Blindy walked in first.
Like a zombie whose brain had already been eaten and left on low heat.
Zeros followed. Then Shiori. Then Airi.
Zeros scanned the interior. Fast. Precise. Evaluating.
Clean. Ergonomic. Built like a tank.
Designed to survive space combat
and, more importantly,
Blindy’s stupidity.
He gave a single nod.
“If it flies, I’m good.”
Blindy exploded.
“WHAT—?!
This ship costs more than—
than—like—
EVERYTHING—!Shiori—
and you just—
you just GIVE it to us like that—?!For free—?!”
Shiori nodded calmly. Almost gently.
“Obaachan loves me. She insisted.”
Blindy slowly turned toward Zeros.
Something dangerous was forming in his eyes.
A smile crept across his face.
Crooked. Greedy. Shiny.
Like a thief about to reach into your pocket.
“Shiori… uh—
hey—listen—maybe you could—
like—ask your grandma—just—small thing—
to upgrade Zeros too—?
Like—
you know—
like Airi—…less scary—
more—…you know—
human-friendly—?Maybe—”
Zeros’ head snapped toward him so fast the metal squealed.
Blindy experienced clinical death for exactly one second.
“I-I-I—I’M JOKING—!
JOKING—
I swear—
you psycho metal fuck—ha—ha—Funny—right—??
RIGHT—??
…please don’t kill me…”
Shiori smiled. Maybe at his stupidity.
Maybe from relief she wouldn’t have to drive them across the galaxy anymore.
“Now you can travel on your own,” she said.
“Airi and I need to take Obaachan home.
Please… take care of the ship.”
Airi bowed sweetly.
“Zerosu-onī-chan, it was fun flying with you. ( ∩´͈ ᐜ `͈∩)
Buraindi-kun… please don’t die by accident.”
She turned to leave. Then paused. Looked back.
“I wanted to say… take care of the Rusted Phoenix.
But… hee-hee… (˶˃ ᵕ ˂˶)
Fenikkusu-kun won’t let you just break him…”
Blindy understood absolutely nothing.
“W-w-what—?!
What Phoenix—?!
Where—
what—
WHAT PHOENIX—?!”
Airi only turned away,
humming softly
as she followed Shiori back toward her hangar.
They kept exploring the ship. Just like Airi, the center held a control terminal with a massive holographic map of the galaxy.
Left wall—racks and mounts for weapons.
Blindy tossed his two rusty blasters there.
They looked like trash left behind after repairs.
On the right—training equipment.
But unlike Shiori’s setup, this one was made for a weakling:
treadmill, dumbbells maxing at 60 LBS, stretch bands
a full kit for someone whose muscles exist mostly on paper.
Up ahead, they found a door to the captain’s cabin.
Blindy saw it
and almost started crying.
“Zeros…
look—
look—I got—
I got my own HOME—It even—
it got a toilet—
and a shower—”
He sniffed.
“I ain’t—
I ain’t sleepin’ in some shitty box anymore—
not—
not where my home was supposed to be…”