Kentaro, Tenka, Haruka, and Yumi made their way to the meeting room.
Shogo was sprawled dramatically on the floor like a dead NPC. Haruka and Yumi sat at the table. Kentaro stood awkwardly near the wall, still not sure if this was real.
The room was larger than expected for a Small ship, walls lined with faintly humming monitors, a central holographic display table, and what looked suspiciously like a mini fridge duct-taped shut.
"COMMANDER!" Shogo wailed. "EVEN IN A FLOATING WARSHIP, I AM DENIED A CHAIR?!"
"SHUT IT, SHOGO, OR I SWEAR I'LL BREAK YOUR NECK!" Tenka barked.
"OHHH, COMMANDER PLEASE, BREAK ME IN HALF!"
BOOM.
A sideways kick, clean, sharp, and laced with fury, launched Shogo across the room and into the wall, where his body left a neat Shogo-shaped crater before he slumped down and dusted himself off.
"COMMANDER," he groaned, clutching his ribs, "I WILL NEVER GET USED TO YOUR ROCK-HARD KICKS… OHHHH…"
Kentaro blinked. "What the hell…"
But honestly, he'd seen worse.
Tenka cleared her throat. "Right. Let's get to work."
She tapped the holotable, and a bright map of the island blinked to life, split into three zones with little blinking chibi avatars labeled: Serica, Kira, and Yura.
"Since our manpower's limited, this is going to be tight. Haruka, you've got the floor."
Haruka tapped the center of the holotable, and a flicker of light burst upward. A glowing 3D map of the island came to life, pulsing softly with activity. Three blinking dots marked the zones: beach, garden, cliffside.
She turned to Kentaro, crossing her arms with unsettling confidence.
"Okay, Kentaro," she said, a wicked smile on her lips. "Listen closely, because this plan is your only shot at surviving the day with your dignity, limbs, and reputation intact."
Kentaro tensed.
Haruka pointed to the first zone on the map, a pulsing icon labelled Serica.
"You're going on three dates, each with a different girl. Serica at the beachside arcade. Kira at the art museum and garden. Yura at the cliffside overlook once the sun starts to dip."
She flicked her finger to each zone in turn, each dot blinking to life like warning lights.
"Three girls. Three zones. One idiot."
"Hey!" Kentaro barked.
Haruka didn't stop. "They're all on opposite ends of the island. They cannot see each other. And more importantly, they cannot see you… in the wrong outfit."
She turned to Shogo. "Explain the stakes."
Shogo grinned darkly from the floor. "If Kira sees you in Serica's sand-stained shirt, you're dead. If Serica sees you dressed for Yura's nighttime stroll, she'll think you're cheating. And if Yura sees you anywhere near arcade tokens? She'll curse your bloodline."
Haruka nodded. "Exactly. That's why we're doing full outfit rotations between zones. Casual for Serica. Buttoned shirt for Kira Clean, light layers for Yura. Soft tones. You want to look emotionally available but not sweaty."
Kentaro's head was already spinning. "How the hell am I supposed to do outfit changes between dates?"
Shogo raised his hand. "I've got that one."
A large metallic suitcase slid into the room behind him with a thunk. It hissed and cracked open, steam puffing out from the sides like some cursed cosplay tech demon.
"Introducing…" he said proudly, "The Mobile Changing Pod™!"
"It's literally a camping shower tent duct-taped to a hairdryer," Haruka muttered.
"Don't ruin the magic!"
Kentaro stared at the contraption like it might explode. "Is it safe?"
"No," Shogo replied immediately. "But it's fast."
Haruka picked back up. "After each exit, we move you into the changing pod, switch outfits, and rush you to the next girl. Fast, clean, no trace."
Kentaro raised a brow. "And how exactly am I leaving each date without looking suspicious?"
Tenka slid a file across the table. "Fake emergencies."
Haruka smirked. "We've planned unique distractions for each date. Tenka has roped Tengen into this, so he will be helping with them."
"Serica gets a fake ice cream health scare," Haruka continued. "Kira gets a sudden 'urgent museum appointment' call. Yura… we're going with a cat in labour."
"…A what?"
"Just roll with it."
Shogo added, "You'll have an earpiece. When I give the code phrase, you get out, fake an emergency, and let us pull you. You'll say things like: 'Sorry, gotta run,' or 'Emergency call. Be right back."
Kentaro blinked. "You expect me to juggle three girls, lie to all of them, and somehow not die in the process?"
Haruka walked over and flicked his forehead.
"Not lie. Delay. You'll come back to each girl later, if not, this plan can't be doable."
She tapped the glowing map again.
"You return to Serica near the arcade. You come back to Kira with a fake moustache and pretend you're her second date. You rejoin Yura, holding a kitten like a sad, romantic prince. Or something like that, either way it's all planned."
Kentaro sat down, rubbing his temples. "You guys are insane."
"Insanely genius," Shogo chimed. "This is basically love-based guerrilla warfare."
But Haruka's expression shifted as she opened a separate file. Her tone turned colder.
"Before we wrap, there's one complication."
A faint flicker crossed the holotable. Serica's name pulsed oddly. Glitched for a second.
"We've been picking up interference. Not random static, targeted jamming. Originating near Serica's Corruption zone."
Tenka stepped in beside her, arms folded. "Spire-code frequency. This isn't our tech. And it's not just noise, it's a tracking pattern."
Kentaro froze. "Wait. You're saying…"
"We're saying they could still be alive," Tenka said bluntly. "And they might be watching."
Haruka handed Shogo a separate receiver. "He'll be monitoring for anything out of place. Any flicker, any echo, any shift in Serica's behaviour, we isolate and act. Fast."
Shogo stood up dramatically, tossing aside his chip bag. "I swear on my honor as an extremely hot background character, I will not let that bastard touch your girl."
Kentaro looked at all of them.
Then looked at the map again. Serica. Kira. Yura.
And in his gut, he felt it, the same feeling as going into battle. Or worse… into a school play with no rehearsal.
"…This is gonna be a disaster."
Tenka clapped him on the back. "Welcome to Operation Triple Trouble. Try not to die, Romeo."