01/OCT/35MT

 There are many things I expected to hear after I woke up today.

 “They’re in place! Seal them in! Seal the furries in!”

 That was not one of them.

 “It’s done! Blow them up!”

 “Hmm…” I hum as I rise from my slumber — Partially thanks to the noise — Rubbing my eyes as they adjust to the light. I know I’ve said it before… But this was one of the best sleeps of my life. I slept like a fucking rock tonight.

 As I get to look around, my eyes are drawn to the massive holographic screen projected from a phone on the floor against one of the bare walls of the small room. Behind this monument to what small things are capable of, are two people I would never bet to see together, cheerfully bantering a way with a controller in their hands, playing some kind of… Top-down space-themed RPG.

 Still, the question lingers in my mind ‘What the hell is Yasuna doing here? And since when did she and Naeko become friends?’

 Looking over to the other side of the room, I see another impossible sight.

 What I notice is Mia, wearing an NWDA cheer club uniform, looking down on herself and saying, “I don’t know about this… It’s kind of tight around my chest.”

 Then, watching over her, Nanako complements, “I know, but OMG! That top looks so good on you! Don’t mind the fitment we all get ours custom made anyway!”

 Meanwhile, Haruna and Aiko are chatting just outside of the bathroom door, watching Mia try out the outfit.

 With all of this, I fall back down on the pillow… ‘Okay, I clearly slept so well I woke up in another dimension. There’s no other option here. Yup, going back to sleep.’

 Yet, it seems my fall catches the attention of one of the less preoccupied girls as Haruna perks up and looks my way. “Hey girls! Sleeping beauty finally woke up!”

 ‘… Do they even have that fairy tale around here?’

 Regardless of the dumb thought in my head, I see Mia run my way excitedly, the short miniskirt of the uniform flowing along as she does so. “Mornin’ Yuumi! Check this out!” She stops in front of me and does a pose, and while she’s not carrying pompons, it still works well.

 I look over at her with narrowing eyes, analyzing her stance and movements. “Hmm, needs some work but you make up for it with your smile…” I look closer and notice something. “Wait… Is that my outfit?”

 Mia blushes up. “Well… It was the only one that fit me… Naeko’s top was too loose, and Haruna said it was okay if I used yours for a bit.”

 Shrugging, I sit back up on the bed. “Oh, well, if Haruna said it was okay, then that’s fine…” but then I remember. “Wait, since when did you get along with Haruna?” I look around the room at the others. “When did any of you?”

 As Haruna herself stops and looks down at me, she explains, “Well, you see…”

—

 A sleepover… And I slept through it… When they first told me that, I wanted to beat myself up on the spot. Seriously, I’ve been looking for a chance to get them to get along, but back at the academy I barely knew them myself and then at the station we were always busy with training and… Other stuff…

 That and I sort of feared they just might not get along together. Yasuna clearly looked down on the club as a whole and if my experience with Aya taught me anything, it was that trying to force my beliefs on others always led to disaster. ‘I still consider myself lucky Aya got off on speaking terms with them… I wonder how she’s faring with all of this going on. I’ll have to have a word with Anna about how she’s doing…’

 Still, it’s good to see the six getting along. I suspected some of them had some shared interests, and apparently there’s more to that than I even knew.

 For example, Yasuna always looked like she had a nerdy side to her, with her having a computer in her dorm even when I first arrived, but Neako really brings that side out of her. From what Haruna told me, they’ve been playing since they woke up.

 Then there’s Mia, who’s always been a shining light of positivity and cheer, and so was Nanako. Although if one were to go to the reasons for each of them being cheery… Yeah, I would stop the comparison there.

 ‘Nanako’s lewd, okay? Almost constantly, she’s the one throwing sex jokes around.’

 Regardless, it seems like Nanako got Mia to consider trying out for the cheer club. I’m guessing they also told her she can choose not to be an initiated member, because that seemed like the main problem she had with the idea when I proposed it to her a while back.

 If you were wondering why I didn’t mention it back then, well, my rationale at the time was: ‘I didn’t know about it when I joined, so why should they?’ Yeah, that was me being stupid. I should’ve said that from the get-go.

