The New Year in Yokosuka

Even though he had difficulty opening his groggy eyes and his head felt close to bursting, Lieutenant Kido was aware something was off.

The room actually smelled quite pleasant, and the only smell of alcohol was from himself—and he realized they were no longer at that izakaya. But where? What happened to those two?

That thought sent his heart pounding as hard as his head, and he mustered everything he had to force his eyes open. Immediately he could see the dim lamp hanging on the ceiling. He noticed he was lying on a hard, tatami-covered floor. He was sweating despite the air conditioner.

Deciding where he was would be less important than finding his companions, Kido shot up—and after further cursory glances, stumbled upon Helena, leaning on the wall, sleeping.

His relief didn't last long, as he realized St. Louis was nowhere in sight. For a moment, he thought of getting Helena awake to inquire about the situation they were in right now. But when he had approached her and looked closer at her sleeping face, he ended up frozen in pause, yet his heart continued to race.

Why did she have to look this cute right now? He lamented. Okay, she's always cute…but…calm down. You're just drunk. She's like a little sister to you. You don't see her that way…

… But she's so cute, dammit!

Having had enough of that thought, Kido whirled around to distract himself from Helena, lost his balance, and fell hard on his back, only to find a flushed St. Louis looming over him, grinning like she had won the lottery. But under the poor lighting, Kido found that grin more unsettling and ominous than anything—especially with her eyes narrowing after that.

"I see you're getting close to Helena. Planning something?"

"...Uh…no. I'm not. Seriously," on instinct, Kido immediately sat up and scooted further away from St. Louis.

St. Louis herself glanced at Helena and back at the man, laughing a little.

"Of course not. Surely the dependable, sensible Lieutenant Kido would not do anything unsavory," she said, though Kido couldn't tell if St. Louis was being earnest or teasingly sarcastic. It's hard to tell with her sometimes.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," with a trembling hand, Kido reached for his pocket for a smoke. He could not find any and could not recall if he had run out or left them at the bar. Whatever the case, he was out of cigarettes just when he was in dire need of one.

St. Louis noticed his distressed sigh and, still smiling, approached the man—as she did, he noticed she had a convenience store plastic bag with her.

"Out of smoke, hon? Luckily, I've got a surprise for you," she spoke as she took out a pack of cigarettes from the bag, which Kido noticed was his usual brand. She didn't give it to him as he had hoped; instead, she gave him a drink, which he realized was a hangover cure.

"But it seems you need that more right now," she said as Kido accepted the bottle and downed the nasty orange liquid in one sitting so he wouldn't have to suffer too long. But it did help him feel better.

"Good boy," St. Louis tossed Kido the pack of cigarettes and sat next to him after taking off her coat. "My, Helena must be really sleepy."

"Even though she only had juice, huh?" Kido chuckled even though his head was still slightly buzzing.

"She doesn't usually stay up late, that's why. I wonder why she wanted to tag along for our New Year drinking party," replied St. Louis.

"Eh, maybe she's just curious. She's never been to Japan before," Kido suggested—though at the back of his mind, he wasn't really sure—the Helena he knew wasn't the curious type, especially when it comes to places like an izakaya.

"That might be the case…or…maybe…" St. Louis looked at the man and quietly laughed. Kido raised a brow at the abrupt pause, but he was familiar with St. Louis and dismissed it as a prelude to teasing, which he would not fall for.

"Anyway, what is this place?" Kido finally asked the question that's been bugging him this entire time.

"Oh, just a minshuku. Maybe you'd prefer love hotels instead? After all, you did take me to one before."

Kido choked and coughed at the wink St. Louis gave him.

"You just had to bring that up again? I had no choice, you know. Eh, whatever. I don't feel like arguing. How did we end up here?"

"You passed out trying to outdo me for once? Helena and I had to support you because you were out like a brick."

"Oh, that," Kido murmured, suddenly feeling really dumb. He knew he shouldn't respond to St. Louis goading him and boasting she could drink more than him. That was unfortunately and admittedly true, and he would always begrudgingly concede. Why he snapped that time was beyond him. Probably because he was already drunk.

"Great. Now she would think poorly of me," Kido groaned.

"Oh, don't worry, Helena's too nice for that. Even after everything you said."

That revelation left Kido cold, and he swore he must be pale now.

Before he could press St. Louis for an answer, Helena stirred awake. She rubbed her eyes and looked around, at first confused, but familiarity soon settled in. Across the room, she noticed Kido, who seemed oddly alarmed, and St. Louis beckoning her.

Though briefly reluctant, she relented and approached the pair.

"Um, hello, sis…and Kido-san."

"Ah, are you sleeping well, dear?" St. Louis inquired, and Helena nodded. When she turned to Kido, he was already on his knees, forehead touching the floor.

"Whatever I did or said back then, I'm sorry!"

Helena was understandably bewildered—then it dawned on her, and her cheeks grew just as intensely red as her sister, though she wasn't intoxicated by any means.

"Um, Kido-san…I…You know, you haven't done anything wrong," Helena mumbled, already grown uncomfortable at the bizarre apology.

"I… didn't?" Kido asked, head still on the floor.

"Now, now, you didn't do anything stupid—you only praised her profusely—cute, dependable, kind…what else did I miss? Her reaction must be seen to be believed," St. Louis chimed in, holding back the urge to burst out laughing.

"Sis, please," Helena covered her mouth and looked away, though unbeknown to them, she was smiling.

"Oh…right," Kido mumbled, suddenly remembering everything, and promptly felt embarrassed. "But still, I must've made you uncomfortable, Helena. Sorry,"

"...But…Kido-san…did you…actually mean that?"

Kido thought of it for a moment. Did he? He was quick to admit he did. Drunk or not, he had always thought of her like that, even though he had never said it.

"Well, yeah, actually, I did."

Helena turned back to him—she no longer hid her smile.

"Thank you…Kido-san. I'm happy to hear that."

St. Louis had a smile, too—as much as she wanted to tease the two, she figured she would let Helena have this moment. Looking at her watch, she noticed it was close to sunrise—the first of the new year.

"You know," she spoke up, gaining the attention of the blushing duo, "It's the new year already, it turns out."

As soon as she finished, St. Louis stood up and opened the curtains, allowing the light in

"Then, um, happy new year, sis, Kido-san," Helena offered, yelping afterward from St. Louis's sudden hug.

"Yeah, happy new year, you two. I hope we can continue working together this year, eh?" Kido rose to his feet as well, basking in the shine. It was intensely relieving.

"Why, of course, my friend. I'm sure Helena here feels the same way," replied St. Louis, still latching on to her sister.

"Come on, sis, stop teasing me," she said. But deep down, she had to admit she did. After all, her smile was still there.

"I can't promise that," St. Louis finally removed herself from Helena. She looked outside the window at the sun that continued to rise.

"So, seeing that you two were the only ones sleeping…did you guys dream of anything? It could predict your luck this year, right?"

"Bah, I didn't dream of anything. Besides, I don't believe in hatsuyume anyway," Kido scoffed. He walked to the window, opened it, and lit a cigarette.

"What a boring fellow," St. Louis stuck a tongue out and turned to Helena, who was blushing again.

"Um…can I keep it a secret?" She whispered. St. Louis already had a few guesses on why Helena would feel the need to ask that, but she kept them to herself and nodded.

Kido put the cigarette out on the metal frame and tossed it away before turning to the sisters.

"Well, regardless of that, it looks like this will be a fine year."

They smiled back in agreement.