CHAPTER 11: INTO THE BLOOM HE GOES (PART 2)

Kentaro still screaming, was now flying through the plaza.

At high speed.

On a direct collision course with the girl.

Ice-Breaker hadn’t moved.

She stood still, weeping softly, until her eyes finally lifted.

And she saw him

The same boy from before.

But this time.

In Mid-air.

His face flattened by wind pressure.

Expression somewhere between apology and abject terror.

Her eyes went wide.

Not with sadness.

Not with confusion.

Pure. Existential. Fear.

"I’M SORRRYYYYYY!" Kentaro wailed.

And smashed directly into her.

The two flew deeper into the plaza, Kentaro spinning mid-air like a panicked human frisbee, trying with all his might to shield the girl from impact.

He twisted, bracing himself, and wrapped his arms protectively around her as they tore through a frozen display rack and past a crumpled bubble tea stand.

"This is it," he thought, teeth clenched, "This is how I die,"

With a final, bone-jarring skid, the pair smashed into the floor tiles and came to a screeching halt, right next to the one store Kentaro had actively avoided since he was twelve, a very pink, very overstocked lingerie boutique.

Panting. Dazed. Dignity in shreds.

Kentaro opened one eye.

She was on top of him.

Not moving.

Not speaking.

But breathing, shallow, shaky.

Her arms trembled slightly, curled in toward her chest. Eyes shut tight. Tears still leaking from the corners, catching on her lashes like frozen rain.

He could see her now. Really see her.

And she wasn’t some monster.

She was a girl.

She looked around his age, maybe a little older, maybe just more burdened. Her frame was small, delicate, curled in on itself like she was always bracing for impact.

Her skin was pale, porcelain, unearthly, but real. Alive.

Her long, jet-black hair covered a bit of Kentaro’s vision, but it was soft, uneven layers. Strands clung to her cheeks where the tears had fallen.

Even with her eyes closed, there was something sharp in her features, like a doll too carefully carved.

When she opened them, finally, barely,

He saw them.

Cool gray, almost silver, with flecks of blue. They shimmered faintly like morning frost and were filled with something ancient.

Not power. Not rage.

Loneliness.

She wasn’t just crying. She was trying not to be seen.

Kentaro blinked.

He didn’t dare move. Not yet.

Just breathed. Felt her weight against his chest. Heard the faint hum of the Anchor circlet now resting crookedly on his own head, still pulsing like a metronome, one step from connection, one slip from disaster.

"She’s... just a girl," he whispered aloud. "She’s not a weapon."

But that’s when he realised what situation he was in.

Kentaro jumped up, eyes wide, heart racing

"I-I’M SO SORRY! THIS WASN’T MY IDEA, I SWEAR!"

His voice was immediately cut off.

By her

Ice-Breaker.

"You... Why did you do that to me?" she whispered, trembling.

"Is that how badly you want me gone?

Y-you launched yourself at me... Just to pin me down?"

She was crying. Quietly. Shakily.

Kentaro froze.

His brain completely blue screened.

"N-NO! Not at all! It was my friend’s idea i swear on everything."

"I just wanted to talk to you!" he said, backing away quickly, still kneeling.

The speed at which he scrambled off her surprised her. She blinked, watching him put space between them. For a moment... she trusted him. Just a little.

"What... is it.... you want to talk about?" she asked softly.

Kentaro felt a weird warmth shoot through his chest.

Those words hit like finding the final word in a crossword puzzle.

Finally... she’s not trying to kill me.

She’s actually talking to me. He said to himself.

"Well... for starters, what’s your name?"

She hesitated, eyes downcast, not wanting to meet his gaze. But she answered.

"My name.... It’s Serica."

Kentaro’s breath caught.

That name. It’s so normal. So, human. So real.

"She has a name. A real one. And yet they still want her dead..."

The silence stretched. Serica grew restless again, her fingers fidgeting, still avoiding eye contact.

"Ah, i see, Serica... that’s a lovely name."

"I’m Kentaro."

He inched closer as he spoke, but, predictably, Serica shifted back.

But still... no ice attack.

Progress, Kentaro thought. At least she didn’t freeze me.

Then he noticed something odd. She wasn’t looking at him. Not his face. Her eyes were fixed on the floor in front of him.

"Hey, umm, sorry to be rude... is there something on my face?" he said while touching it to make sure that there wasn’t.

She quickly shook her head, cheeks flushing red.

"N-no... It’s just, Um..."

Kentaro tilted his head in confusion.

"It’s...?"

She covered her face with both hands, hiding her expression. Her voice came out muffled.

"I’ve... i’ve never been this close to a boy before."

Kentaro’s whole face went crimson.

His heart kicked up like it was training for a marathon.

"W-well, yeah, about that again, really sorry for the whole flying tackle situation," he laughed nervously, scratching the back of his head.

He sat down, trying to think of a way to close the distance. He still had to get the Anchor on her somehow.

But.

"KENTARO?! HELLO? KENTARO, ARE YOU OKAY?!"

His earpiece exploded with screams.

"AHHHHHHH!"

Kentaro nearly backflipped from the shock, grabbing his ear.

"YES, I HEAR YOU, PLEASE CALM DOWN, YOU’RE KILLING MY EAR, DAMN!"

The sudden yelling startled Serica. Kentaro turned to her quickly.

"S-sorry! I’m fine! It’s just these guys are loud!"

"KENTARO! KEN! KEN! CAN YOU HEAR ME?!" Shogo screamed again

"IT HURT’S WHEN YOU SCREAM SHOGO!" Kentaro yelled, curling into a ball on the floor from pain.