 ‘Looking back now, it’s crazy how I joined not even knowing about those intricacies… Could’ve saved me a lot of embarrassment… Still… think I would’ve done the initiation eventually, especially with my relationship with these three developing like it did.’

 Finally, there’s Aiko and Haruna… Yeah, there’s nothing here. They seem to get along pretty well, but they couldn’t be more different if they tried. The only thing they appear to bond over is that Haruna’s always working to keep Nanako in check, while Aiko also tries to keep Mia grounded. At least that’s my impression after hanging around the room for a bit.

 After spending some time catching up, I go take a morning shower and also perform my daily personal care routine. It’s nothing too special — I’m not planning on going anywhere where my looks are of concern. Sunscreen, moisturizer, and then a base layer of makeup to protect my skin.

 Where am I planning to go? Well, I must have a talk with Light about the whole ‘Draft’ situation. I forgot to mention it back at the hospital and that’s something I am not comfortable leaving up in the air. The consequences if that goes through are… dire.

 Walking out of the bathroom in my underwear, feeling refreshed, I walk through the room where my friends are playing around. It is still way too early for lunch, so I’m pretty sure I will be back in time to go out with all of them. That is, if they want to, of course.

 Conveniently, since the station ‘evacuation’ was much more of a ‘casually waiting a few days for a contracted ship and then getting out’, there was time for everyone to gather their stuff before transferring. This means I have my gym bag, courtesy of Haruna, Naeko, and Nanako.

 I grab some clothes, nothing too extreme but also not my uniform; gray sports shorts, a matching pair of gray sneakers, and a loose-fitting sleeveless white t-shirt.

 It is by this time that someone finally asks about what I’m planning to do.

 “Hey, Yuumi? You know, you don’t need to dress up, right? Even if your other friends are here.”

 I look back, seeing Haruna standing behind me, giving a smile with a hint of confusion visible.

 Leaning down to tie my shoes, I explain. “Oh, it’s not that,” I say while shaking my head. “I have somewhere I need to go right now.”

 Haruna replies in a suspicious tone. “Where?” she pauses for a bit, thinking about it, and then asks again, “Who?”

 “The Director,” I say as I stand back up, done tying my shoes. Turning around, I see Haruna with her head tilted to the side and so I give her a smile, “something to do with that whole… Shit, do you know about the draft?”

 Haruna looks to the side and says, “I think you said something about it way back then when you were talking about your parents with me in the bath. The Union army sent you a draft notice, right?”

 I nod. “Yes, and the Director was supposed to get me out of that, but he didn’t mention it when he met me at the hospital and I’m not letting that go unresolved.”

 She nods to herself. “I see… Well, it never hurts to ask, but are you sure a personal visit is necessary? He seems to be very busy at the moment.”

 I give a shrug and joke, “Hey, if Light isn’t going to properly compensate me for being a student at his academy monetarily, he might as well make up for it with availability.”

 That evokes a laugh out of Haruna, who asks sarcastically, “What? Daddy not paying you enough? Need a Sugar Mommy to step in as well~?”

 Chuckling, a pleasant smile draws around my lips as I lean closer to her and say, “Maybe if it is you~”

 Looking into each other’s eyes, we go in for the kill and gently share a passionate kiss. A short one, since there are other people in the room, but a passionate kiss indeed.

 As I lean away with a satisfied smile, a line of saliva still drawn between our lips, I look around the room and say, “You know? The possibility of someone looking at us somehow makes this more exciting.”

 A wide smile draws across Haruna’s face as she hears that. Looking back herself, she adds, “Oh, it always does. No-one wants to try shit in public, but after it happens once? Then they want to do it all the time.”

 Nodding with a sly smile, I say, “Well, it was nice kissing you, but I must go now. See you back soon? I don’t think this will be a long talk… If everything goes well, that is.”

 She takes a step back and says, “I hope it does. Just message us when you’re done. We’ll say where we’re at.”

—

 After getting ready, I walked out of the room and into the halls, making my way to the Director’s room. I sent him a message just to be sure he’s available and while he expressed some concern over why we couldn’t have this conversation over text message; he let it go after I told him this wasn’t something I trusted going over GlobalNet.

