Junpei was standing in the garage with his arms crossed in melancholy contemplation. The sounds of grunts and pain were but distant to his ears.
"You whore! You couldn't just be quiet after murdering someone for a couple more days!" Hiromi spat while choking Chiho between her feet in a scissors lock.
Since Junpei did not take part in the harvest tonight, Daichi would be suspicious of Junpei. Hikaru was out there thinning the enemy forces as much as he could. As long as Hikaru kills all the witnesses, he would set up a trap at Junpei's house when Daichi sends a force to investigate.
Junpei, Chiho and Hiromi were hiding out at Hiromi's house and they were having sparring matches to practice. Junpei's sister, Hanae was also here but was watching tv in the living room because earlier she thought it was cool watching them spar, but when Hiromi and Chiho started arguing and it got very violent, Junpei told Hanae to wait outside.
***
A few minutes earlier...
After Hiromi had healed from a "spar" with Junpei, she and Chiho stood at opposite ends.
Chiho hadn't said a word since they had moved to Hiromi's place. They had already sparred five times with each other but tomorrow they would be launching an attack, so they had to practice as much as possible.
Therefore, the spars were really a beat down. They were so injured that they would have to be hospitalised if it weren't for Junpei's healing ability.
They found out that Junpei's healing ability had a limit. At first, he could heal 10 times but after that, it took 30 minutes to replenish one "shot" of healing.
The long cooldown is a weak point on the battlefield, but the instant heal ability of Junpei's was as good as Hikaru's ultra-fast "regeneration".
Moreover, Junpei felt that the exact time of his cooldown seemed to vary, and he felt that by concentrating, he could shorten the cooldown. There was room for his ability to get stronger.
Perhaps, he had other abilities... More active ones... Offensive abilities.
Junpei cried tears when he remembered when Hikaru said that the healer was important to keep a party alive and so as the "backbone" of the team he should always remain in the rear.
He had a lot of vengeance and wanted to fight the parasites head-on. So, his pride had taken a strong hit when he found out he was a healer and not a warrior or tank.
"Hey sis, you're not into boys, are you? I mean, are you gay?" Hiromi asked Chiho.
Chiho was wrapped up about the fact that Hikaru, her first love had killed her best friend, Aimi and that herself killed an innocent person as well.
She went numb and didn't talk but she almost felt the "motivation" just then.
Hiromi guessed that Chiho was a lesbian because of her tomboy looks so she asked to make sure. Chiho's silence neither confirmed nor denied it but that was good. It meant she wouldn't be in the mood to make moves on Hikaru.
"Well, either way, I'll tell you this now."
Chiho blinked apathetically.
"I love him." Hiromi declared.
Junpei had a weird face on. He knew that she was into Hikaru because he was so good looking. Every girl was like that at school, but it didn't mean the boys didn't have a chance with the girls. They all had to come back to reality.
Like Chiho, Junpei wasn't in the mood nor was it proper to think about such things but being bored, Hiromi made them think about his future.
'She's too far gone.' Junpei sighed.
What will happen after they stop the invasion? Things will never be the same and it would be easier to connect with someone who's been through similar experiences on an emotional level.
However, Junpei was pretty present in the moment. He gazed at the sheen of sweat on Hiromi's incredibly huge breasts through her tank top.
He had seen such a size in gravure videos but seeing them in person was a unique experience. He wondered if she starred in some gravure videos...
Since he definitely lost his chance with Hiromi... his gaze moved to Chiho's fairly attractive face and short hair. In all honesty, Chiho was more of Junpei's type.
He didn't deliberately sneak a peek at Hiromi, it was just that her chest was quite a rare sight in Japan and the entire world. Also, her chest was so huge that he was seeing it even if he was focusing on her eyes.
Junpei was a man, so he didn't peek at Chiho's chest, but he knew from the corner of his eyes that it was a small A cup and didn't feel magnetised by them.
He wondered what her usual personality was like since she didn't talk much. The state she is in now is temporary and wasn't who she really is.
"I know you're not thinking about that now but after some time you might come to like him. So, I'm telling you this now, okay? He's mine, first. So, don't bother."
Chiho didn't respond to Hiromi's comment.
"You got that? Sigh. Maybe you don't care at all. Well, that's good. Tell me, actually, promise me you will never make a move on him."
"..."
"It's not a big deal okay? Say it."
"... No."
"Hahhhh? What the f*** are you saying? Can you... Speak up?"
The situation was entirely inappropriate but Chiho would not lie.
Later, maybe her feelings will still be there. Maybe she will make a move on Hikaru. Maybe she'll have a chance with him, and they'll one day get married and have kids after all this is over. She lost too much... There has got to be something after all the pain...
'I need to take all the wins I can get.' Chiho thought as her spirit broke through.
"I don't know if I'll date him in the future but if I want to, then I will."
She does want to date him.