“Yo. Long time no see.”
Standing just inside the doorway is a gathering of several familiar faces. Saika, Kat, Smith, Akane, Michael, and even Naomi and Sam enter the restaurant one after another. The one who spoke was, naturally, Saika. After my momentary shock, I snap out of it and rush forward to greet them, embracing Kat and Saika.
“Hey! You should have told us you were coming. We could have set something up.”
“We wanted to surprise you,” Kat says. “By the looks of things, our plan was a success.”
Rion comes over and hugs each of the girls—even Akane, who’s been even more relaxed with us since our retirement. He and Smith exchange a man-hug before he goes off and begins moving tables together to make room for everyone. Smith gives him a hand and I accompany Kat and Saika as they walk around admiring the décor. The pictures and art hanging on the walls are largely air force-themed.
“This is a nice touch,” Kat says.
She stops in front of a small expanse of marble on the wall. On it is a long list of names spread across five columns. Her gaze shifts and she absently runs her fingers over the name Captain Brian Anderson. His name is easily visible in the third row of the first column in the memorial.
Elsewhere on the walls are pictures of our squad. There are several with the entire squadron contained within, each featuring a few different faces. One of my favorite pictures, out of everything we put up, is a zoomed-in shot of Rion’s plane. It catches him in the middle of his insane stunt maneuver during his match against Smith back at the academy.
I disappear into the kitchen for a moment to grab some fresh-baked bread. By the time I come back out, everyone is already seated around the table. Rion is just taking his seat, having gotten drinks for everyone present. I sit the bread on the table and take a look at the seating order.
It seems like every time we’re at a table, everyone sits in the same positions. I’m on Rion’s right side with Kat beside me. Saika is on the other side, followed by Smith and Akane. Across the table, Sam and Naomi sit cuddled up to each other. The similarity of those two to Rion and me is uncanny.
“So, I hear you got promoted to squadron leader, Kat,” I say. “Congrats, big shot.”
“Oh, please,” she responds. “Both of you still outrank me by a mile and you’re not even active. Thanks, though.”
“How’s the place been lately?” Rion asks.
“Quiet. Most of our flight time has been escorting supplies for rebuilding. As a result, I’ve got a whole lot less paperwork than you guys did. How about on your end? Staying out of trouble, I hope?”
He laughs as he responds, a warm roll in his hand. “Of course. I’ve got two people making sure I don’t get into too much. We’ve been busy trying to get the business off the ground, so definitely not a dull moment.”
The sound of the door opening sounds again and both of us instinctively look up at the same time. I get ready to stand and get to work but retake my seat when I see who it is. Kanade comes in and walks up next to us. She’s been helping us with the restaurant after school, which has been a huge help on busy days.
“Speak of the devil,” Rion says, greeting his sister.
“Quite a crowd you have here,” she says. “Should I get ready to start working?”
“No need for now. Want to sit with us? This is my other family from Misawa.”
“Ah!” she exclaims. “I thought those faces looked familiar. Hi Saika. Hi Kat.”
“Hey,” they both greet her.
In the time we’ve been out of the air force, both Rion and I have been keeping up with the two of them via video call. With as much time as Kanade has been spending with us, she’s gotten pretty well acquainted with them. She takes a seat between Rion and me and he introduces her to the rest of the table.
“You guys aren’t here to try and convince my brother to come back, are you?” she squints her eyes suspiciously.
“Of course not,” Saika laughs. “If I were gonna do that, I would’ve done it before they left in the first place. Not that it would be so easy.”
We laugh, and the conversation moves on. For the next few hours, we catch up with each other and joke around. Rion, Kanade, and I take turns tending to the few customers that come and go. The close atmosphere of the table brings me a little bit of nostalgia. Truthfully, I miss spending time with these guys. Even still, I think I’m going to enjoy retirement.
Beyond the Clouds_Retaliation Page 20