GunEVA Alternative: A Valentine's Omake

'''There are many worlds out there. Some are very different than our own, while others are so alike they may as well be a reflection. In many worlds, we began our time with the UEF several months earlier, allowing for some bonding before February rolled around. These are excerpts from a few such worlds...'''

Why was this so hard? Why was she worried so much about it? Over a month had passed since that one bad date with Vee had crushed any chance of that relationship working out, and that's fine! Shuuto had completely moved on. After everything that had happened, all the training together, and stolen glances, and imagining the future, there was really only one person she had her mind on. So here she was, handmade cookies in a cute bag tied with a red ribbon, her hand over her chest trying to will her heart to stop pounding. It's fine. Totally fine! They'll understand... they have to.

She knocks on the door, quietly at first, then with more force once it's too late to turn back. Seconds pass, and just as she's about to give up, she hears movement in the room. It's happening! This is it! The door slides open, and Shuuto's heart stops.

"Huh? I didn't expect to see you." Jasmine looks genuinely surprised for a moment before her face relaxes. "Actually, I guess it makes sense..."

Shuuto's mind is racing. What did she mean? Did she know? Did she feel the same way?!

"[U-umm! Jasmine, I... need to tell you something.]"

The idol folds her arms and looks at the girl before her intently, then nods.

"[When I first met you, I was shocked, cause you're kinda famous. And my sister is like, a huge huge fan. But as I got to know you I realized you're just a normal person. A... very amazing person. So, I just... you don't have to say anything, but I wanted to...]" Shuuto begins tripping over her words, then gives up on speech entirely and holds the bag of cookies out with her eyes closed.

She can't see Jasmine's reaction, but a couple seconds later, the bag is lifted from her grasp. Shuuto looks at her in surprise, and when she sees Jasmine's smile, her heart melts. Could it be? Were her feelings delivered?

"[You're way, way too kind!]" Jasmine says sweetly. "[Seriously, what would I do without people like you in my life? I appreciate this sooooo much!]"

"[Then... you...]" the awestruck Shuuto chokes out.

"[I was in the middle of something, so I gotta-" Jasmine gestures back into her room, "[but I'll never forget this! Thank you thank you thank you~"] She winks and takes a step back, and the door shuts. Shuuto stands there, motionless. It's over. She did it.

On the other side of the door, Jasmine yawns and throws the bag of cookies on her desk, next to dozens of other bags of various sweets, small gifts, and stacks of letters. She flops down on her bed with a single thought on her mind: Valentine's Day is such a pain.

~

Why was this so hard? Why was she worried so much about it? Over a month had passed since that one bad date with Vee had crushed any chance of that relationship working out, and that's fine! Shuuto had completely moved on. After everything that had happened, all the training together, and stolen glances, and imagining the future, there was really only one person she had her mind on. So here she was, handmade cookies in a cute bag tied with a red ribbon, her hand over her chest trying to will her heart to stop pounding. It's fine. Totally fine! They'll understand... they have to.

She sees him across the hangar, hard at work. This is perfect. It's what she loved about him so much, after all. A strong work ethic is what she respects more than anything else, and nobody's is stronger than him. She walks over, ignoring the glances from other mechanics, and stops just behind him.

"D-don't turn around Tim. Just... keep working, or I won't be able to do this," she says to him, her voice quivering slightly. He does indeed keep working, but she hears him respond.

"Hmm? Yeah, okay."

Satisfied, Shuuto continues. "Look, we got off to a weird start, but not in a bad way. I've never met someone who knew less about baseball, but still had an interest in learning. Usually if someone doesn't care, they're like... determined to not care. But you always listened to me, and I... I think I understand why, now."

"Really?"

Her heart skips a beat. This is it. "I realized it when I found myself more and more interested in TSF maintenance, and stuff. It's... because of you. I want to know more about those things, because it's what you like. And I think - no, I hope - that's why you wanted to know more about baseball." She hesitates for a moment, then holds the bag of cookies out in front of her. "I think we should continue to learn more and more about each other! Tim! Please accept these!"

