“Rei-kuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuun!!!” screamed Mitsu at the top of her lungs. She was running towards the super soldier in question as if they didn’t saw each other for years, not since the previous day. Mitsu was about to throw her body and bear hug Rei when a hand grabbed her by the back of her clothes and suspended her slightly above the floor.

“Are you crazy?” snorted Mitaru, placing Mitsu back on the floor after bringing her a couple of metres away from Rei. “How many times have I told you to stop trying to jump Rei while Iru’s around? Wanna die, is that it?”

“Uhhh…” groaned Mitsu, a noteworthy pout puffing her cheeks out. She crossed her arms over her chest and looked the other way. “I don’t need to hug Rei-kun or anything. I can very well go without hugging Rei-kun. Yes, I can! Because today I have Kanna-chan with me~”

Having said such, Mitsu turned around on her heels, her long brown hair fluttering over her back for brief seconds. She then threw herself, arms open wide, to the young woman standing next to two already familiar pilot and co-pilot set. Like before, her hug did not have a warm reception.

“I told you to stop hugging me like that in crowded places,” warned Sakinaka Kanna, slapping her palm directly on Mitsu’s face to prevent her from getting too close. She viciously gripped at her head with just one hand, slowly pushing her further and further away from her. “I told you I would kick you out from our room if you did it one more time, did I not?”

“Kanna-chan, don’t be like that,” complained Mitsu, doing puppy eyes at Sakinaka from in between her fingers. “Two consecutive rejections will break my heart…”

“You’re always welcome to hug me,” said Tou, opening his arms wide as he waited for Mitsu to come towards him and finally get the hug she wanted. A large, welcoming grin remained on his lips.

“I don’t want to,” refused Mitsu almost immediately. She removed Sakinaka’s hand from her face and regained her composure in half a second, almost as if the previous hugging failures had never happened. She whipped her head sideways and grinned at the super soldier group. “Have you already decided what you’ll have for lunch? I have a lot of suggestions to make!”

“Oh, before you all start trying to eat the entire restaurant area, I have some introductions to make,” intervened Murayama, stopping everyone in their tracks before they each went off on their own (though his squad and En’s group would be around them to keep them under control if it came into need). “You were all very reticent about those advanced watches you received, right? We thought it would be a good idea to introduce you to the engineer who designed them and that’s why Sakinaka came with En, Tou and Mitsu.”

“Mitsu already explained everything about it that could be explained, I don’t think anything I may say will make any difference,” pointed out Sakinaka with a sigh, her shoulders being slightly shrugged. “But well, if any of you have any question about them, go right ahead.”

“I have a question,” said Mitaru, taking a couple of steps closer to Sakinaka. A threatening frown on his features was preventing any passerby from walking closer to the big group standing by the restaurant area’s entrance. “The way you two behave… Did you already know Mitsu’s a super soldier?”

Tilting her head slightly while pointed her thumb at Mitaru, Sakinaka glanced over to Murayama to seek an answer. “A siscon?”

“Pfffft!!!” Mizusaki immediately slapped his hands over his mouth, trying to keep his laughing and giggling only to himself.

“That’s right,” sighed Mitsu, resting her arm over Sakinaka’s shoulder. “And Mi-chan doesn’t even notice it himself. This older brother of mine is such a troublesome one. If only he could be more honest and less moody… He doesn’t even pay me any attention most of the time but look at him right now. He could have a collapse any second now. Haa, what should I do with you, Mi-chan?”

“First of all, you’re not answering my question,” accused Mitaru, sticking his index finger forward to point it at Mitsu and Sakinaka. “Second, back off!”

“Now, now, calm down, all of you,” tried Tou to quiet down the one-sided hostility. “I’ll answer that question. The Japanese military was not aware of the existence of The Union and super soldiers until the lab invasion mission started being formulated. Actually, only the soldiers in our base now know of your existence. The rest of the country is completely in the blank.”

“These two just have been getting along extremely well since both joined the army,” continued En after releasing a soft snort. “Weirdoes always feel attracted to one another, what can you do?”

“Did that confession make your shoulders feel lighter, Shirose?” asked Sakinaka, sideways glancing at En with a small smirk twisting the corner of her lips.

“Let’s not go over there again, Kanna,” warned En, also sideways glancing at Sakinaka, his brows softly creased in a frown.

“It’s just like Tou-san said,” added Ikusaki, placing his hand on top of Mitaru’s shoulder and giving a couple of pats to calm him down. “Even though they have completely different functions and positions within the base, they’re a close group of friends. I have no idea what an informant-slash-super-soldier, an engineer and two pilots could have in common to talk about but it is as it is. Let’s leave it at that, okay?”

“Hmph!” Mitaru turned around on his heels and started walking towards the restaurant area. “Mitsu, which restaurant in this shabby building won’t make me gag all over the place?”

“I know just the place!” acknowledged Mitsu, a huge smile on her face as she happily ran after Mitaru. She grabbed him by the arm and started pulling him over in the correct direction. “I’m sure you’re going to love it, Mi-chan!”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever,” grumbled Mitaru under his breath.

“I’m starting to think Mitsu uses Rei has a cover-up to hide her brocon side,” pointed out Mizusaki as he observed the two super soldiers walking off on their own.

“You only noticed that now?” scoffed Iru, a knowing smirk tugging at the corner of his lips. “Why do you think I never did anything to stop Mitsu and all of that absurdity?”

“Ah, yes, Iru-sama, always such a kindhearted one,” eloquently dramatised Mizusaki, holding his chest tight with one of his hands. “Are perhaps sibling complexes a popular fad within super soldiers and we weren’t aware of it?”

“Quite a lot of you have hinted that seeking those who suit us best is instinctive,” retorted Iru, shortening the distance between him and Rei before he started leading them to the restaurant area likewise. “What do you feel like eating today, Rei?”

“I’ll eat whatever you want to eat, Iru-kun,” answered Rei, following next to him with a satisfied expression hidden underneath his usual expressionless. “Oh. But I’d like to try eating some ‘ice cream’ and the ‘medium-rare steak’ Ikusaki-kun and Miue-san were talking about earlier.”

“We’ll start with those then,” acknowledged Iru, all smiles now.

“Ah!! I also wanna go with you!” yelped Atsumu, preparing himself to run after the two super soldiers.

“Go away,” warned Iru, a single glance over his shoulders forcing Atsumu into an emergency stop.

“I’m off too then~” announced Tsugi, nibbling at his thumb as he walked towards the nearest food stall. His stomach also sent a loud grumble as a farewell.

“Do I… really need to eat surrounded by so many humans?” inquired Azuma, adjusting his glasses while staring fixedly to the floor.

“Yes. Yes, you have,” said Eki, grabbing one of Azuma’s arms together with Mizusaki to force him to approach the feared eating zone.

“If you have no one to eat with, I’ll join you,” offered Tou, patting Atsumu’s slumped down shoulder a couple of times. “What do you say?”

“Ugh… I wanted to eat with Rei-chan…” sobbed Atsumu, his shoulders and head slumping down even further. “Eating with you is just not the same…”

“I think it would be quite similar,” confessed Tou, a large grin on his face as he wrapped his arm around Atsumu’s neck and started pulling him along with them to the restaurant area.

More similar than you think.