 I still don’t know how secure GlobalNet comms are, I’m sure it’s better than anything I could think of, but, in situations like these, I’m still going to follow the common sense from the internet in my other life: If you didn’t encrypt it yourself, don’t trust others to do it for you.

 As I approach the door number that the Director himself gave me, I can’t help but feel a little nervous… Alright, a lot nervous. From the looks of it, my ‘parents’ haven’t even tried to contact me after the incident, and while that’s something I would expect from Liam, I would think mom would be keen to have a chat.

 ‘Maybe they’re just too busy with the war situation? They’re arms dealers, after all.’

 In the downtime I’ve had, I managed to read a little about the war situation… It’s not good, it’s not going well for the Union at all. That’s with them being the defenders. I don’t know if I should root for the Union, considering what they have tried with me, but that doesn’t mean I’m not worried. There’s already been talks of… Escalation. Nuclear war already makes me shit my pants, nuclear war with antimatter, advanced space technology, and hard-light on top? … I can’t even imagine what that would look like.

 But I don’t let my fear show as I approach the Director’s room and knock on the door. “It’s Yuumi, anyone in?”

 A couple of seconds pass before I’m met with an answer.

 *Clink*

 “Please come in,” says someone after the door unlocks.

 But that immediately makes me confused. ‘Why did I just hear a woman’s voice?’

 “Err, is this the room of NWDA Director, Light Haswell?”

 This time the door slides up, revealing a woman with short black hair holding onto a tablet. She looks down at me with a straight smile and says, “Yes, it is. Good morning Yuumi, I’m Nikki, Light’s assistant. I think we’ve even met before a while ago.”

 “Y-Yes, I think we have.” I stutter, and I’m unable to stop myself from asking, “Are you… staying here with him?”

 She sighs then says with a laugh. “Oh, just these last few days aboard the rescue ship, but don’t worry too much about me.” She looks back into the room and comments. “I would worry more about Light myself.” The assistant faces me before whispering with a teasing smile. “His wife sounded… Bitter… When she heard about this situation… Pray for him, please.”

 If this was any other time, I would probably laugh my ass off, but considering the situation, I elect to move on. “Alright, I get it, just wanted to make sure nothing fishy was going on. I’m Yuumi Matsunaga, great to meet you too again, but I need to speak with Light.”

 The assistant moves away. Straightening up, her expression turns serious in a heartbeat, and she urges. “Please come in; He’s expecting you.”

 Giving the assistant a nod, I walk into the room. Right away, I spot the director sitting on his bed, dressed in a suit and tie, with various holographic monitors surrounding him. While this wasn’t exactly what I imagined I’d see, I was at least correct in thinking he would be working.

 Light clearly notices me arriving, as one of the monitors right in front of him flickers out. “Good morning Yuumi,” He starts by greeting, “As you can see, I’m pretty busy at the moment so whatever you want to ask, please make it short.”

 I find myself a little surprised that he isn’t even offering me a seat, but I understand he has other stuff to do, so I decide to comply. “Alrighty then, if that’s the case, then let me ask this,” I take a step forward, “Have you swayed the council about that draft?”

 At that precise moment, the director abruptly averts his gaze from the monitors, and his vacant eyes fixate on the barren wall ahead.

 …

 …

 ‘This… Wasn’t what I was expecting…’

 “Light?” I try to grab his attention. “What happened?”

 But he remains immobile, exhaling deeply and lowering his head, his discontent palpable. The only sound in the room is the quiet hum of the electronics, and the scent of stale air lingers. A sense of tension fills the air, as if the room itself is holding its breath in anticipation of what he’s about to say next.

 “I’m… Sorry…”

 Blinking intently, I demand, “What do you mean, you’re sorry?”

 He slowly turns his head around, his forehead furrowed to the max. With wide eyes drilling into mine, he stutters. “Y-Yuumi…” He trails off, a hint of disbelief in his voice. “I-I don’t know how to tell you this…”

 Seeing him stalling, I straighten up. “What? Spit it out, dammit! What happened!?” I urge in a forceful tone of voice.