Tim stops his work, and slowly turns around to face Shuuto. There's a look of surprise on his face. He looks between Shuuto and the cookies several times, then says, "Yeah, I understand. Let me call you back in a few minutes. My friend is here." He presses a finger to the earpiece Shuuto hadn't even noticed before, then smiles. "Sorry about that Slugger! Boss is away but he can't stop giving orders. So, what's that? Wanna share a snack or something?"

~

Why was this so hard? Why was she worried so much about it? Over a month had passed since that one bad date with Vee had crushed any chance of that relationship working out, and that's fine! Shuuto had completely moved on. After everything that had happened, all the training together, and stolen glances, and imagining the future, there was really only one person she had her mind on. So here she was, handmade cookies in a cute bag tied with a red ribbon, her hand over her chest trying to will her heart to stop pounding. It's fine. Totally fine! They'll understand... they have to.

She sees him there, across the cafeteria. This was her only chance. She ignores everyone else and walks straight to him.

"Hey! Old man!"

Eugene looks up at her, confused. "Do I know you?" he asks as he puts his soup spoon down on his tray.

She grits her teeth. He was always like this! "Shuuto! Stop forgetting!"

"Shooter, huh. Yeah okay, what's up?"

"Look, don't worry about the details. I don't know why I'm like this, but it's just the way it is." She pulls out the bag of cookies and holds it in one hand. "I was thinking of you and I made these. It's gross, right? But whatever, just take them, they're probably pretty good."

She tosses the bag to Eugene, a perfectly aimed pass, but he doesn't even come close to catching it. The bag hits the floor, and the cookies break with an audible crunch.

"You... you..." she's shaking her head, tears in her eyes. "How could you do this to me? This is... a girl's soul!" Shuuto spins on her heels and sprints out of the cafeteria, tears trailing behind her. Eugene watches her go for a moment before shrugging.

He picks up his soup spoon and digs back into his French onion. For a moment he wonders, who's a girl?, but it's quickly forgotten and replaced with delicious soup.

~

Why was this so hard? Why was she worried so much about it? Over a month had passed since that one bad date with Vee had crushed any chance of that relationship working out, and that's fine! Shuuto had completely moved on. After everything that had happened, all the training together, and stolen glances, and imagining the future, there was really only one person she had her mind on. So here she was, handmade cookies in a cute bag tied with a red ribbon, her hand over her chest trying to will her heart to stop pounding. It's fine. Totally fine! They'll understand... they have to.

But where is she? Shuuto has looked everywhere. She wasn't in any of her usual hangouts, and Tim and Jun hadn't seen her in hours. If she couldn't find her, maybe she could just leave these by her bedroom door? But what if someone else sees, or worse, takes them? No! She has to do this in person, or it doesn't count!

As she's struggling internally, someone places a hand on her shoulder and whispers close to her ear, "Hey there."

Shuuto nearly jumps out of her own skin. With a distinctly girly "Kyah!" she spins around and sees Claudia laughing at her.

"That's... that's not fair!"

"Ahahahahaha," Claudia cuts her laugh short and grins devilishly, "but isn't all fair in love and war?"

"Wh... wha... war?"

"Oh?" She looks down at the bag of cookies that had fallen when Shuuto jumped. "I see, I see..." Claudia puts her index finger to her chin and coyly adds, "I guess it's not war, then...?"

Shuuto is entirely frozen. Her mind and body have both had fatal errors and stopped responding. Claudia bends down and snags the bag, then casually pulls the ribbon, letting it fall to the floor. With two fingers, she grabs a cookie from the bag and tosses it in her mouth.

"Hmm," she considers, chewing slowly. "Yeah, it does taste like love. Gosh, guess it really does make for a secret ingredient."

"Dia!" Shuuto is finally able to say. "I just wanted to tell you, um, with those... this didn't go like I... I just, think, you're really..."

As another cookie sails in an arc from the bag to Claudia's mouth, Shuuto's words fail her again. She just can't compete against Claudia's nonchallance.

"...nevermind!"

She officially gives up and decides to Live Another Day, running from the battlefield of love before she can take any more critical damage. Next time, definitely, she'd be in a situation where Claudia didn't have the upper hand! For sure!

