Raizen knew something was wrong the moment his steps stopped obeying him.
Not pain.
Not fear.
Just… drift.
The corridor felt longer than it should have been. The floor gently swayed beneath his feet, as if the ship itself had decided to breathe. He pressed his fingers to his temple, teeth clenched, eyes narrowing.
"…Tch."
Too dizzy.
He slowed his breathing, trying to force his thoughts back into order.
Control yourself.
He had trained his mind for this—battlefields soaked in blood, moments where hesitation meant death. Alcohol shouldn't have been enough to throw him off balance.
And yet—
His vision blurred slightly.
The world tilted.
This is bad.
Behind him, Aoi stopped walking.
Raizen didn't notice immediately. He was too focused on stabilizing his footing, too busy running calculations in his head—distance to the wall, number of steps before the next corner, how long until his pulse slowed.
Then—
A sudden weight yanked backward.
"—Oi—!"
Aoi's legs gave out completely.
She fell flat without warning, arms instinctively shooting forward—and she grabbed Raizen hard.
Harder than he expected.
Raizen had no time to react.
No time to twist, no time to roll.
They went down together.
The impact knocked the breath from his lungs as he landed squarely against her chest, his palms slamming into the floor just in time to keep his full weight from crushing her.
The room went silent.
Raizen blinked.
"…Is this woman crazy."
His voice came out rough, disoriented.
His heart hammered violently—not from embarrassment, not from fear, but from the sudden loss of balance stacked on top of the alcohol already clouding his senses.
He lifted his head slightly.
Her face was inches away.
Idiot. Focus.
He inhaled sharply.
"Haaa… control yourself," he muttered. "No time for temptations."
His thoughts tried to snap back into formation—but the dizziness surged again, stronger this time, like a wave crashing over his skull.
Then—
Aoi made a sound.
"Uhhhh…"
Raizen froze.
"…What."
His eyes widened slightly.
She shifted under him, breath uneven, face flushed—not consciously, not intentionally. Just the aftershock of alcohol and exhaustion catching up all at once.
Raizen stared.
"…Nope," he said quietly. "This is bad."
Then he laughed.
"Hehehe."
The sound surprised even him.
"Oh no," he muttered. "The alcohol is kicking in."
He swallowed, trying to push himself up—but his arms trembled uselessly.
"And why," he added, eyes unfocused, "is she making those noises…"
Aoi didn't answer.
Her grip loosened.
Her breathing slowed.
Then—
Both of them went still.
The dizziness peaked.
Their bodies, finally giving up the fight, collapsed fully.
In perfect sync—
They fell asleep.
Midday sunlight poured through the window, illuminating two unmoving figures on the floor.
No struggle.
No tension.
Just the quiet aftermath of bad decisions and exhausted minds.
⸻
Elsewhere.
Senji stopped walking.
Dead stop.
The microchip in Raizen's ear crackled softly, transmitting everything.
Every word.
Every sound.
Every awkward second.
Senji's face went red instantly.
"…No way."
He turned his head away sharply, brushing his nose with the back of his hand as if physically trying to wipe away what he'd just heard.
"…He finally did it," Senji muttered.
Lu Shouxing, standing beside him, raised an eyebrow.
"…Did what."
Senji smirked, still flustered.
"He lost his virginity."
Lu stared at him.
"…Are you stupid."
Senji waved a hand dismissively. "You don't get it."
In reality—
Raizen and Aoi were just drunk.
Asleep.
Completely unaware of the misunderstanding echoing through the ship.
Midday passed quietly.
And nothing—absolutely nothing—went according to plan.