“Out of all the reckless, ill-conceived stunts—you chose to steer a Flying Raptor toward the extraction zone?” Professor Hisame’s voice cracks like a whip as she strides back and forth across the transport ship. “Tch. I swear, you four have the survival instincts of scrap metal. You risked your classmates’ lives—and your own—for a flashy finish!?”

  Her metal heels strike the floor in sharp, rhythmic clicks as she pinches the bridge of her nose. The rest of us kneel in a row before her, heads bowed.

  “Please don’t blame Tama and Rika for this, Professor,” Maika says quickly. She’s still without her legs, kneeling with her head pressed to the deck. “It was my team that failed to complete the mission in time. I take full responsibility for everything that happened today.”

  “Maika, don’t—” Aro starts, reaching for her shoulder.

  “No, Ari!” Maika snaps. “I got desperate. I thought if we could take out that Bipedal Wolf Eidolon it would lead us to the data crystal, but we failed. My legs broke, and Rika’s team had to come in and save us.”

  I keep silent. Beside me, Tama rocks lightly on her knees, humming a soft, cheerful tune—like none of this is bothering her.

  Hisame’s gaze swings toward me. “Is what she says true—that you stepped in to save them even after already completing your mission?”

  My throat tightens. It’s true, but saying it feels like selling them out to save myself. Still, I have no choice.

  “Yes,” I whisper. “Everything she said is true.”

  Hisame exhales through her nose, a low, growling sigh. Then she looks away. “Fine. Tama, Rika—you won’t be punished for your actions today. After all, you did risk your lives to save your classmates.”

  She turns toward the cockpit. “As for you, Ari, Maika—we’ll discuss your punishment later.”

  With that, the professor leaves. The tension seems to lift with her departure, and we rise from our kneeling positions. Well—everyone except Maika.

  A masked assistant in a full-body medical suit moves to help her up, settling her carefully into Ari’s arms.

  “I apologize for any discomfort,” the woman says evenly. “You’ll have to remain like this until we reach Arcadia. We didn’t anticipate needing spare legs for any of the students.”

  “It’s okay,” Maika answers, calm now. “I’m comfortable where I am.”

  Her arms tighten around Ari, and the two share a brief glance—soft, private.

  My cheeks heat up, and I look away, quietly taking a seat.

  “As you wish.” The assistant bows once and steps back to stand in the corner.

  Tama flops down beside me, throwing an arm around my neck.

  “Way to go, Bunny-chan!” she laughs. “We didn’t get in trouble~! How about I buy you a treat to celebrate?”

  She squeezes me with that boundless energy of hers, smiling wide, but I can’t quite meet her eyes. My gaze drifts down to the floor instead.

  “I don’t really think that’s something to celebrate,” I murmur. The words stick to my throat before I manage to push them out. “It was our idea to steer the bird to extraction, after all.”

  Tama’s grin falters. She tilts my chin toward her until our eyes meet. “Hey, it’s okay. We only had to do that because you decided to save Ari and Maika. You’re a hero!”

  Hero? The word feels too big for what I did.

  Her smile returns, bright and fearless, and I can’t help but mirror it. I catch myself staring again—but it’s not like I can help it.

  I want to tell her that she’s the hero, that she makes everything feel easier. But… that would sound too awkward right now, so I swallow the thought.

  Tama releases me and stretches her arms above her head, moaning softly as the tension drains from her shoulders. “Y’know, I was kind of busy with the bird, so I just saw the playback of your finishing move on that hound!”

  This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

  My face burns. “Y-you saw that?!”

  “Heck yeah, I did!” she cheers, punching the air. “Star Bladed—Piercing Kick! It was awesome!”

  “Yeah, I should know—I was there,” Maika calls from across the cabin as Ari helps steady her. “How’d you even think of that? Usually it’s the fans who name our signature moves.”

  “Well… I, uh…” My fingers twitch to my cheek as my leg starts bouncing. The rhythm picks up faster and faster until—

  Sprang!

  My leg jerks straight up on its own, almost sending me off the bench. Everyone stares.

  “Ugh, not again…” I groan.

  “Again?!”

  The sharp voice comes from right beside me. Before I can react, someone grabs my leg and yanks it out from under me. I blink down to find a brown-haired girl in the standard uniform crouched at my feet, dark green eyes half hidden with thick glasses.

  “Even with your nervous tics, augments shouldn’t misfire like this without direct command!” she snaps.

  Her hand opens—literally opens—revealing an array of compact tools folded neatly inside. With a mechanical click, her fingers rearrange themselves into a cross-headed drill.