~

Why was this so hard? Why was she worried so much about it? Over a month had passed since that one bad date with Vee had crushed any chance of that relationship working out, and that's fine! Shuuto had completely moved on. After everything that had happened, all the training together, and stolen glances, and imagining the future, there was really only one person she had her mind on. So here she was, handmade cookies in a cute bag tied with a red ribbon, her hand over her chest trying to will her heart to stop pounding. It's fine. Totally fine! They'll understand... they have to.

And there he was, just as expected. This had become part of their daily routine, and was something Shuuto truly looked forward to every day. Usually she was here first, but she had needed a little extra time to get the cookies ready, so Ken is already stretching.

"Morning!" he calls out to her. "Everything okay? You're usually here promptly." His accent makes Shuuto's heart flutter. She just wants to hear it forever and ever.

"Yeah, sorry, got held up!" She stows the bag safely in her hoodie's pocket and joins Ken in his warmup. A few minutes later the two of them set off at a steady pace. Like always, they talk about whatever comes to mind, both to pass the time, but also to measure their own exertion. If one of them - but realistically, if Ken - couldn't speak casually, both of them would slow their pace a little. Ken had been worried this would annoy Shuuto at first, but she assured him it wasn't like that at all. They were a team, after all, and she'd stick with him! She wanted to!

Since then he'd come a long way, and now the two of them could run for an hour and talk without interruption. Today they talked about random stuff as always, like current events on the base, rumors of who'd be promoted soon, the best pizza they'd each eaten in their life. Finally Ken brings up the topic of someone liking someone else, and Shuuto seizes on the chance. She slows down, then stops. Ken notices and loops back, stopping before her. He catches his breath, and asks, "Everything alright?"

Shuuto nods, though she's hunched over, her hands on her knees. This is it! Get psyched up! There's no turning back!

She stands with a smile. "Yeah, I just needed a little break." The two of them are on the far side of the base's improvised track, completely isolated from anybody else. She takes a couple steps forward until she's directly in front of Ken. "Look, um... I wasn't entirely honest about why I was late this morning. I was held up because I was working on something." Her hand slips into her pocket, and the crinkling of the bag is barely audible through her clothing. "Something for, er, for you." She pulls it out, and holds it up between them.

Ken's eyes open wide with acknowledgment. His hands slowly reach up and grasp the cookies. "Wow, I understand!" Shuuto's heart begins to burst with those words, then Ken continues. "It's ギリチョコ! A fine tradition."

"W-wait, no, it's-"

"But I guess with cookies, instead of chocolate. You must've gotten up early to make these for everyone, huh?"

"No, hold on, you-"

"It's great to bring a piece of home to the base to liven things up. This is splendid."

"Will you shut up and LISTEN?!" Shuuto finally loses her temper. "These are for you, and only you!" Ken's eyes narrow in surprise. "You're the only one I want to do things like for, understand?? Come on, don't leave me hanging here man." He cocks his head to the side a little, focusing intently on her. "Please? Say something? You jerk, I'm saying I like you! So say something back!"

"Get down!"

Ken moves in a flash, jumping toward Shuuto and pushing her to the side. Everything happens in slow motion. She sees the cookies in midair, tumbling down. She sees Ken's body falling in the place they were both standing moments earlier. She realizes his eyes hadn't been narrowing in surprise, and that she hadn't been what he was focusing on at all. And finally, as she hits the ground, she sees the impossibly large broken piece of a TSF smash into the ground at high speed.

Right where they'd been standing.

Right where Ken had landed.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!"

~

Shuuto sits at her desk in her room, quietly munching on a small bag of cookies. She'd baked them while thinking impossible thoughts, because after some time in the UEF, one thing was certain. Nobody in this world was good enough for her. Nobody she'd met had come close to making her heart beat faster, so she'd been thinking how great it would be if there was some alternate world out there. She could meet someone that truly embodied the soul of a sportsman, who truly understood what it meant to dedicate yourself to your craft. That's the kind of person she needed in her life. But that was impossible, of course. She looks at the cookies with their cute dragon patterns she'd added on a whim, and sighs. Yep. Totally impossible.