The moment my foot stepped past the gates, my phone buzzed. I glanced down, expecting it to be Himari. Instead, my screen lit up with a name I hadn't expected to see so quickly.
Hoshina Soshiro

I stopped walking. For some reason, seeing his name there felt different than seeing it before. Maybe because this time, I wasn't hoping. I already knew.

I opened the message.

Hoshina:
We'll miss you.

I stared at the screen. Then I smiled. I hated how easily he could do that. A simple sentence. Three words. And suddenly I was standing outside the Defense Force gates, trying not to look like I was grinning at my phone.

Me:
Already? I haven't even made it home.

The reply came almost immediately.

Hoshina:
Exactly.

I raised an eyebrow.

Me:
That's not how time works.

Hoshina:
Wasn't aware reporters were experts on time now.

Me:
I'm an expert on many things.

Hoshina:
Oh?

I could practically hear the amusement in his voice.

Hoshina:
Name one.

I thought for a moment.

Me:
Knowing when someone is being dramatic.

The typing bubble appeared. Disappeared. Appeared again.

Hoshina:
That's rude.

Me:
Maybe.

Hoshina:
You're lucky I find it cute.

I stopped walking. My face warmed. Of course he would just say things like that. Casually. Like he wasn't fully aware of the effect he had.

Me:
Careful, Vice-Captain.

Hoshina:
With what?

Me:
You're getting confident.

Hoshina:
I thought I was always confident.

Me:
That's the problem.

The reply came almost instantly.

Hoshina:
You like that about me.

I stared. Because annoyingly... He wasn't wrong.

Me:
Debatable.

Hoshina:
Liar.

I smiled.

Me:
You seem very sure of yourself.

Hoshina:
I'm usually right.

I rolled my eyes.

Me:
There it is.

Hoshina:
What?

Me:
The arrogance.

Hoshina:
I prefer charming.

Me:
You would.

Hoshina:
And yet you're still replying.

I looked down at the message. He had a point. Unfortunately.

Me:
Maybe I'm just being polite.

Hoshina:
At this hour?

I glanced at the time. It was later than I realized.

Me:
Maybe.

Hoshina:
You're terrible at pretending you don't like talking to me.

I paused. The teasing was still there. But underneath it was something softer. Something honest. I typed. Deleted. Typed again.

Me:
You're not exactly easy to ignore.

The typing bubble appeared immediately.

Hoshina:
Good.

My eyebrows lifted.

Me:
Good?

Hoshina:
Yeah.

Hoshina:
Was hoping I wasn't the only one having trouble.

I stared at that longer than I expected. Because that was the thing about him. He joked.He teased. He acted like everything was effortless. But every now and then, he said something that reminded me he was just as unsure as I was.

Me:
You know, for someone who acts so confident, you were pretty nervous about texting first.

A few seconds passed.

Hoshina:
I was not.

I laughed.

Me:
You absolutely were.

Hoshina:
False accusations.

Me:
You admitted it.

Hoshina:
I was being vulnerable.

Me:
Convenient.

Hoshina:
Cruel.

Me:
Honest.

Hoshina:
Dangerous combination.

I smiled at my phone.

Me:
Are you always this dramatic over text?

Hoshina:
Only when someone keeps challenging me.

Me:
Maybe you like being challenged.

The typing bubble appeared. This time it stayed longer.

Hoshina:
Maybe I do.

My heart skipped. Just slightly. Enough that I noticed.

Hoshina:
Besides.

Hoshina:
You were pretty entertaining today.

Me:
Because I worked?

Hoshina:
Because you tried to convince everyone you could keep up with training.

I groaned.

Me:
I could.

Hoshina:
Sure.

Me:
I could.

Hoshina:
You kicked dirt and said "maybe." And then proceeded to loose a race against me. Terribly.

I laughed.

Me:
I was considering all of my options.

Hoshina:
You were impressed.

Me:
Maybe.

Hoshina:
There it is again.

I smiled. The conversation continued long after I got home. About nothing important. About everything.

He complained about paperwork. I complained about editing. He teased me about taking too many notes. I teased him about enjoying the attention.

And somewhere between arguing about whether he was actually "showing off" during training and debating what counted as a proper dinner date... I realized something. This felt easy. Not the nervous waiting. Not the wondering. Not the overthinking.

Just this. Talking.

When my phone finally buzzed one last time before bed, I looked down.

Hoshina:
Get some sleep.

I smiled.

Me:
Are you ordering me around again, Vice-Captain?

A few seconds passed.

Hoshina:
Maybe.

I laughed.

Me:
You stole my answer.

Hoshina:
Worked well for you.

I shook my head.

Me:
Goodnight, Shoshiro.

The reply came quickly.

Hoshina:
Goodnight, (Y/N).

I stared at my name for a moment. Then I set my phone down. For the first time in a while... I fell asleep without wondering if I would hear from him tomorrow.

The next morning, the newsroom had returned to its usual rhythm. Phones rang. Keyboards clicked. Someone across the room argued with the printer for what sounded like the third time that morning.

It was strangely comforting.
Three days surrounded by the Defense Force had gotten me used to constant movement, shouted orders, and the occasional explosion in the distance.

