Story Reader / Event Story / Summer Memoir / Story
Now...
Lee, wearing his diving suit, stands knee-deep in the water and speaks with a serious tone.
Let's start with the basics of snorkeling before we start diving. Once you've got the hang of it, we can consider more challenging dives.
...
Don't dive in unprepared, thinking snorkeling is easy. Without proper training, you might not have a chance to react in an emergency.
Let's make sure you are fully prepared before we actually start. Safety comes first, no matter what.
Seeing how serious Lee is, you are reminded of how he treated the shooting sessions with you on Babylonia with the same gravitas.
Unlike your sparring sessions in the training room, this feels like something that comes straight out of a classroom, with Lee as the instructor and you as the student.
But he could be a little bit more lenient... This is a vacation, after all. Right now, Lee is acting like an overprotective parent...
...I mentioned that I would install the underwater module if a mission calls for it.
Plus, I'm a Construct. It doesn't take me long to master a skill.
With me teaching you, you'll master it in no time.
You don't need to flatter me.
...
That's not the point.
The point is that, despite the time we have, if you want to go on a real dive before the end of the vacation...
Call me that again and I'll throw you into the water myself.
First, you have to wear your mask and snorkel properly...
Lee steps closer to adjust your diving mask, but he frowns and takes it off after a while.
This part... The rubber here at the joint is a bit degraded, probably from prolonged exposure to sunlight.
Using equipment like this underwater could be risky. Better switch it out.
That won't be necessary.
Lee takes off his own diving mask and puts it on you.
...Don't move.
You instinctively lean back, but Lee gently holds your head steady before putting his mask and snorkel on you.
You can use this for now.
As he speaks, Lee moves in closer to adjust the mask's strap for you.
Is that too tight?
Good. Your head size hasn't changed.
The measurement was used to calibrate your armor.
Indeed, so try to avoid that.
After you put on all the diving gear, Lee inspects it one more time to ensure there are no other issues.
It fits you.
Seeing Lee's gaze stopping at a specific point above your head, you realize what "fits" you.
You never thought you would end up wearing the mask with the yellow duck...
Don't worry. I can dive without a diving mask, but you can't.
Let's practice snorkeling first.
With Lee's steady hands supporting you, you start floating in the shallower waters before moving on your own by sensing the undulation of the waves.
Breathe slowly and steadily... Pace your breaths.
Pay attention to which part of your legs you are using. You'll waste a lot of energy if you're exerting force with your knees.
With concise explanations and precise guidance, Lee's instruction makes him a surprisingly patient and earnest teacher.
After several rounds of practice under Lee's guidance, you have become much more proficient in buoyancy control and clearing water from your snorkel.
Getting there.
You're not bad... for a beginner. Your fundamentals are solid.
Everyone knows Lee's "not bad" is actually "very good."
Don't get too excited. The real challenge has only just begun.
Lee points toward the distant sea, where your true destination lies.
Adjusting your breaths, you move forward, but the further away from the shore you are, the more you feel the ocean pushing you back.
Give me your hand.
Lee grabs your hand firmly, leading you further out into the sea. Having adjusted your snorkel, you dive in with him on his signal.
The moment the water engulfs you, you find yourself surrounded by a gentle, luminous blue.
Sunlight and clear skies shatter into brilliant sparkles, landing on the seabed and sprinkling a dazzling light in Lee's hair of gold and eyes of blue.
You signal to Lee after you have gotten used to moving underwater. He nods and motions you to follow.
Don't stray too far from me.
Tiny bubbles escape his lips. His voice comes through the water and your earpiece, slightly muffled.
You follow Lee, slowly swimming in the direction he has indicated.
Brightly colored fish swirl around you like stars, nimbly swimming past you as sunlight illuminates the ocean in all its glory.
...Slow down.
Lee has been staying by your side and guiding you within arm's reach, close enough to get to you but not so close that he hinders you.
You swim with Lee, observing all the splendor you could only see virtually on Babylonia in the past. Lee periodically signals you to ascend, and you surface to breathe before diving back into the ocean-blue dream.
As you swim past a massive coral reef, a large school of fish swirls around you before merging back into a silver whirlwind.
The school of fish briefly obscures your view, and you instinctively move back to avoid them.
The simple movement causes you to drift back with the current, widening the distance between Lee and you.
You instinctively reach out to Lee, but your hand barely grazes his fingers. You are too far away from him now, and the fish has blocked your view.
So you stabilize your breathing and adjust your posture before steadily swimming back toward Lee.
You do not get far before Lee rushes back toward you, and you are startled to see his usually calm expression has been replaced with an intense fear under the flickering light.
You rarely see him this frightened.
Commandant!
He grabs your arm tightly.
He stares at you intensely for a second before letting out a sigh of relief as if awakening from a dream.
Do you want to continue?
You have been diving for a while now, and you are quite concerned with Lee's condition, so you signal to surface after a brief thought.
Understood.
Lee seems to have returned to his usual self, but he is uncharacteristically silent, merely guiding you to slowly ascend and swim back to the shore.
The sun is not as blinding now. Gentle sunlight envelopes both of your drenched figures, warming you in the cool ocean breeze.
...How does your first dive feel?
...Really?
Is that so? I knew you got it.