 The Director’s eyes widen, and a small gasp escapes his lips before he quickly shuts his eyes, as if trying to block out the reality of the situation. The room falls silent, and I can hear the faint sound of his labored breathing. After a few moments, he whispers, his voice strained with pain and regret, “I…I-I couldn’t…”

 …

 I stare at him, the shock and disbelief clear on my face. The air in the room feels heavy, suffocating almost, and I can feel my heart pounding in my chest. “W-W-What do you mean you couldn’t?” I manage to stutter out.

 The Director remains motionless, and the tension in the room is palpable. “The order… It came from Union High Command itself. There is nothing I can do about that…”

 My eyes widen even further, and I shout incredulously, “Then why the fuck didn’t you tell me that sooner!?” My voice echoes off the walls of the small, stuffy dorm room.

 With his head still clutched in his grip, he shakes it. After taking a deep breath, the Director turns towards me. His forehead scrunches up, and his raised eyebrows mimic my own expression. “Yuumi, please,” he pleads, “I can fix this. We just have to hide you for a little while…” He tries to bargain desperately, but his words are cut short.

 “Forget it.” I say in a low tone. My face lands squarely on the palm of my left hand before I continue while shaking my head in disbelief. “Lucky for you—and, most importantly, for me—I have a backup plan.”

 I don’t see his reaction, but soon his voice comes through. “What? What do you mean? Don’t tell me you plan to run away!? Yuumi, I don’t care how good of a duelist you are; you can’t beat the Union on your own!”

 Letting an amused puff of air escape my nostrils, I finally look back at the Director. “Oh, you would be surprised,” I tell with a smile. But, seeing him getting ready to rebuff this ‘plan’, I reassure, “Don’t worry, that’s not what I aim to do…Yet.” My eyes hover slightly over his right shoulder where an out-of-place shadow seemingly pops into existence. “Isn’t that right?”

 The Director blinks a few times in confusion before taking my hint and looking behind him. He then promptly jumps up from the bed and turns to the shadow. “Who the hell are you!? This area is off limits!”

 The shadow takes shape of a tall figure. But, as it does so, I can’t help but narrow my eyes. ‘Wait… Oh. She came back.’

 As opposed to yet another generic pajama assassin, like I was expecting, a female figure wrapped in black bandages forms from the shadows. “Greetings, my lady,” she speaks, her voice clouded by a heavy voice changer.

 Soon enough, the bandages around her head unwrap, revealing the masked face of a woman with brilliant green eyes and long, straight blond hair running to her tailbone. With a light bow, she says, “I come bearing good news.”

 The Director turns around and demands. “Who is she?! What’s she doing here?!”

 I take a deep breath in, shaking my head while trying to control my expression. “Her?” I ask, turning to the mysterious woman that seems to have blinked in. “Director Light Haswell, meet Sonia…” I trail off, a smile forming on my lips. “One of the many elite undercover agents under the employ of the Katayama family.”

 Before the Director has time to react, the woman adds in a quipping tone. “Assigned to message delivery as of now.” She takes a few steps, stopping in front of the gobsmacked director and saying with a bow, “Pleasure to meet you, NWDA Director Light Haswell; Please don’t mind my presence. I only come here to complete my assignment.” With that, she turns away, walking in my direction while revealing a large red envelope.

 “I assume that’s their offer?” I ask as Sonia hands me the large file.

 She nods. “Yes, you are encouraged to read it through, my lady.”

 “Hold up!” Light shouts after snapping out of his daze. “Is this what I think it is? Since when were you in contact with the Katayama’s…” But he stops there, his expression turning into a look of realization, “Wait… is this how you learned of the draft letter in the first place?!”

 Turning to Light, I nod slightly, “Yes.” I give a look at Sonia before turning to him again, “In all honesty, I’m sorry, Light. I didn’t want to keep this from you, but I had to have a sane back-up plan in case yours fell through.”

 He narrows his eyes, demanding, “I understand that part, but why did you keep me in the dark about it?”

