The two blondes walked towards the courtyard of the building in silence.
"Did something happen, Shizuka-chan?" Cloud asked as he looked at the woman.
"W-Well..." - Shizuka shifted uncomfortably - "W-How about we talk in a more private place?"
"Ok" - Cloud just nodded at the words - "I'll follow you"
Shizuka nodded as they walked in a direction unknown to the blonde.
* * * * *
The two of them walked towards a room and entered without even knocking on the door.
"Rika-san?" -Cloud was surprised when he saw Rika sitting on a chair.
"Cloud?" -and apparently, Rika was also surprised so she gave Shizuka a look, who just looked away-"..."
"Ok... can someone tell me what's going on?" Cloud asked with a frown.
"W-Well..."-Shizuka only moved with discomfort as she didn't know how to answer her blonde boyfriend's question.
"I'll do it myself, Shizuka"-Rika said as she sighed-"Cloud...there's something important I want to tell you..."
"Okay?" The blonde just frowned because he felt this would be a bit of a problem.
"I… feel like I love Shizuka…" Rika said as she sighed.
"Ha?" - Cloud could only exclaim in surprise - "Really?"
"I'm not sure…" Rika mumbled as she looked at Shizuka "It's just that I feel strange when I see that they're together… every time I see her smile next to you, it makes my heart ache." ..."
"Does this happen when I'm with someone else?" - Asked the blond. It wasn't that he thought he was a heartthrob but it was better to clarify the fact that it wasn't him.
"I know what you're trying to say and I don't" - answered Rika - "It's strange really because I've had many male partners... I've needed a lot of stress relief in the service"
". . ." -Cloud was silent as he thought about what he said-"Are you bisexual?"
"I'm not sure..." - Rika answered again - "I'm really not sure..."
"How did this happen?" the blond asked as he looked at the two women.
"It was yesterday when we were drinking… I let the alcohol take over and we ended up sleeping together…" the purple-haired woman replied as she looked at the blonde nurse with a slight blush- "After that I don't remember much ..."
"We didn't do anything"-Shizuka replied as she shook her head-"Although when we woke up, she revealed her feelings to me and I didn't know how to react so I went to look for you and solve this together"
"It's something Shizuka-chan would do" - the blonde smiled as Rika nodded - "But let's get back to the main topic"
"Ok" - agreed the two women.
"Tell me, Shizuka-chan...what do you really think?" Cloud asked seriously.
"I... I don't want to lose my best friend..." Shizuka murmured sadly "I feel like I don't accept her words, she will leave me..."
". . ." Rika tried to say something but she fell silent seeing what she was doing. She was putting pressure on her feelings that were likely just great affection for her friend seeing that she was safe, hurting her in the process.
"Rika-san... are you sure you love Shizuka-chan?" The blond asked with a frown. Honestly, seeing Shizuka so sad was bothering Cloud but since she was best friends with her girlfriend, she decided to resist the urge to do anything.
"I told you…I'm not entirely sure…" Rika said as she sighed.
Cloud's brow furrowed further as he glared at the woman. If she wasn't sure, then she was only hurting Shizuka just because she was.
"What I do know, is that..." - Rika said.
"Enough!" - Cloud exclaimed furiously - "If you're only going to speak to hurt her, then you better keep quiet!"
"Cloud-chan!" - Shizuka exclaimed with annoyance - "Don't yell at Shizuka-chan!"
"No...he has reason to be angry"-said Rika-"I understand how angry he is because my supposed feelings are hurting you...but...it's true that I love you..."
Shizuka blushed at these words because somehow, they sounded more sincere than the ones she had heard before.
"Ok... I feel like they're stealing my girlfriend..." Cloud said as he looked at the two women.
"~"-Shizuka blushed even more when she heard this as she hid her face in her boyfriend's chest-"D-Don't say that!"
". . ." -Rika frowned when she saw all this while she took her heart- "It really hurts..."
". . ." - The two blondes could only look at Rika in silence.
"I guess I better go" - Rika said sadly.
"Wait, Rika-chan!" Shizuka exclaimed as she stopped her best friend.
". . ." Rika stopped her steps as she gave him a look.
"I... I'm sorry..." - Shizuka murmured - "I'm sorry I can't return your feelings because I love Cloud-chan..."
Rika sighed again regretfully as she shook her head. Hearing this hurt her more than she thought.
"But that doesn't mean I don't care about you!" Shizuka exclaimed as she took her friend's hand in hers "I'm sorry...I'm really sorry...I'm sorry I can't return your feelings..."