Compared to that... The Tokyo Times was

peaceful.

Mostly.

I took another sip of my coffee before opening a blank document. The blinking cursor stared back at me. "...Well."

Himari rolled over in her chair, spinning once before stopping beside my desk. "So."
"So?"

"How do we summarize three days of organized chaos?"

I laughed. "I don't think 'organized' is the right word."

She nodded thoughtfully. "Fair."

"Very fair." We sat in silence for all of three seconds.

Then— Kafka's voice echoed through my memory.
"VICE-CAPTAIN, I SWEAR I THOUGHT IT WAS THE TRASH BIN!" I quoted, then I snorted.

Himari looked over immediately. "You remembered too?"

"I forgot about that."

"How could you forget?"

...

Two days earlier...

The cafeteria had gone completely silent. Kafka stood frozen. Holding a recycling bin.

Vice-Captain Hoshina slowly looked from the bin... ...to the actual trash can sitting two feet away. "...Kafka."

"Yes, sir?"

"...Where exactly were ya headed?"

Kafka looked down. "...The recycling."

"And what have ya got there?"

"...Lunch."

Silence.

Kafka's eyes widened. "...Oh."

Hoshina sighed toward the ceiling. "You almost threw your lunch away."

"I thought something felt off."

"I'd hope so."

The entire cafeteria burst into laughter.

...

I laughed so hard I had to wipe at my eyes.
Himari was already flipping through the photos on her camera.

"I got the exact moment he realized." She turned the screen toward me.Kafka looked horrified. Hoshina looked one inconvenience away from retirement.

"It's perfect."

"I know."

I sent the picture to him on my phone.

"Oh!" Himari gasped.

"What?"

"The stretching."

I immediately started laughing again.

...

First day. Morning drills.

The officers stretched before training. Everyone moved in perfect synchronization. Except Kafka. He somehow got himself turned completely backward during the warm-up.

Reno leaned over. "...Kafka."

"Hm?"

"We're facing that way."

Kafka looked around. "...I knew that."

"No, you didn't."

Hoshina walked past without missing a beat. "If ya stretch any farther the wrong direction, you'll end up in Fourth Division."

...

"I thought Kikoru was going to fall over laughing," I said.

Himari nodded enthusiastically. "I got that picture too."

Sending yet another picture to him.

"And Iharu." She immediately pointed at me. "You cannot leave out Iharu."

I covered my face. "Oh no..."

...

The obstacle course.
Iharu sprinted toward the climbing wall with complete confidence. "I've GOT this!" Three steps later, His foot slipped. He slid dramatically back down. Not injured. Just defeated. He looked at the wall. The wall looked back. "...I think it moved."

Reno blinked. "...The wall?"

"It definitely wasn't there before."

Hoshina walked by. "Mhm."

"...Walls are sneaky."

"I knew it!"

...

"I cannot believe he agreed with him," I laughed.

"He looked so serious!"

"He always does!"

Himari suddenly stopped scrolling. "...My favorite."

I smiled. "The race?"

"The race."

She held up the camera. There I was... Halfway around the track. Bright red. Determined. Still somehow yelling at Hoshina while he jogged backward in front of me.

The next picture— Kafka laughing so hard he'd bent over.

The next— Hoshina offering me a bottle of water with the most smug smile I'd ever seen.
The last— Me pointing at him while trying
—and failing—to catch my breath.

I groaned. "You kept every picture."

"I kept all seventy-three."

"There were seventy-three?"

"There were seventy-four."

"What happened to the last one?"

She smiled innocently. "I printed it."

"...Why?"

"It's framed."

"...Himari."

"It's on my desk."

I buried my face in my hands. "I hate you."

"You love me."

"I do."

Eventually... The laughter faded. The newsroom grew quiet around us again. I looked back toward the empty document.

"Time to actually write."

Himari stood. "I'll leave you to it."

She paused beside my desk. "...Write the article only you could write."

I looked up. "What do you mean?"

She smiled. "Everybody knows the Third Division defeats kaiju." She nodded toward my screen. "I want to know who makes each other laugh."
With that...She walked away.

I stared at the blinking cursor for another moment. Then my fingers began to move.

...

I didn't realize how much time had passed until a shadow fell across my desk.

Mr. Takahashi, our editor-in-chief, silently read the final paragraph over my shoulder. When he finished... He looked at me.

Then at the article again.

Finally... He nodded once.

"No revisions."

I blinked. "...None?"

"None."

He closed the document on my screen with a satisfied smile.

"This..." He tapped the monitor gently. "...This is why people read your work."

My heart fluttered.

"It'll run on tomorrow's front page."

After he walked away, Himari leaned over the divider between our desks.
"So?"

I looked at the email that had just landed in my inbox.

APPROVED FOR PUBLICATION

I couldn't stop smiling. "It's going to print."

Himari threw both hands into the air. "I knew it!"

The newsroom returned to its busy rhythm around us. But for just a moment... I let myself think about a dining hall full of Defense Force officers laughing over dinner.

And somewhere among them... A certain vice-captain who would probably complain about how many pictures Himari had taken of him.

I made a mental note to buy an extra copy of tomorrow's paper.

Something told me he'd pretend not to be interested. And then read every single word.