Celestia was peaceful.
Too peaceful.
Which meant-
Something was about to go wrong.
Akane woke up.
Calm.
Confused.
"…What do civilians do all day…"
As he didn't like not knowing.
Same place.
Heavy already there.
"…You're late."
"…There was no time set."
"…Still late."
Assault arrived.
"…I'm hungry."
"…You're always hungry," Heavy replied.
"…That's because I keep surviving."
Aira arrived last.
Looked at all three.
Paused.
Sighed.
"…Why do I feel like today is going to be exhausting."
The squad wondered what they're going to do today.
Assault had an idea
"Hey Aira, What's that place?"
"That's...a mall" Aira replied
"Then we'll go there"
"Sure it looks cool" heavy added.
They entered.
Lights.
People.
Stores.
Everything.
Akane froze.
"…This is too much."
Assault grinned.
"…This is perfect."
Heavy scanned everything.
"…So many resources."
Aira immediately knew.
"…No."
All three turned to her.
"…No what?" Assault asked.
"…No buying everything."
Silence.
Then—
"…We weren't going to," Assault said.
Akane nodded.
"…That would be inefficient."
Heavy agreed.
"…Agreed."
Aira narrowed her eyes.
"…I don't believe any of you."
They walked into a snack store.
Big mistake.
Shelves.
Endless shelves.
Colorful.
Packaged.
Variety.
Assault froze.
"…What is this."
"…Food," Aira said.
"…ALL of it?"
"…Yes."
Silence.
Then—
"…We take everything," Assault said.
"…NO—"
Too late.
Assault grabbed snacks.
Armfuls.
Heavy grabbed boxes.
Entire boxes.
Akane stood there—
Trying to analyze.
"…There are too many choices."
"…THEN TAKE ALL OF THEM—" Assault shouted.
"…That solves the problem."
Akane nodded.
"…Logical."
He started grabbing.
Aira rushed in.
"PUT THAT BACK—"
"No."
"YES."
"Why?"
"YOU DON'T NEED ALL OF THAT."
"We don't know that."
"…YOU DON'T EVEN KNOW WHAT HALF OF THOSE ARE—"
"That's why we need them."
They had one cart.
Then two.
Then three.
Then—
They started stacking.
Badly.
Things falling.
Things spilling.
Assault trying to balance chips like a tower.
"…This is unstable."
"…I believe in it," Assault said.
It collapsed instantly.
"…It did not believe in you," Heavy said.
Aira Losing It.
"…STOP—JUST STOP—"
She grabbed items—
Put them back—
Turned around—
They grabbed more.
"…WHY ARE THERE MORE—"
"…Because we're being efficient," Akane said.
"…THIS IS NOT EFFICIENT—"
"…We won't need to come back," Heavy added.
Aira paused.
…
"…That… actually makes sense—"
She froze.
"…NO. IT DOESN'T. STOP."
After leaving the snack store filled with bags.
The three guys wondered into a tech store.
Worst mistake.
Lights everywhere.
Screens.
Devices.
Everything.
Assault stopped.
Slowly turned.
"…We need all of this."
"…NO—"
Too late again.
"WHAT IS THIS—"
"Gaming console."
"WE TAKE IT."
"NO—"
"WHAT ABOUT THIS—"
"Laptop."
"WE TAKE IT."
"STOP—"
Heavy picked up a massive TV.
"…Large display. Useful."
"…PUT THAT DOWN—"
"…No."
Akane held three devices.
Confused.
"…Why does this one exist if this one also exists."
"…Different uses."
"…Then we need all."
"…NO YOU DON'T—"
They grabbed:
consoles
laptops
desktops
tablets
phones
speakers
radios
headphones
cables (they don't know why)
random accessories
"…We are buying one of everything," Heavy declared.
"…YOU ARE NOT—"
"…We already are," Assault said.
Aira turned—
They had THREE CARTS FULL.
"…I regret everything."
The cashier stared.
Long.
Silent.
"…Are you… opening a store?"
"…No," Assault said.
"…Then why—"
"Preparation."
"For what?"
"Everything."
The Price 😂
Total showed.
Aira braced herself.
The number appeared.
Silence.
Then—
"…That's it?" Assault said.
"…That's cheap," Heavy added.
"…Weapons cost more," Akane replied.
Aira stared.
"…You've just spent more than a civilian's yearly income—"
"…Still cheaper than a rifle," Assault replied.
"…I'm going to pass out."
They walked out.
Barely.
Holding everything.
Dropping things.
Picking them up.
Repeating.
"…We need more hands," Assault said.
"…We only have two," Heavy replied.
"…That's a design flaw."
Akane held multiple bags.
Still confused.
"…What do we do with all of this."
"…We figure it out later," Assault said.
"…That's not a plan."
"…It's a future plan."
"…That's worse."
Aira Finally Snaps.
She stopped.
Turned.
"…LISTEN TO ME."
All three froze.
"…You do NOT need all of this."
"…We already bought it," Assault said.
"…I KNOW."
"…Then it would be wasteful not to use it," Heavy added.
Aira paused.
…
"…WHY ARE YOU LOGICAL WHEN IT'S WRONG"
They sat outside.
Surrounded by bags.
Mountains of stuff.
Snacks everywhere.
Devices everywhere.
Chaos.
Pure chaos.
Assault opened snacks.
"…We earned this."
Heavy was already using something.
"…This is efficient."
Akane stared at everything.
"…I don't understand any of this."
Aira sat down.
Defeated.
"…I tried…"
"…You did," Akane said.
"…You failed," Assault added.
"…I KNOW—"
They ate.
Laughed.
Argued.
Like idiots.
Like a family.
And somehow—
Even with all the chaos—
Aira stayed with them.
"…Next time," she said,
"…we're buying NOTHING."
Silence.
"…Okay," Assault said.
"…Agreed," Heavy nodded.
"…Understood," Akane added.
Aira relaxed.
Finally.
Peace.
Then—
"…What's that store?" Assault pointed.
Aira froze.
"…No."
"…It looks interesting."
"…NO."
"…We should check it."
"…I SAID NO—"
They were already walking.
Aira followed.
"…I hate all of you."