  “When was the last time you had these things tuned? I’m reading your mission stats—you barely peaked at seventy-two percent Sync! No wonder! These spring legs are a mess!”

  She keeps talking as she works, twisting and tugging on my leg while firing off a dozen technical terms that I have no idea what half of them mean.

  Tama nods, pretending like she actually understands. “It’s probably ’cause this is her only set of augments.”

  Kanna’s laugh cuts through the cabin, smug and sharp, but the girl in front of me freezes.

  “You only have one set of augments?” she gasps, horrified. “You’re supposed to have five! Five! Three for combat, two for casual use, and one for bathing! How do you only have one?!”

  Tama starts to answer, but I slap a hand over her mouth. “I—I forgot to pack extra, that’s all!” I blurt.

  The girl blinks. Something in her expression flickers—like a system error.

  “Pack? Forgot?” she repeats softly. Her voice drops into a dazed monotone. “Machines don’t forget things… or need to pack…”

  Then her eyes refocus on me. She catches my nervous stare.

  “Oh. Right.” A faint, awkward smile twitches at her lips. “You’re a person.”

  And then, without warning—

  Thud.

  She collapses.

  ?

  The transport ship touches down near the shuttle bay, locking onto a massive truck platform that rolls us toward the boarding deck.

  As we stop, the hangar doors yawn open to a flood of light and noise. Students from other classes are already spilling out of their own ships—laughing, chatting, waving to friends. The mission’s over, and for everyone else, it’s just another day.

  Professor Hisame and the rest of our classmates file out quickly, even Maika and Ari, who pause long enough to wave goodbye. Tama and I hang back with the girl who collapsed earlier, still out cold in one of the seats.

  She hasn’t stirred once.

  I study her carefully, taking in every detail. She’s wearing the bodysuit variant that covers more of her legs—practical, not flashy. Her top’s smudged with grease, and the panels on her augments are open, exposing the intricate tools nested inside her palms.

  Then there’s her body—it’s softer? Fuller than most of the girls here. I feel bad even noticing it, but it stands out. Idols train so hard every day—it doesn’t make sense for anyone to carry extra weight after two years of preparation.

  Tama leans in, squinting at her. “So… are we gonna wake this one up?”

  “We can’t just leave her here.” I reach out and give the girl’s shoulder a gentle shake. “Heya—it’s time to wake up.”

  Her eyelids flutter open and she blinks against the harsh lighting, recoiling a little as her vision clears. “Huh? What’s going on?”

  “Evening!” I say with a nervous smile. “You kinda passed out earlier, so we wanted to make sure you were okay.” I step back and gesture between us. “I’m Rika, and this is my friend, Tama.”

  The girl stiffens. Her face turns bright red, and she leans back against the wall like she’s cornered. Her mouth opens—but instead of words, a trembling sound escapes her.

  “Eeeeeeeeeeeehhhh~”

  Wait… she’s crying?

  Tears start rolling down her cheeks as she curls up, hugging her legs tight to her chest.

  I freeze. I doubt it’s unusual for girls to cry after a mission, but this feels different.

  Tama reacts first, crouching beside her and rubbing her back gently. “Hey, hey, it’s okay,” she murmurs, voice soft and careful. “What’s wrong?”

  The girl sniffles and wipes at her face with the back of her hand, smearing away tears and a bit of snot.

  “I—I’m s-sorry~” she sobs. “I was s-so mean to you~ grabbing your leg without p-permission and saying all those awful things~”

  “O-oh, it’s okay—really! You didn’t hurt my feelings or anything!” I blurt, waving my hands in a panic. I glance at Tama, who looks just as lost as I feel. Still, I slide closer and wrap an arm around the girl’s shoulders. “Hey, it’s fine. Do you need a friend? What happened to your partner?”

  She hiccups through another sniffle. “I don’t h-have a partner. I just picked the first girl who looked strong, and… she completed the mission for me.”

  Her sobs taper off, her voice evening out.

  “Do you want to tell me your name?” I ask softly.

  She wipes her eyes one last time, catching her breath. “Emi Minobe…”

  I give her a reassuring pat and smile. “Well, Emi, if you don’t have any friends, do you wanna be ours?”

  “N-no!”

  Tama and I blink in unison.

  Emi’s face burns red as she scrambles to her feet. “I—I’m sorry, but… I don’t think we should be friends!”

  Then she bolts for the exit without another word.

  Tama and I sit frozen in stunned silence, watching her disappear into the crowd.

  “W-what was that about?”