"All right," You raise an an open hand and start going down the checklist. "I've got most of the camping stuff, Setsu's got the tents, my sister's coming with the food, Sandra and Shuri are bringing the drinks... did I forget anything?"
Five fingers down, five members of your flight, the five essentials of camping, all accounted for.
You are Rokusabe Koujirou, and you can't shake the feeling you are forgetting something very, very important. You eye the pile of ropes, matches, firewood and assorted camping paraphernalia, trying to divine what exactly was missing, but everything seemed to be accounted for.
On paper, this Survival Training slash Camping Trip was supposed to teach rookie Valkyries how to survive in the wilderness on the off chance they are left stranded and unable to be rescued for any amount of time.
In practice, Valkyries tended to have enough rations and equipment stored that survival was trivial, and they could normally fly whenever they want, so the whole thing was treated more like a team building exercise. However, to keep with the spirit of the lesson, the use of their Valkyries was discouraged and the cadets were expected to do as much as possible with their bare hands.
You turned to where Setsuna was struggling with the tents where you and your friends would spend the night. After seeing her fail to put one of them together for the fifth time in a row, you decide that she could use a distraction.
"Setsu." You call her name, but she doesn't seem to hear. "Hey, Setsu!" You try again.
She starts for a moment before turning around and giving you her Angry Glare. "What is it, you idiot?! Can't you see I'm busy here?"
You make a show of looking at the pile of parts that should be a tent behind her and do your best to transmit all the amusement you feel through your voice.
"Really?" You smirk. "You seemed to be almost finished with those tents..."
At that, she turns a lovely shade of red and throws a poorly aimed piece of plastic you make a show of dodging.
You chuckle and decide not to tease her more. For now.
"Sorry, sorry. I just wanted to ask you if you're sure you brought everything." You say. "I have this feeling I've forgotten something important, so..." You trail off.
Setsu looks confused for a moment. She opens her mouth to speak, but closes it again and assumes a pensive pose.
"I think so." She says. "I have the tents, the rope, a couple knives... everything I was supposed to bring, and I know you brought your share as well because I was with you when we were packing up." She shrugs. "I guess it's just your imagination. Let's wait for the others to get here, then you can check if there's anything missing."
You nod, and get back to unpacking and organizing all the tools. Soon enough, your passive sensors warn you that the rest of your flight is approaching.
Upon seeing the four blips that show up on your HUD, you suddenly, you remember what, or rather who you forgot.
Anna Sanchez, who was in charge of bringing the snacks for your little trip.
Anna, who confessed she had no idea what a camping trip was supposed to be like.
This was going to give you a migraine, wasn't it?
The four girls land on the clearing where you'll camp and quickly store their Valkyries. After a quick exchange of greetings, Sandra and Shuri each materialize a cooler filled with ice, water bottles and soda cans, while your sister summoned a basket filled with sandwiches, saying she was keeping the rest stored until it was time to eat.
Anna, on the other hand, unceremoniously dumped a small mountain of chocolates, cookies, marshmallows and other snacks on the ground.
After storing everything again, the six of you went about setting up camp. Sandra helped Setsuna with the tents while Shuri and Yukari gathered more firewood.
However, it seemed Anna didn't know what to do and just watched the others go about their tasks. Well, we couldn't have her just standing there awkwardly, could we?
"Hey, Anna." You called. "Can you help me make a bonfire?" Your offer seemed to make her perk up. That encouraged you to continue. "I already got some firewood while waiting for you girls to arrive. We just need to put the wood in place and start the fire."
She gave a nod and you helped her move the firewood to the middle of the clearing. After the two of you were done, you turned back to the pile of tools and started looking for some matches.
"Okay, now all we need to do is ignite the firewood." You explained, without looking away from your task. "Give me a moment to find some matches and..." The unmistakeable sound of high energy plasma being generated made you pause.
Slowly, you turned around and were greeted by the sight of Cadet Anna Sanchez smiling happily, with her Valkyrie partially manifested and her plasma emmiters deployed in what must have been their lowest setting.
"Anna..." She turned around, still with a smile on her face.
"What is it, Koujirou?"
Her smile was so honest, so bright you almost didn't stop her. Almost.
"Anna, we don't use high energy plasma to start bonfires. That's... that's just plain overkill."
She tilted her head to the side in confusion, wordlessly asking you to explain further.
You sighed. God damn it, Anna.
"Just... just put the plasma away, Anna. We won't be using it."
The way her smile vanished and her expression went from eager to disappointed was almost heart wrenching.
This was going to be a long trip...