I suppose you are quite self-aware.
...I was just worried that you were in danger. Even experienced divers can't always emerge unscathed from accidents.
The three Gray Raven members have been overly concerned with your well-being due to past events.
Although Lee's demeanor seems unchanged, he has been insisting on accompanying you whenever you appear in public.
He has been inspecting your equipment and transport crafts more thoroughly, covertly investigating people in contact with Gray Raven, and planning overly detailed contingencies...
And that frightened look on his face you glimpsed earlier underwater, fleeting yet impossible to ignore.
—He seems like he is always on edge, ready to combat some vast and empty unknown. Or maybe he looks like he is lost in the fog, never able to find a way out.
Your question to Lee is one of the reasons you invited him here. You have not had a proper chance to talk with him about everything that happened.
...Yes. I'm very worried about you.
Surprisingly, Lee does not deny it outright as he would have before.
But... it's also more than that.
He lowers his head with that silent expression again as if hesitating, uncertain where to begin.
...What if I tell you I feel deja vu about a lot of things? Would you believe me?
Even though it sounds absurd, and there is no logical explanation...
...Right.
He looks at you and nods solemnly.
Since my adaptation to this frame, I've felt a familiarity with things that have not happened.
Sudden "premonitory" memories would come and go before I could thoroughly recall them.
Unclear and ambiguous as reflections in the water, these moments are like projections from other worlds, leaving unbearable marks etched into his memories.
I've tried my best to record how these "premonitions" feel, Commandant. They didn't feel like simulations... but actual experiences I've had.
...I've failed to determine where this anomaly in my M.I.N.D. comes from for a very long time.
That's when it started...?Wait. No. Perhaps earlier than that.
...I still can't confirm whether what happened in the Hetero Tower has had any underlying impact on my M.I.N.D.
Even though all diagnostic reports have shown no discontinuity in my memory data, I know for sure that I've forgotten something important.
The gaps in my M.I.N.D. are not results of data errors. I've been trying to prove it, but I haven't found a way yet.
He looks out at the sea. A seagull flies by, snatching a fish from the sea, but the fish drops eventually, struggling in the bird's beak.
...Spending time on a problem is pointless if there is no answer. Not to mention that no credible conclusions can come from groundless speculations.
So, for a while, I chose to ignore those nonsensical premonitions, until...
Lee pauses for a moment, struggling to say what he has to say next.
Until I learned that your transport craft fell into the Red Tide river and went missing.
...We spent so long looking for you.
He tries to skip over many moments of desperation and pain, real or imaginary, with a gentle tone.
When I saw the... scenes...
...I was surprised by how familiar it felt, however impossible that might be.
Even though the feeling of deja vu faded quickly... I finally understood then.
Lee looks up at you.
His gaze seems to go through you again as if he is seeing something else.
You remember the same bewildered look on his face on the night you two talked during his adaption to the specialized frame.
You finally understand what it means.
...I've been scared.
I was afraid I couldn't find you, or you would look like that when I did.
I can't ignore these illogical premonitions... and I will do anything to avoid those outcomes.
He takes a deep breath, trying to calm down the flood of emotions in him.
So... that's why I've been "overreacting" when I think you might be in danger.
I'm sorry. I promised not to hide anything from you... but I just didn't know how to bring it up.
I can't help but worry that...
...We'd be sitting together like this in peace before I would find out that it was just a dream.
Surprising, right? That I would have such... ridiculous thoughts.
Lee's tone becomes self-deprecatory.
You grab Lee's hands, gently opening his clenched fists.
Lee's cold fingers touch your palm, and he does not immediately withdraw his hands.
Reality, huh...
Gray Raven will stand by you the way you have protected us.
...I see.
Whispering softly, Lee slowly grabs your hands and draws you in, as if trying to bring you closer to his heart.
Your shoulder sinks slightly—Lee has rested his head on your shoulder.
You cannot see his expression, but his muffled voice reaches you all the same.
...Just a little longer.
...Thank you.
...!
You hold him even tighter, silently waiting for his stiff body to relax.
This seems to be the first time Lee has been able to share his feelings with you without holding back.
By the time you get up from the beach, dusk has already tinted the evening sky.
Lee looks visibly more comfortable now that he has shared what has been on his mind.
We have one more night before we head back. You still have time to do anything you want to do.
...How many things are there?
The sea is dangerous at night.
Visibility on the beach is very low at night.
...Let's go.
Lee turns around, surrendering to your whim.
We'll look around to see if we can find any tools you might need.
Don't push it.
Striding ahead of you with a stern expression, Lee fails to hide his curled lips from you.
Unexpectedly, the figure walking before you on the beach overlaps with a figure in your memory.
It was a distant summer afternoon in a simulation with a similar azure sky and an unending beach.
—Where Lee was among his bantering friends and smiling, not realizing it himself.
...You know there's no chance for us to use things like that.
The impossible wish back then is now within your reach, just like this peaceful city and your footsteps on the fine sand.
The sky darkens, and you can begin to make out stars on the distant horizons. The night is coming.
Lee slows down and turns around, waiting for you. You hurry and catch up to him.
You will face more dangers and battles in the future, but for now, you have a chance to appreciate this hard-won serenity.
If you can walk into the night with each other, together you will welcome the dawn.