He groaned.

And heard something unexpected.

"...hahahah..."

It was soft at first. Light.

Then louder.

"Ahahaha... hahahahHAHAHA!"

Genuinely. Loudly.

Her voice echoed across the icy plaza, bubbling with warmth for the first time since he’d met her.

"hahahah... Kentaro... y-you’re so.... funny!"

He blushed deeper, ears still ringing, but couldn’t help smiling.

Then Tenkas voice returned, much calmer this time.

"Ken, thank god you’re alive. What’s your status?"

Kentaro updated her quickly, from the crash to Serica’s name, to the sudden laughter.

"Serica, huh? That’s a Pretty name," Tenka said, a little teasing.

Kentaro chuckled, until Serica turned to him, her expression shyer now.

"K-kentaro... could you maybe... Close your eyes, please?"

He blinked.

She had powers of no normal human and something from out of this world. He felt hesitant in saying yes

But.

"Do it, Kentaro," Haruka’s voice said gently.

"Her happiness meter’s stable. I think she wants to trust you."

Kentaro gulped.... then shut his eyes.

He could hear her circling behind him. Soft footsteps crunching ice. Then, silence.

"Okay... don’t get mad," she said nervously.

"This will help me... look at you."

She reached over his head and placed something soft, oddly soft on his face. It hugged the middle of it, snug and comfortable.

He didn’t say anything. But his brain was screaming

"Is this... a towel or fleece?"

"You can open your eyes now."

He did slowly.

She was standing in front of him, smiling, eyes finally looking straight into his.

It was beautiful.

Until.

He caught his reflection.

In the ice behind her.

And on his face.

Was a pair of women’s underwear.

Not a mask

Not a towel.

A soft, Lacy, Red pair of panties.

He stared. Froze

"OH WHAT THE?!"

"HAHAHAHHAHAHAH!"

The entire Halycon command crew burst into laughter through the earpiece.

"I’m sorry Kentaro it’s just the only thing i found" Serica softly said.

But then her faced brighten and she smiled

"Now I can look at you Kentaro!"

His face ignited.

He wanted to yank it off and run straight into the frozen wilderness. But one glance at her smile...

And he stayed frozen

Maybe it was worth it.

After a quiet laugh, Serica began walking across the icy plaza, her steps lighter than before. Something in her expression had softened. She stopped at a frost-dusted bench near the plaza’s centre and gently sat down, brushing a few snowflakes off the seat.

She looked back and smiled at Kentaro, then patted the empty space beside her.

Kentaro hesitated for half a second, then walked over, all the tension melted into trust.

He sat beside her, close not touching. Just a single arm’s length apart.

That, apparently, was enough.

Because as soon as he sat, both of them froze slightly, cheeks tinting red.

The memory of her lying on top of him in that chaotic crash smacked into his brain like a truck.

Serica, equally flustered, looked straight ahead, trying very hard no to laugh again.

"Don’t make this weird. Don’t make this weird."

Kentaro chanted mentally.

But he remembered what Tenka had said, what they were all waiting on.

This wasn’t a date.

This was a mission.

He had to move forward.

Even if that meant talking through the awkward silence.

"S-so, Serica..." he began, eyes drifting anywhere except her face.

’Yes, Kentaro?" She replied softly, hands folded neatly on her knees. She was staring down now, focused, reserved.

"I want to ask you something. A-about your powers... how you became like this."

The moment the question left his mouth, the air shifted. Her energy changed completely. Her soft smile faded, her posture stiffened.

Kentaro felt it immediately.

Crap. Did i mess up?

He watched her closely.

Still looking down. Still quiet. But her hands had begun to tremble.

Then, a small breath.

Serica slowly exhaled, trying to steady herself.

"I... i don’t really know" she said at last, her voice low.

"It’s all kind of blurry."

She raised her head just slightly, eyes locked on the far wall like she was looking through time.

"I remember... around seven years ago. I was in an orphanage.

I don’t remember arriving. I don’t remember leaving.

I just.... knew i didn’t have parents."

That landed hard.

Kentaro’s chest tightened.

This girl wasn’t just being hunted.

She had no one.

Serica kept speaking, voice a little lighter.

"I lived there for most of my life. Went to school. It was an all-girls academy"

She laughed, awkward but sincere, flashing him a glance that hinted at that earlier moment.

Kentaro couldn’t help but smile too.

"And now..." she said.

"Now everything feels like its"

She stopped mid-sentence.

Her eyes locked forward, then slowly unfocused.

Her fingers curled into her knees.

Kentaro tilted toward her slightly, sensing something was wrong.

"Serica?"

No reply.

He leaned in a bit more.

Her skin had gone pale.

Then the hum began.

Low. Subtle. But unmistakable.

The anchor circlet on his head pulsed, once, then again.

Like a heartbeat from something buried deep.

"Serica...? What’s wrong?"

She blinked. Just once.

Then the bench beneath them hissed. Frost slithered along It’s legs.

The air chilled by several degrees. The breath in Kentaro’s throat came out as fog.

Across the Plaza.

A metal lamppost cracked apart, the shards drifting like glass butterflies before turning to snow.

Oh no.

She wasn’t doing this consciously.

She was breaking.

From relaxing.

From remembering.

Because some part of her had decided...

"If you feel safe, you’re weak."

Kentaro’s voice trembled.

"Serica, i need you to listen,"

And that’s when the world cut in half.....