Nihonkoku Shoukan: Beyond

Extra 1: An Outing of an Unlikely Couple

24th November 1639 CCY, Yokohama City

Hiiragi wakes up at precisely 6 AM every day. She opens her eyes, and the first thing that caught her eye is the picture of her and her family. She sits up and takes the picture off the computer table, caressing it. Oh right... tomorrow would be the 19th anniversary of her parent's death, and today is one of those rare days when she has her day off. Placing the picture on the table again, she started to stretch a bit before doing her usual morning workout routine.

After doing some light workouts, she goes to the shower. Wearing a loose-fitting shirt and her underwear, she prepares her breakfast. Breakfast for her is simple, just some package rice, an omelet that was made by the replicator, and powdered miso soup. Her caretaker always scolds her for not eating properly and not learning to cook. But in her defense, she doesn't care, those premade things are good enough. Nutritious, check. Edible, check. What more could she ask for?

She checks her phone while eating. Even on a break, she still can't kick off the habit of checking her work while eating. That could be an occupational disease, maybe, could be? She turns on the stereo, it's the oldies tune her parents used to listen to. Her phone suddenly rang.

"Hello? Yes, I am here, Lieutenant General. Do you have anything to order me, sir?" – Hiiragi

"Oh, Hiiragi? You don't have to call me by rank, you are on break, right? Well, I'm calling to remind you of the memorial meal that Grandma will make tomorrow. Oh, and remember to eat properly, you hear me?" – Tuan

"Yes, uncle. I won't forget. Also, grandma would tell you to bring her a bride soon, you remember?" – Hiiragi

"Y-you! This cheeky brat! Ha... Ehem! That's my problem, you need not worry. Remember, light the incense stick in my place, well, I'm stuck in my post after all." – Tuan

"Yes, I'll uncle. I wish you well." – Hiiragi

"Yes, I wish you well also." – Tuan

After the meteor shower that destroyed part of the underground city in Vietnam, Hiiragi was made an orphan. She was only 8 when that happened. She was saved by her mother, but her mother could not make it. Her father's comrade, the then-Colonel Tuan, later found her in the cleanup. She was taken in by the family of then-Colonel Tuan. She was then transferred to Japan after Colonel Tuan's post was transferred and spent her childhood there.

After that, she washes the dishes, gets back to her room, puts on her clothes, and goes outside. The weather in Japan around this time is slightly cold so she put on a thicker shirt with long-fitting jeans and a desert sand trench coat. Walking down the hallway, she looks outside. The port of Tokyo now welcomes many vessels from the Philades and Rodenius continents. Many small ports are built to welcome them, and a whole new waterfront is built for the traders to set up shop, called the Bazaar like the Turkey market. They are free to sell anything they have, provided that they obtain a permit, obey all laws and regulations, and pay the appropriate taxes. Hiiragi has been wanting to go to the place after seeing it on the TV. Taking the elevator to the ground floor, she would walk a few minutes to a train station. That's what she would do, provided that there wasn't somebody parking his car in front of her apartment complex.

A Garmillas man wearing a casual suit with a coat is leaning on a white sports car. He's holding a cup of coffee with another sitting on top of the car. He looks at the watch then looks at the frozen Hiiragi.

"Hm... 8:34 AM. So, you really are in the break mood, huh? You'd be yelling your lungs out if your soldiers are not ready by 8." – Eugen

"W-what the... what the hell are you doing here?!" – Hiiragi