1 Norio (Part 1)

<>: Dialogue translated from Japanese

Izuhara District, Kasane City, Japan, 2136 A.D.

The kitchen smelled of a traditional Japanese breakfast consisting of rice and grilled fish, as well as coffee or tea for beverages. A fan had been spinning overhead with a holographic screen projecting onto the counter, displaying a news report. The windows open letting in the sounds outside, from the birds chirping to cars driving by, to the sounds of people on their way to school or work.

A woman began to place each dish onto the table as she told her heartwarming yet comedic story.

Sitting at the table was a young man dressed in a military uniform, a black tunic and pants with red highlights. On his tunics left upper arm was a demon-like symbol with an evil glare on a circular disc and on his right was a Japanese flag. Topping it all off was the symbol of the United Nations on his left upper chest. A black pistol hung from his hip and the right side of his chest read his last name.

Matsuura. Jin Matsuura.

A Japanese-Russian fighter pilot for Norio, the United Nations multinational paramilitary air force responsible for defending the Earth against the Xenos, a parasitic alien species humanity came into first contact with in the mid 21st century.

As a combat pilot Jin's career was dark, dangerous, and often violent as he fought the creatures not only within the atmosphere of Earth, but in the vacuum of space as well. Despite this he saw it as worth it due to the immense salary people in his line of work received, as well as for personal ambition.

Sitting next to him dressed in a blue skirt and stockings and one of Jin's Norio shirts was his girlfriend Emma, an Astrean beauty with light blue skin and cyan hair who was an alien from Eos. In addition to her humanoid appearance she also possessed her races pointed elf-like ears.

"<Now here comes the funny part. I give him a cookie as he's sitting on the porch and out of nowhere, a rabbit appears beside him>."

"<Mom...please>." Jin said as he looked down.

"<Just before he could take a bite, the rabbit snatches it up and runs off. Before I can give him another, Jin gets mad and picks up a net. Then proceed to chase the rabbit down the street for five blocks shouting 'Give me my cookie back'>.

Emma began to chuckle looking at Jin.

"<Thanks Mom…" Jin said. "That only took my entire dignity…>"

"<It's okay Jin>." Emma replied holding his hand. "<Ms. Matsuura, if I can ask, you said that Jin was adopted. I'm curious as to how you two met>."

"<Eh, I found him with a head wound in an alley outside of Kasane. I cleaned the dirt and blood off his face and took him home that night>."

"<Really? Just like that>?" Emma asked, adjusting her stocking.

Aiko nodded. "<At the time I lived alone and had no one to keep me company, then this angel comes into my life. Besides, he was too damn cute for me to walk away from. I asked him if he had anywhere to go and he didn't. So I said 'Hey, let me be your mama, okay? Do you wanna stay with me?' His face was so flushed I almost cried at the sight of him>."

"<Awww>!" Emma replied looking at Jin much to his embarrassment.

Once the table was set a tall and fit woman dressed in yoga pants and a white t-shirt walked in and pecked Aiko's lips. Her long hair tied into a ponytail and she possessed brown colored eyes.

"<Katsumi>." Jin said.

"<Morning Jin>." she replied, ruffling Jin's hair.

Katsumi Takeda, Aiko's girlfriend and a space pilot and explorer who was quite famous within her circles. Katsumi was one of Jin's inspirations to become a pilot and served as his father-like figure since he was 13.

"<You slept in again Katsu>?" Jin asked with a chuckle. "<When are you gonna move in already>?"

"<This month actually. Me and your mother talked about it for a while>."

"<Wait really>?" Katsumi nodded. "<Sorry if I'm not back in time to help you move all your stuff>."

"<Oh don't you worry about that. You're more than occupied with your own work>."

The four of them gave thanks for the meal and began to eat and chat with one another, with Aiko and Katsumi getting to know more about Emma and how she and Jin became a couple.

"<We met on a beach actually>." Emma said. "<Jin was walking aimlessly and we just so happened to bump into each other. The two of us got to talking and well...thing just too off from there I guess.>"

Katsumi looked over at Jin. "<Well well look at you. What else happened>?"

"<Jin took me across the water to uh..."Russia" was it? Yeah, then we spent some time in a city near the coast and well...next thing you know we're a thing>."

Aiko and Katsumi gave a light clap as Jin looked away, his cheeks grew ever more red.

"<Today's your deployment you mentioned, isn't it>?" Katsumi asked as Jin nodded. "Do you know where you're going>?"

Jin nodded. "<Mars>."

"<Hm? Into space>?" Aiko added.

"<Yeah but not for long. Maybe a month at most before a more permanent squadron gets stationed there. Command said they detected a Xeno around Mars's orbit and is on its way to the Moon, Norio wants to scramble as much manpower as possible in case it reaches Earth. I mean really it's most likely just drifting but>..." Jin turned to Emma.

"<Norio doesn't wanna take chances, correct>?" Emma finished. Jin nodded.

"<Well as long as you remember to call me every now and then. And you don't try anything stupid to get yourself hurt>."

Jin stretched his arms a bit. "<Yeah yeah. You're talking to a newly promoted lieutenant>."

Emma chuckled at his comment as Aiko sighed.

The four of them continued to eat before finishing up and cleaning the kitchen together, Jin had walked towards the front door and sat to place his boots up. Emma, placing on her shoes and jacket, opened the door and the two walked out to the front where Jin's motorcycle was.

"<You need me to drop you off at your office building>?" Jin asked Emma.

"If it's not too much trouble. Thanks Jin." Emma looked back at Aiko and Katsumi. "Ms. Matsuura, thank you for letting me stay the night, as well as dinner and breakfast. It was really nice to meet you."

Aiko walked forward and placed a hand on Emma's shoulder. "<Of course hun. Listen, take care of this kid for me, okay? And don't feel shy to drop by every now and then to see us>."

Jin started his motorcycle engine up with Emma hopping onto the back. The two bid farewell to Aiko and Katsumi before driving off into Kasane City. Jin first stopped by the Astrean Research Commissions headquarters in the business district of Kasane, which was an old office building now used as the commission by the city council.

"<I'll call you as soon as get into orbit>." Jin said. "<Love you>."

Emma nodded and smiled. "<I love you too>."

Jin leaned forward and pressed his lips against Emma's for a few moments before he placed his helmet back on and drove off towards an air base operated by Norio.

To be continued...