Sakura POV

Being the captain of Unit 3 for the Raeixan Seraph Division, it only makes sense that you are loyal to Raeix. If they order you to fight, you’ll be there. If they ask you to report to them, report to them you will. If they ask you to lead an attack against an entire planet, apparently you’ll do that too.

Rose pink eyes glow.

“Captain Miyawaki, do we have your attention?”

Your eyes snap from out the window to Commander Hong. You flash him a smile. “My full attention, Sir.”

The man glares at you before turning back to the Council.

“Then, will you tell us about the girl?”

Your jaw tightens, but your smile stays.

“No, actually, I will not,” You bring your hands behind your back, keeping them there as the Council looks at you with a blank stare. You may be loyal, but you have no mind in being stubborn to even the most powerful people.

“Captain, we understand that she is not a part of your mission, but now that she is in your custody—” Council Member Ry begins, but he closes his mouth once you open yours.

“Precisely. She is in my custody, so I will decide when to speak of her,” Your smile is gone from your face, and you speak clearly. “I think it’s a bit rude to talk about someone when they’re not present, don’t you?”

Council Member Ry opens his mouth to speak, but is cut off once again by another Council Member that switches to the topic of the mission your unit was sent on. You’ve grown tired of that subject.

Your mind wanders, and it finds the bob-haired girl that appeared so abruptly. Before you were called upon for yet another meeting, you helped her back to your room so she could rest. At first, she insisted on lying on the floor, and that was the most you’ve seen her talk in the few hours that you’ve known her for. However, you finally convinced her to rest on your bed when you told her that resting uncomfortably would slow her healing process.

Of course, lying down with broken ribs would also slow the healing process, so you had to accommodate her with pillows to keep Chaewon upright. She complained, initially, but when you told her the effects of doing otherwise, she stayed quiet and let you help her get comfortable. The thought makes you smile.

You stayed with for a little while as she rested, and without her asking, you played some music so that your room wouldn’t be entirely quiet. You now know how much she dislikes silence.

Your time with her was mostly spent without interactions because you understood that her tiredness was catching up to her. However, a surprisingly huge part of you wanted to bombard her with questions about herself, wanted to talk about everything and more with her. Except when you opened your mouth to ask, you noticed her eyes closing and struggling to stay open.

“Captain Miyawaki did a great job in overseeing the attack.”

The sound of your name being said draws you out of your thoughts. You give a small smile to the Council before they avert their eyes from you and discuss other matters with the Commander.

Your mind finds Chaewon again. You remember how she plays with her fingers. You can’t tell if it’s a nervous tic she has since she might have been nervous the whole time she’s been with you.

You imagine her weary red eyes, the way that she looks at you cautiously during the few times she meets eyes with you as she fidgets with her fingers. Her short black hair and bangs that cover her forehead.

A smirk tugs on your lips.

You remember the way she breathed when you pulled her up from the table after you finished her procedure, the way her red eyes glowed when her eyes met yours. The way her breath hit your–

“–dismissed. Thank you for attending this meeting.”

You blink and the smirk is wiped off your face. Bowing quickly, you mutter a “Thank you for having us,” to the Council. The hologram disappears, and you rush out of the meeting room. Commander Hong follows suit.

The Commander falls into step with you as you briskly walk down the hall, and you want nothing more than to be without him. The universe appears to have other plans.

“What was so important you had to space out during a meeting?” He asks, but you don’t appreciate him prying into your business. He continues, anyway. “You know the Council would’ve said something if you weren’t so important right now.”

“It was nothing,” You keep your chin up high, not bothering to look at your so-called boss. He keeps his eyes focused on the hallway in front of him. You see his arms cross from the corner of your eye.

“Sakura–”

You shake your head. Your eyebrows furrow and eyes move to look at him. “Don’t call me that.”

“Captain,” The man corrects himself with a sigh. “My younger sister will be joining your team soon. With what I witnessed during the meeting, I’m concerned that she won’t be looked after during her time in this unit.”

That makes you stop walking. You feel a surge of power rush through your veins and to your head, making your already pink eyes glow. Your hands curl into fists, causing your knuckles to whiten.

“Have you seen me do that any time previous to this?” You hiss, and now it’s Commander Hong’s turn to furrow his eyebrows.

“I’m merely expressing my concern. I am in no way attacking you.”

“Then next time, find a better way to approach a topic such as that one.”

You walk past him and inhale deeply. You can’t have Chaewon see that you lost your calm.