 I turn to Sonia and then to Light again. “Simple. I didn’t know where your loyalty to the Union lay.” I sigh. “Look at it from my point of view: you send us up here to participate in a tournament that, in reality, is a Union Psy-Op to keep the Dragoon city and Union populace distracted from the war. More than that, when I asked you about why the war started in the first place, you not only deflected but also panicked and voiced a threat that both of us knew you couldn’t act upon.” I take a step closer to the Director, asking, “Does that sound like the type of person I should reveal my Union draft dodge plan to?”

 He seems to be about to reply, but then he hesitates, looking down while his entire face scrunches up. When he finally gets himself together again, he sighs disappointingly, and shakes his head before saying. “That’s how I came off, wasn’t it?” Before I can reply, he simply nods to himself, voicing, “Alright, I get it.” He then focuses on me. “You’re only telling me this now because there’s nothing I could do to stop you.”

 I nod, “Precisely.” For effect, I also break the seal on the envelope, and a tablet about the size of an A4 sheet comes out. Its screen lights up in my hands, showing a dense document.

 He suspiciously stares at Sonia, asking, “So that was your plan all along? How do you even know the Katayama’s can free her from an order issued by the Union itself?”

 Sonia simply smiles at the Director and bows, “Well, Director Light, as one of the principal suppliers of the Union for conventional arms and military equipment in the current conflict, I can assure you our influence reaches Union Military High-Command.”

 After begrudgingly averting his gaze, Light sighs, “I see…” Turning away, he responds in a defeated tone a few seconds later, “In that case, I kindly ask that you two leave this room. It’s clear that my assistance is no longer needed.”

 “Not quite, Director,” I interject, then turn to Sonia. “Sonia, could you please let me know if there are any references in this contract that should not be disclosed to a non-family member?”

 As she tilts her head, she explains, “No, my lady. This contract has been crafted with the full intention of being publicized after all bureaucratic processes are settled.”

 “Perfect,” I say, turning back to the Director. “Director Light, I know I just expressed my limited trust in you, but when it comes to matters of legality, I trust my family even less. While I may not fully understand what your relationship with the Union is, I know you distrust the Katayama’s, or any other Dragoon City dynasty for that matter. Therefore, I would like to request that you read this document and give me your thoughts before I sign anything that I may regret later.”

 His eyes narrow to the absolute limit, his mouth closing tightly as his eyes dart up and down. “You’re really selfish, aren’t you?” Taking a step forward, he demands, “Alright, I’ll humor you. What do I have to gain for indulging your request?”

 I cock an eyebrow, asking, “Are you serious? Director, I fully intend to continue my stay at the NWDA. You, outside of the Katayama’s, are the single person who should have the most interest in obtaining anticipated knowledge of this document’s contents.”

 Hearing my words, the Director takes a deep breath in through his nose, closing his eyes. As he exhales, his lips turn up slightly. “Well, when you put it like that, then I don’t really have a choice, do I? Give me that.”

 With a smile, I hand over the rectangular device to him, but as I do so, I look back and notice Sonia’s grimacing expression. “Is there something wrong, Sonia?”

 She closes her eyes, shaking her head before her expression returns to its neutral state from before. “No, my lady. But… I would like to voice my concern that your trust in your own blood runs so thin…”

 As the Director sits back down and starts reading over the dense document, I turn around properly and focus on Sonia, clicking my tongue. “Tck, well, what can I do? Saying they’ve burned me before would be the understatement of the century.”

 Sonia nods painfully, her gaze lowering, “I understand, my lady… I hope that trust can be reclaimed.”

 To that, I can only shrug. “We’ll see.”

—

 It took Light half an hour to trudge through the dense legalese. His verdict?

 “This is too generous…” He says while giving Sonia a side-eye.

 Leaning against a wall, I ask, “What do you mean by that?”

 He straightens up. “Well, this contract only outlines three requirements asked of you.” He lists them off. “The first one is a name change to ‘Yuumi Matsunaga Katayama.’”

 I nod to that. ‘Looks like they respected that last-minute request. Nice.’

 “Number two is a change in your family register, making you officially part of the Katayama family.”

 Nodding again, I note, “Obviously.”

 The Director nods with me. “And the third, and the arguably strictest term, is a vow of silence pertaining to Katayama family secrets as solicited by the head of the Katayama family.”