"I understand, Shizuka" - Rika said with a forced smile - "You don't have to tell me anything else..."
Cloud just stayed silent as he watched the woman walk away.
"Cloud-chan..."-Shizuka said as she looked at her boyfriend-"I need you to do me a favor..."
"?" -The blonde just gave the woman a confused look but he still nodded- "What do you need?"
"I want...I want you to help Rika-chan..." Shizuka said as she looked at her boyfriend-"Please..."
"Are you asking your boyfriend to help the woman who wants to rob you?" The blond asked in surprise.
"You know very well that that's impossible"-Shizuka smiled but her expression turned serious-"But I really want you to help Rika-chan...she has suffered more than you think..."
* * * * *
"It really hurts…" Rika said as she looked at the ground sadly. She honestly never thought that she would be interested in her best friend, not when something like this had never happened before. She was normal with her likes, in fact, she had had encounters with many men during her years of service but look at her now, suffering because her best friend didn't accept her feelings-"..."
"I didn't expect to see you so bad..." Cloud said as he walked in her direction.
"Come to laugh at me?" - asked Rika with a frown - "It was very clear that she loves you"
"If you don't remember, she said that she cares about you"-replied the blond with a frown.
"What do you want..." - Rika said with annoyance.
"Shizuka-chan told me to help you but honestly I don't know how" - answered the blonde as he looked at the woman- "And I have to admit, I feel strange doing it"
"Sounds like a cheap plot"-Rika said as she let out a laugh but she quickly fell silent as she shook her head-"I'm fine... you can go"
"I don't think it's possible"-Cloud denied as he looked at the woman-"If I do it, Shizuka-chan won't forgive me"
"I can imagine"-Rika said as she let out another laugh-"I still don't understand how it all ended this way... I never thought I would end up feeling something for that airhead"
"Hey! Shizuka-chan is beautiful!" - exclaimed the blonde with annoyance - "That silky blonde hair that reaches the end of her back"
"Those big hips that end in a round and firm butt" - Rika said.
"That slim waist" - continued Cloud.
"And her big breasts" - both answered at the same time while letting out another laugh.
"Ok, if you know how to appreciate Shizuka's beauty" - Rika said with a half smile - "At least you made me laugh a little and get out of this spiral of sadness"
"Honestly, if it wasn't Shizuka-chan... I would have liked to help you"-Cloud said as he shook his head-"I don't feel very good seeing that someone close to her is so sad"
"You can always finish her off and give me a free ride" - Rika replied seriously but quickly burst out laughing - "Just kidding"
"I know..."-Cloud said as he shook his head-"If I did that, which I'm not going to do, you would have put a bullet in my forehead for playing with her feelings"
"Indeed…" Rika said with a sharp look, "She might sound hypocritical coming from someone who almost hurt her but I'm not going to let anyone hurt her. She's too nice for her own good." .."
"If only there was a way to fix this…" the blonde muttered as he shook his head. He had to admit that Rika was a good friend, especially how much he cared for Shizuka, who honestly didn't have a good way to defend herself against her in case something happened.
"I think the same..." - sighed the woman with purple hair - "I guess there are things that were destined to never happen"
". . ." - The two fell silent after she said those words as they watched as the clouds moved in the sky.
"Thanks for talking to me"-Rika said with a smile-"I know Shizuka forced you but she needed to talk to someone..."
"Don't worry" - denied the blond - "I just hope our relationship isn't so tense"
"Don't worry, I know how to act without letting my feelings cloud my judgment" - answered the ace of the Sniper Corps - "Not to mention that if I did something against you, Shizuka would never forgive me"
After saying those words, Rika walked out of the room although she could be seen to be a bit more relaxed.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
*quick clarification*
No, Shizuka isn't a lesbian, although in the Ova she is shown to be Curious, and no, I don't plan on making her a lesbian either...it's possible that something will happen between the three of them in the future but I'm not sure.
Regarding Rika, no, she's just acting at the moment (the tension of the Zombie virus and Shizuka being the only person she really has) and she doesn't need to be a lesbian, like Shizuka, she can be curious with that kind of things.
I am not going to go into the psychological issue any further, but you can consider that Rika feels a deep concern and current dependency on Shizuka, since it could be said that she is her anchor, every military man has one, plus those who have been in the war or have seen death, like her. That's why she acts so weird, and yes, she will slowly return to normal as things settle down..