Zeros and Blindy made it back to the spot they’d dropped from.
Airi floated up to the dome, hovered for a second, then let out a neat little “pfft” and opened a temporary hole.
Instantly, everything around them started getting sucked into the vacuum.
Trash, crates, containers, somebody’s torn-off shoe
and Blindy right along with it.
He screeched, shooting upward
like a mosquito getting swallowed by an industrial vacuum.
“Zeeee-ROOOOS! HEEELP MEEEE!”
But he held onto the katana.
Tighter than he had ever held onto his own life.
Zeros jumped, caught him mid-air, slammed his head into his chest, covering his mouth and nose.
With one sharp motion, the psychodroid launched into the airlock.
Airi sealed it back shut—SLAP—and that was it.
Atmosphere restored.
Only then did Zeros let Blindy go.
A soft, bright voice chimed in—gentle, almost sing-song:
“Ō-ō…… okaerinasai, Zerosu-sama… and Buraindi-kun… o[>ω<]o”
A minute later, the door from the airlock into the main ship slid open smoothly.
Shiori stood there.
Sad.
Not dangerous-sad,
but quiet, broken-from-the-inside kind of sad.
She said, giving a small bow
and gesturing for them to come in:
“Arigatō, tomodachi…”
Blindy decided—
firmly, decisively—
that he was now executing all steps that would,
in his expert opinion,
lead directly to love.
He stepped forward with sudden confidence,
trying—
very hard—
to look heroic.
The katana went behind his back in a move that only made sense to him.
His chin tilted up just enough, eyes softening into full please like me mode.
Shiori frowned, completely lost.
“Sh-Sh-Shiori…”
He swallowed.
“I… uh… I thought…
y-you might be… kinda sad that you… uh…
didn’t come with us…”
His voice shrank a little under its own weight.
“Missed out on… stuff…”
A quick breath.
“So… I—”
He fumbled slightly, then brought the katana forward with both hands.
“—brought you this thing… a g—gift…”
Shiori’s eyes widened.
Her hands trembled as she took in the blade.
“This…
Nobuhiro Kanzaki’s katana?..”
Blindy straightened instantly, pride snapping back into place.
“Y-yeah!”
He lifted his chin again, this time more certain.
“Trophy!
For you!”
He pointed at it, like that explained everything.
“You got one of those too…
so I figured… uh… you’d like it…”
Shiori pressed the sword to her chest and whispered, almost like a prayer:
“Ojisan… dōka yasuraka ni…”
Her voice was soft, carefully contained—spoken in Japanese, just enough to keep it from fully belonging to the moment.
Her eyes filled with moisture.
To Blindy’s great disappointment,
this wasn’t joy.
And it wasn’t relief.
Blindy didn’t understand shit.
All he knew was:
Fuck this… step one failed before it even started.
Shiori stepped away, walked to the wall, and placed the katana carefully onto the stand beside her own.
Her fingers lingered on the handle for just a moment before she gave a small nod and whispered something under her breath again.
Blindy stood there, forcing a smile that didn’t belong to his face.
“Well… uh… okay…
nice talk…”
He rubbed the back of his neck.
“I’ll… go… do somethin’…
lift some weights…
or—hell—sniff some booze or whatever…”
Then Shiori turned.
Walked straight toward him.
Stopped right in front of him.
Blindy froze.
He could feel it.
The plan.
The steps.
His brain lit up like a broken alarm:
STEP 4—HUGGING.
Shiori leaned in
and hugged him.
Not gently.
Not softly.
Not even remotely romantically.
This was a hug built like a weapon.
Arms locked around him like steel clamps.
Muscles solid as poured concrete.
Her chest hit him like reinforced armor.
She smelled like heat, metal, and a workout that had ended in casualties.
Blindy’s soul left his body halfway through.
“H-h-holy shit…
feels like Zeros is hugging me AGAIN—”
His voice collapsed into a rasp as his lungs fought for space that no longer existed.
Shiori let go.
“Dōmo arigatōgozaimasu, Buraindi-sama.
Thank you very much.”
She turned her gaze to Zeros—
he was already gone from the moment, studying a galactic map like none of this had ever existed.
“And you too, Zerosu-sama.
I owe you… once again.”
Blindy was set back on his feet.
He rolled his shoulder with a wince until the joint snapped back into place.
He glanced at the sword stand.
Something in him deflated—quiet, slow.
“Got the hug…”
He pulled in a breath that didn’t quite settle right.
“Skipped the first three steps…”
His voice dropped even lower:
“I was… kinda plannin’ dinner…”
Not quiet enough. Airi lit up instantly over comms, voice bright and mercilessly cheerful:
“Aaaah, Buraindi-kun…
wanted to take Shiori-sensei to dinner,
but his plans failed… how cute! [✯◡✯]
Buraindi-kun, I am free.
Maybe… you take ME to dinner?
Hee-hee~”
Blindy’s face twisted like something inside him finally gave up.
“Airi. SAMA.”
He pointed upward, offended on a spiritual level.
“Not—not a single place would even let you in!
What—what you gonna dock at the front door?!
Have you seen your fuckin’ size?! Seriosly…”