 My eyes gaze down. “That’s… manageable.” It’s not like I planned to reveal every skeleton in Liam’s closet as soon as I learned of them, but it makes me nervous that he has the authority to control what I can say and what I can’t.

 Still, is it enough to dissuade me from not agreeing with this? Of course not. Since the Director failed to free me from that predatory draft, then all I can do is breathe a sigh of relief that these terms aren’t harsher.

 With that said, I still ask, “What makes you say these terms are too generous, Director?”

 As I meet his gaze, he gives me a perplexed look, as if I had grown a second head. “Yuumi, are you kidding me? No location implants? No ambiguous loyalty requirement?” he questions, clearly taken aback. “This is not how Dragoon City dynasties operate. When regular family members turn 18, it’s not uncommon for them to have to sign contracts that are significantly more restrictive than this to ensure compliancy.”

 He shifts his attention back to Sonia, his frustration evident in his tone. “What the hell are you trying to do?”

 Sonia could only sigh and shake her head. “I’m afraid my knowledge of the intention behind this contract is as sparse as the honorable Director’s. After all, I am but a messenger.”

 With this, I ask the Director again, “Are there any other abnormalities present, or is this your only worry?”

 Shifting his suspicious eyes from Sonia back to the tablet, he shakes his head while grinding his teeth. “No, I can’t spot any… One whole third of the contract outlines boons and the rest is just legal protection in case the agreement gets challenged by a third-party…”

 Seeing his frustration at finding no other fault, I can’t help but smile. “Alright, hand it over then.”

 Still shaking his head, he stands up, passing me the device with a word of warning. “Be careful.”

 As I look down at the tablet, I nod. “I will.” Then I turn around and ask Sonia, “How do I sign this?”

 Before she has the time to explain, I hear Light ask, “Are you not going to read it for yourself?”

 Turning to Light, I give him a smug smile. “Like I said, I trust you with this.”

 At that point, Sonia steps next to me, “My lady, if you agree with the outlined terms, then please place your thumb on the center of the bottom bezel.”

 Nodding, I look down at the tablet and do so.

 [ Beginning DNA verification ]

 I feel a small prick on my thumb, a drop of blood flowing down the bottom of the device.

 [ Verifying DNA relation match…. ]

 [ DNA family match with individual “Miranda Katayama” 99.9% confidence {Pass on 99% requirement} ]

 [ DNA family match with individual “Liam Katayama” 99.7% confidence {Pass on 99% requirement} ]

 ‘Hmm, so I really do take after my mother. Good to know.’

 [ Requirements for voice signing met, please state ‘I accept the terms’ to complete signing. ]

 ‘So this is it…’ Taking a deep breath in, I state calmly. “I accept the terms”

 [ Voice signing Identified… Confirmed ID: “Yuumi Matsunaga” DCID Number 1768 4294 3160 ZW ]

 ‘That’s going to change soon.’

 [ Uploading result of E-Contract to Dragoon City Database… Complete ]

 A green checkmark appears on the screen, with the words ‘Confirmed’ written below it.

 Seeing this, the Director walks away, leaving only with an exasperated sigh before sprawling himself down on the bunk, massaging his temples. Probably not appropriate behavior for someone as old as him, but I can’t say I don’t understand the appeal.

 I hear sniffling behind me, and so I turn around, “Are you crying, Sonia?”

 “N-No…” she stutters, but her reddening eyes tell a different story. Still, she steels herself, telling in a breathy voice full of sorrow. “Welcome back my lady…”

 Smiling, I say, “I never left Sonia, not you.” Looking back at the Director, already at work again, I suggest, “let’s get out of here. I think we’ve bothered Light enough for today.” But as I say that, I remember something. “Director? Just wondering, when are we going to figure out that new scholarship agreement?”

 Without even raising from his bed, he groans, “Grnnn, I’ll send you a draft for a new contract when we get back… It’s in my to do list…”

 Satisfied, I give him a simple nod. “Sure, I’ll let you off the hook for now.”

 With that decided, both me and Sonia make our way out of Light’s room; his assistant, Nikki, giving her a suspicious look as we walk out.