Albatross Sky ~JSDF Love Story~ [Episode 2] To maintain an army for a hundred years is only to protect peace (Part 3)

[Episode 2] To maintain an army for a hundred years is only to protect peace. Commander-in-Chief of the Combined Fleet, Isoroku Yamamoto (Part 3)

"I won't lose."

A declaration of war. A laugh comes through the headset. A bitter laugh, perhaps.

"Alright, Idea! Break!"

"Roger."

We scatter left and right, breaking formation.

The other side is a National Defense Academy graduate, one rank above me, and two years older. We never overlapped in our training curriculum, but as fighter pilots, we are from the same generation. Even if he is a genius, I also made a name for myself in Chitose. There shouldn't be a desperate gap between us. I stare straight ahead.

Here it comes!

The moment I spot him, our aircraft cross at supersonic speeds. The dogfight has begun.

What about Gaia!?

I turn to check behind me, and as expected, he is immediately gaining altitude.

A high-G yo-yo, huh!?

An aerial combat maneuver where you gain altitude to lose speed and get behind your opponent, then dive to accelerate instantly and strike the enemy aircraft. The basics of aerial combat are to gain altitude to store potential energy, then convert it into kinetic energy—that is, speed—during a dive to gain an advantage over your opponent in attack or evasion.

In that case!

Yuhi rolls the aircraft, changes to inverted flight, and then performs a sudden diving turn to increase speed and change direction. A maneuver called a Split-S. If I black out, I'll crash into the sea and it'll be all over; I stare intently at the negative Gs on the accelerometer.

Returning to level flight, I then use the speed gained from the dive to instantly regain altitude and change direction. A Chandelle. The continuous high-G maneuvers make the blood vessels throughout my body scream.

Gaia! Where is Gaia!?

I search desperately, but I can't spot him.

…No way. My spine freezes. W-why, why are you there!?

A black shadow approaches from behind. I was supposed to outsmart him and launch a surprise attack, but— What is with this guy!

I immediately performed a barrel roll to decelerate, trying to make my opponent overshoot, but I couldn't shake them. Gaia was also skillfully preventing an overshoot with even higher-G maneuvers.

Damn it...

It was a dead end. The electronic sound signaling that I had been locked onto rang out mercilessly inside the cockpit.

“FOX 3. Lock-on, you were killed”
(Fox Three. Lock-on, you have been shot down.)

A calm declaration of a kill from Gaia.

I lost... without a chance, and so easily.

“Next. We're going for the second round, Idea.”
“R-Roger.”

Before I could catch my breath from the series of high-G maneuvers, the second round began. In actual combat, the enemy doesn't care about your convenience. And, of course, they don't care that you're a woman.

Yuhi whipped her flagging spirits and stared ahead once more.

＊

The night sea breeze gently caressed her wet cheeks.

In the clear night sky, beautiful meteor trails from the Orionids occasionally appeared and vanished, but they were not enough to heal her wounded heart.

In the end, I couldn't get behind Toshio even once during the three days of ACM training. No, not just behind him—I couldn't even catch his aircraft in my sights. This wasn't even a matter of off-boresight attacks. There was only one thing I learned: he was a genuine phenomenon.

Another frustration to taste here. No, this time was more serious than the last, when I could recover depending on my mindset, because I had been shown an overwhelming gap that I couldn't do anything about.

Of course, I've been beaten soundly countless times before. But that was against experienced senior pilots. At least I had never once lost to someone of my own generation.

Our experience as fighter pilots should be about the same, so why is there such a huge gap? Why did Katsuno fall for him, a man with only a year of experience in an operational unit, and push him into the Air Tactics Development Group despite criticism from those around him? How can I reach that height?

Various emotions swirled and raced through my head.

“Oh, there you are. I was looking for you. What are you crying about?”
It was Toshio. I didn't want a rival to see me in such a pathetic state. I immediately buried my face in my knees.

