there's no way I'm standing behind you, is that it?" a voice said from behind Asami and the latter froze before bullet-sized beads of sweat began dripping from her face.

Asami rolled sideways and bolted for the hallway when the sound of a blade being unsheathed came out from behind her. Asami quickly stopped and turned around while raising her hands in surrender.

Standing in the living room was a beautiful Japanese woman who looked like she was Asami's older sister, a Katana in her hand. Her long waist-length hair and kimono only accentuated her beauty, and her calm eyes made her appear like a quiet serene beauty.

"Oh, hi, Haha, I just remembered … that I …" Asami hesitated as she tried fibbing her way past her mother.

"Need to …" Mr. Chiba muttered.

"Needed to … uh …" Asami repeated without realizing.

"Laundry," Mr. Chiba whispered.

"Do the laundry," Asami repeated. "Wait, what?"

It took her several seconds to realize that she was being played by her dad and Asami looked at her mom with doe eyes, hoping for some mercy.

"Asami, sword training. Two hours," the beauty, her mother, said coldly.

"Noooo!" Asami screamed dramatically while her mother dragged her away.

"I'll burn some incense for you," Mr. Chiba muttered while clapping his hands together before sipping his tea. There was no way he'd go to save Asami at his expense; it was a lesson he learnt the hard way long ago.

***

Michelle emptied an entire clip from the gun she was shooting with. Her aim was impeccable as each shot hit the chest or head of the human-shaped shooting targets that were moving erratically.

"Not bad," Junco who was watching her nodded with admiration. "You're better than most AEM soldiers, forget the recruits."

"Vraiment?" Michelle was over the moon at receiving a compliment from Junco, the ace sniper that was ranked amongst the best in the entire AEM organization. "Merci Jeanne!"

Junco, whose real name was Jean, nodded with a smile as she watched Michelle secretly pump her fist. She then noticed that the latter wished to say something but was hesitating.

"What's wrong Michelle?" Junco asked. She had known Michelle for years, ever since she joined Raphael's team and the two were known to be good friends.

"Do you think mama will let me bénévole?" Michelle asked.

"Volunteer? For AEM?" Junco looked at Michelle with mild astonishment. "You want to apply for the extra credit? You don't need to worry about that till your third year in high."

"Non, is not that," Michelle shook her head. "I want to help people. Just like how mama and frère help."

Junco wasn't certain of what to say. She knew that both Watson and Raphael wouldn't approve of this, but she felt that pushing Michelle away would only draw her closer to AEM. Perhaps she would go searching for danger herself if she was refused, Michelle was stubborn enough to do that.

Just like him … Junco thought as her mind drifted to Raphael. Against their better judgment, she fell for him and he also fell for her. Regardless, military regulations were clear and, fortunately, neither of them acted on their impulses.

"How about this," Junco thought for a moment before suggesting slowly to Michelle. "I'll broach the topic to Raphael a few times, see if I can change his mind before you bring it up to anyone of them."

"Merci, Jeanne. Si anyone can change his mind, it's vous," Michelle said after a sigh of relief.

Upstairs, Raphael was in his office after his discussion with Watson. He tapped his fingers as his other hand slowly massaged his temple. He had this nagging feeling that he was forgetting something but he couldn't put it in words.

Ah, fuck it, Raphael thought as he booted his computer. I'll think about it after finishing my reports.

Going through his files, Raphael was about to start writing his most recent report when a previously open window popped up. On the file explorer, he saw a clip that was repeating itself in a loop on a small thumbnail. Dismissing it, Raphael was about to close the window when he caught something on the thumbnail. Immediately, he opened the video clip and played it again, stopping when he reached a certain frame.

Raphael stood up in shock as he recalled the little girl that followed behind Jason, cutely calling him daddy. He activated his comm and spoke to the operator in a hurried voice. "Get me Colonel Watson, ASAP. Tell her it's vital."

The video frame was frozen on when Jason unmasked Katelyn. The frame was zoomed in on Katelyn's features, which were strikingly similar to Alice.