Honoured and the Damned

Chapter 11: Fore

"It's always better when we're together." — Jack Johnson

"We're coming in, ready or not!" Aiko rolled her eyes at the call. She eyed her (still) closed door and wondered if she could pretend to be away on a mission. Her bag lay beside the foot of her bed which she always kept ready for missions. She looked at her closed windows and thought about making a run for it before she heard Satoru snort.

"I know that you're there." Aiko cursed as she threw the bag on her bed and meandered across the room to open the door for the idiots.

"Stop knocking already!" The door opened to Shoko and Satoru's frankly terrifying grins with Suguru standing behind them with a tired look. She eyed him as they entered her room with zero reservations. Suguru looked done with them all and she debated on pulling Shoko aside to ask about their classmate but decided against it when they started talking about the mission that they had just completed before coming to her room.

Picking up the groceries she made Shoko bring Aiko glanced at Suguru one more time before retreating to her kitchen. Most rooms in the dorm had yet to add kitchens, opting instead for a big common kitchen beside the living room but hers was specially made after she came down with hypothermia. It was convenient for her, she did not like to share her personal space. She remembered that time Ed walked in on her doing simple yoga and left looking like he was regretting his existence. He was too good to me, her hands paused. Aiko had been trying not to think about him and Ichiro. She leaned over the table as she felt her hands shake minutely. She was suddenly thankful that her room was specially renovated and added more space. The kitchen was partially shielded from the living room.

Aiko breathed in and out for a few minutes to stabilise herself, chanting 'breathe in, breathe out' to herself as she did so. It helped her focus more on the table instead of the men in her life who were waiting for her. She grimaced when she stubbed her small toe on the table, making a small sound. Shoko came around to help her, fortunately, her mind was already stabilised from her prior mini-episode of panic.

None of them spoke as they worked together to clean the dishes from the refrigerator and put fresh groceries and vegetables inside. Aiko took a rag and wiped the table before Shoko put their dinner on it, ready to be put on plates and served. She took this time to ask about Suguru.

"Was Suguru's mission hard?" She asked lightly, knowing that the others wouldn't hear it over the loud music that she knew Satoru had turned on. Shoko looked up at her with a raised brow before glancing at the said teen in the living room.

"Not particularly but I think the talk about being a special grade is getting to his head." It was her time to raise a brow at Shoko, wondering what she could have meant by that. She nodded at the brunette to explain which she did without much thought.

"His missions are getting harder now and while he's trying to keep up with Satoru's energy to be the 'strongest' he's failing to regulate himself properly. He cannot keep up with it in the long run. I can see him hold this state for a few months at most before he loses it."

The words made her visibly pause in her steps, looking at Shoko as if to confirm what she heard. Shoko shrugged as she tilted her head a little to confirm. It made her frown. Suguru shouldn't have been so tired, she knew that. They were all still in their first year so it didn't make sense for him to look the way he did after Riko's death. Before she could ask a bit more about it Shoko called the boys in for dinner. The music was turned down a notch before the boys walked in with visible smiles. Suguru looked a lot better too and Aiko wanted to chalk it up to Satoru helping his best friend but something still nagged at her.