“Shut up! Leave me alone!”
“I can't just leave you alone. Not when the girl I like is crouching behind the bridge where no one goes.”
I felt annoyed by his words, looked up, and glared at him.

“You're just making fun of me, aren't you!? That I'm just a token mascot who's all talk! I know that much myself!”

My emotions toward him exploded. I forgot to hide my tear-streaked face. I was furious. Furious that he didn't care about my sense of rivalry and only saw me as a romantic interest.

“Why would I make fun of a comrade who is trying so hard?”
His words brought me back to my senses. He gave a bitter smile and sat down heavily next to Yuhi.

"Yuhi, why did you become a fighter pilot?"
"...I don't want to say."

I buried my face in my knees again. I was just embarrassed that I had let my frustration over my own lack of talent spill out onto him.

"I see."

He scratched his temple lightly with his index finger and let out a soft sigh.

"...Aren't you going to ask any more?"
"If you don't want to talk about it, there's no need to force yourself. You can tell me when you feel like talking about it someday."

He leaned against the bridge, sitting with his knees up, looking up at the night sky.

"The moon is beautiful, isn't it?"
I flinched at his words.

"I'm not going to say 'I could die for that'."
"Haha, I knew you'd say that. But that's not what I meant right now. Look."

Prompted by him, I sniffled and slowly looked up at the night sky. It was a magnificent full moon. It made me feel like such a tiny existence, crying as I was.

"I'm sure there are many other people out there right now looking at this same moon."
His voice was gentle and persuasive.

"Maybe they're alone. Maybe they're with a lover. Maybe they're parents and children, or friends."

The moonlight illuminated his profile.

"I want to protect those days. I want to protect the happiness of the people who are important to me, so they can spend their ordinary days in an ordinary way."

He gazed at the moon, revealing his true feelings. This was a side of him Yuhi had never seen before.

"That's why I became a JSDF officer."

He lowered his gaze and slowly turned toward Yuhi. His eyes were more intense than ever.

"I will become stronger and stronger. And I will show that strength off. So that no one can lay a finger on the people who are important to me. That is how we in the JSDF protect our country."

I gasped. This was a side of him I couldn't have imagined from his usual carefree demeanor. That's right. He was a career officer who had graduated from the National Defense Academy. Overwhelmed by his high level of awareness, I instinctively looked away.

"That's amazing... that you can think like that."
"Well, my parents were in the Maritime Self-Defense Force, and I grew up watching them. Oh, my older sister is just a regular office worker, though."

I suddenly felt ashamed of myself. I had been too obsessed with winning and losing. My rival had been looking at something much bigger. There was no way I could compete with that.

"I'm so small... I'm the worst."
"You're not the worst. There's no girl as hardworking as you, Yuhi."

His large hand rested gently on my head. Why was it that I didn't mind him touching me? On the contrary, his gentle, caring touch felt very comforting.

"I found something I must protect here. Even if it costs me my life. That's exactly why I won't go easy on you, Yuhi."

Our gazes locked.

That's right. He never held back just because I was a woman; he always came at me with everything he had. For my sake. As a fighter pilot, could there be any greater respect than that?

"B-bring it on!"

Huh? Did that sound a bit strange just now? Huh?

Toshio chuckled and ruffled Yuhi's hair.

"Well, I'll head back first. If I stay here next to you any longer, I'm not sure I can keep my composure."
"Eh?"
"You should head back soon too, okay? You'll catch a cold if you're not careful."

Toshio stood up smoothly, gave a light two-finger salute, and left the spot.

Oh no, not again.

I clutched my chest, but my heart wouldn't stop racing.

"Geez. What is this, anyway..."

The pale full moon illuminating the night sea was simply beautiful.

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Next Episode Albatross Sky ~JSDF Love Story~ [Episode 3] Calm Down, and Aim Well. You Are About to Kill a Man (Part 1) | Kyo

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Albatross Sky ~JSDF Love Story~ [Episode 1] It Is Important for a Commander to Be Optimistic First (Part 1) | Kyo