Keeping yourself aware, you notice that there aren’t any footsteps following you. At least that child of a man won’t be pestering you any longer.

Another deep breath, and you continue walking. You turn the corner to Sector B. Your arms cross over your chest and eyes focus on the door at the end of the hallway.

Chaewon is resting there. You wonder if she has woken up. Your eyebrows raise in concern. You hope she hasn’t gotten up for anything.

Your pace quickens.

Has she felt any pain since you left? She’s bound to feel slightly uncomfortable because of the numbing pill you gave her for the procedure, but pain would be a sign of something worse. You hope she isn’t in pain.

You begin to jog.

Has resting been uncomfortable too? Maybe she was able to sleep the feeling away, but you can’t help the feeling of worry that washes over you.

You’re more than halfway to your room. A few more steps and your questions will be answered. Or will she be asleep? You don’t know which you would prefer. You would like to get to know her more, but you also want her to rest. You don’t have to ask her to know that she’s been through a lot today. Her constant red eyes that glance at everywhere but you, her tired voice…

The torn, dirty clothes that decorated her body.

When you presented her with new clothes, she looked at you with cautious eyes, almost as if she was asking if they were yours. They were in fact yours, but you reassured her that you had never worn them before and brought them on the mission with you ‘just in case’, which is the truth. That seemed to do it, because she entered your bathroom to change. Although, she seemed a bit tense. You can only imagine that this whole situation is uncomfortable for her.

That is why she has your empathy.

You stand before the door to your bedroom, and your heart is beating rapidly. You should be in there right now, but something is stopping you. You stand still, waiting for nothing. Your eyebrows pull upwards. You don’t know why you’re so nervous about entering your own room. Maybe you made a mistake during the procedure, leaving her in more pain than ever. 

…Now you’re wondering why you’re standing still in the first place. You have to check on her.

A hand turns the door knob and the door swings open. In front of you is the sight of Chaewon, lying down on your bed, playing with her fingers. Her eyes are still red, but you let out a sigh of relief. It doesn’t look like she’s in any pain.

Her eyes meet yours, and one of her eyebrows arch. She’s confused.

“Are you okay?” She asks with a voice as soft as the clouds, and now you’re confused.

“I’m more than okay. Why?” You ask as you step inside your room, closing the door behind you. Chaewon’s eyes follow you as you move, and you think that this is the longest she’s watched you for.

“Your eyes, they’re pink.”

So, you weren’t able to calm yourself enough. It’s not that surprising, you were overthinking on the way here, anyway.

“Um, yeah,” You walk to her, deciding to sit at the foot of your bed to give her space. “Don’t worry about it, it’s just work related things.”

That’s a white lie, but the girl doesn’t seem to notice. Either that, or she decides to brush it off. Chaewon gives a small nod before she goes back to watching her fidgeting fingers.

Without counting the soft music playing, there is silence. Neither of you say a word, and you’re beginning to understand why she hates the quiet so much. Although it never bothered you before, now it does.

You’re so curious as to which planet she’s from. You know it’s not Raeix, her accent is different. You want to know what she’s like, what she likes, what she doesn’t like, but you know better than asking. You have to settle with saying things that will subtly reveal things about her.

“Did you–”

“How did–”

The two of you look at each other. An awkward smile grows on your face, and you notice the tips of her ears turn the slightest bit of red.

“Go ahead, what were you saying?” You allow her to go first. Maybe it will help her become comfortable with you.

You see her take a deep breath as she turns away from your eyes.

“How did you figure out that I’m a seraph?”

You smile. This topic is being discussed faster than you would have liked it to, but you don’t mind.

“You were able to ‘breathe’ in space, right?”

Chaewon’s eyebrows furrow and her head turns to meet your eyes. “Yes, but how’d you know that?”

Your smile grows wider, and you feel the power surge in your head subside. Pink eyes go back to black. “I told you, I’m not just–”

“–just anyone. I know that, but don’t you have an explanation?” You can see her frustration growing, and while you would normally not do anything to worsen it, you can’t control the laugh that escapes from your mouth. “Sakura! I’m asking a serious question!”

You’re not used to hearing your name being called so casually, but hearing it being called by Chaewon sounds so nice. You can get used to it.

“Okay, okay, I did a scan on your body to see if your ribs damaged any organs and there wasn’t any lung damage, none at all.” 

Chaewon looks surprised. She doesn’t smile, but it’s almost as if she’s proud of herself. Except the feeling is